One of the places I ski most often is Camelback Mountain Resort in Pennsylvania.  It is nestled in the Pocono Mountains only about a two-hour drive from New York.  I’m from New Jersey so it’s even closer to me and only takes about an hour and a half, maybe faster if I am driving over the speed limit (don’t do what I do).  The ride up is pretty serene and monotonous.  Like usual, when driving through Pennsylvania, you pass a lot of farms, a lot of trees, and a lot of untouched areas.  You also pass, not pass, drive around, the Delaware river for a portion of the trip.  Once you get closer to the mountain, you drive on tight, windy, and hilly roads.  At the end of these roads, you come out to a wide-open area with a mountain, hotel, and huge indoor water park.

I should preface why I am writing about Camelback in the first place.  After-all, its definitely the smallest mountain I have skied at, is usually busy, and almost always has bad conditions.  