I was wondering what the actual skiable vertical is at Hidden Valley. On their website they say 470 ft, other websites say 540, 570, and 600 ft. So which one is it? Also, what is the challenge of the terrain there? Somewhat local frames of reference that I have are Blue Knob (tha best when they have snow), Holiday Valley, Beech, Ober Gatlinburg, Perfect North, Timberline, Canaan Valley, Snow Trails, and Mad River. I consider BK and Tline to have the best terrain of the areas mentioned. I have a once a week pass to Perfect North. I'm just trying to gauge if it's worth the trip from Columbus. I do not care about lodging and food.

Also, what do you guys think of Wisp? 

Droogie wrote:

Also, what do you guys think of Wisp? 

Wisp is a molehill, but a well-designed molehill that definitey makes the most of the little vertical they have. They have some steeps, some bumps, but very few trees. No lifts are highspeed, but I guess that wouldn't be too necessary with such little vertical. Ammenities aren't too bad either. On pretty days several trails offer a gorgeous view of the lake. 

Not to mention that it's less than 15 mins from I68. 

Droogie wrote:

I was wondering what the actual skiable vertical is at Hidden Valley. On their website they say 470 ft, other websites say 540, 570, and 600 ft. So which one is it? Also, what is the challenge of the terrain there? Somewhat local frames of reference that I have are Blue Knob (tha best when they have snow), Holiday Valley, Beech, Ober Gatlinburg, Perfect North, Timberline, Canaan Valley, Snow Trails, and Mad River. I consider BK and Tline to have the best terrain of the areas mentioned. I have a once a week pass to Perfect North. I'm just trying to gauge if it's worth the trip from Columbus. I do not care about lodging and food.

Also, what do you guys think of Wisp? 

Have you found this report on Hidden Valley from a few years ago?

http://www.dcski.com/articles/view_article.php?article_id=1072

Are you thinking of going during the holidays?

Droogie wrote:

I was wondering what the actual skiable vertical is at Hidden Valley. On their website they say 470 ft, other websites say 540, 570, and 600 ft. So which one is it? Also, what is the challenge of the terrain there? Somewhat local frames of reference that I have are Blue Knob (tha best when they have snow), Holiday Valley, Beech, Ober Gatlinburg, Perfect North, Timberline, Canaan Valley, Snow Trails, and Mad River. I consider BK and Tline to have the best terrain of the areas mentioned. I have a once a week pass to Perfect North. I'm just trying to gauge if it's worth the trip from Columbus. I do not care about lodging and food.

Also, what do you guys think of Wisp? 

I like BK and T'line, but better terrain than Mad River???  On what planet is that?

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=peBC7ioGwFg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_River_Glen

Denis wrote:

I like BK and T'line, but better terrain than Mad River???  On what planet is that?

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=peBC7ioGwFg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_River_Glen

Droogie's talking about Mad River Ski Area in Ohio:

HV's vertical is most likely closer to the low end of that range.  It's one of the resort's biggest drawbacks.

The best slope, IMO, is Imperial and is not all that steep but is one of the better slopes there because it actually offers two reasonable length pitches.  The steeper slopes (Thunderbird and Cabe's -- or whatever the name changed to) the actual pitch is extremely short and I only find truly enjoyable on fresh snow days or for decent but brief bump lines (Thunderbird).

I do 95% of my skiing at HV.  It's a great family resort and my theory is there are always ways to push or improve your skiing, regardless of terrain.  So despite the seeming negativity above, I actually like HV.  Also, the snow making system is second to none, which is a huge plus.

marzNC wrote:

 

Have you found this report on Hidden Valley from a few years ago?

http://www.dcski.com/articles/view_article.php?article_id=1072

Are you thinking of going during the holidays?

I had not seen that. Thanks for sharing. HV looks nice, though very mild. I won't be visiting HV over the holidays, but plan to eventually get there at some point.  

Denis wrote:

Droogie wrote:

I was wondering what the actual skiable vertical is at Hidden Valley. On their website they say 470 ft, other websites say 540, 570, and 600 ft. So which one is it? Also, what is the challenge of the terrain there? Somewhat local frames of reference that I have are Blue Knob (tha best when they have snow), Holiday Valley, Beech, Ober Gatlinburg, Perfect North, Timberline, Canaan Valley, Snow Trails, and Mad River. I consider BK and Tline to have the best terrain of the areas mentioned. I have a once a week pass to Perfect North. I'm just trying to gauge if it's worth the trip from Columbus. I do not care about lodging and food.

Also, what do you guys think of Wisp? 

I like BK and T'line, but better terrain than Mad River???  On what planet is that?

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=peBC7ioGwFg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_River_Glen

HAHA! I'm talking about the 300 vertical ft berm less than an hour from Columbus, NOT the one in VT. JimK's attached pic shows the Mad River I'm referring to. 

Impressive surprise snow storm here in the Laurels. Near white out conditions. We needed this snow badly to cover up the rain generated boiler plate ice. Weather radar seems to indicate that this mini blizzard will continue for a few more hours.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

We had a nice group of 7 head up to Hidden Valley today.  Arrived promptly at 8:30, did our season pass swap and were at the Avalanche lift ready to go by 9.  The day started off odd with some freezing rain that rendered our goggles useless.  I started to wonder if we wasted our time as it was hard to see the first hour or so.  Luckily the freezing rain stopped and it was overcast.  

It finally started snowing around 11ish and it snowed all day long.  Snowed pretty hard at times and layed down a good 2 - 3 inches of fresh snow while were were there.

We had a beginner with us and chose HV hoping that it would not be crowded.  I assume all of my fellow yinzers were skiing 7S because we never waited in a line more that 4 groups deep.

All told a fantastic day at HV.  I hope everyone else had a chance to get out this weekend.

One simple pic of our group and a ski tracks count of the 20 runs we made.

Hidden Valley Videos from Sunday 2/9.  Nothing fancy but we had fun!

https://vimeo.com/86468878

http://vimeo.com/86345089

So 7352/20= 367.6. Is that the right way to calculate the average vertical? I hope I'm wrong or many of those runs were on a bunny hill. If I'm not wrong 3:45 is a long way to drive for that much vertical. 

Droogie wrote:

So 7352/20= 367.6. Is that the right way to calculate the average vertical? I hope I'm wrong or many of those runs were on a bunny hill. If I'm not wrong 3:45 is a long way to drive for that much vertical. 

We farted around a lot in the park with my son and did some other short runs.  I know the runs are not long there but it's never overly crowded.  I prefer the less crowds.

snowsmith wrote:

What is the app you have that reports your ski stats?

Ski Tracks - it's on iPhone and Android.  I use the droid version.  Not sure how accurate it is but we have fun comparing stats and poking fun at each other.

It's cheaper than a beer at Glaciers Pub. 

Droogie wrote:

So 7352/20= 367.6. Is that the right way to calculate the average vertical? I hope I'm wrong or many of those runs were on a bunny hill. If I'm not wrong 3:45 is a long way to drive for that much vertical. 

When meeting up with friends or skiing with a son/daughter, that changes the situation in terms of what's worth the drive.  Crowds is another factor.  All related to why I drive past Wintergreen to Mnut for weekend skiing.

Having checked out Whitetail and Roundtop recently, If I lived in DC, I'd drive to Roundtop on weekends from what I've heard of the lift lines at WT.  But neither are worth driving more than a couple hours for a day trip.

Elk Mountain near Scranton is only 1000 vertical, but I would drive from Philly without hesitation.  The layout makes good use of the available terrain because most blue/black runs wind around in between trees.  A lot of evergreens were planted along the edges of trails.

marzNC wrote:

Crowds is another factor.  All related to why I drive past Wintergreen to Mnut for weekend skiing.

The daughter and I skiied Mnut on Saturday.  I rode a lift in the afternoon with a guy that drove up from Wintergreen because it was full.  They were turning people away.

Crazy.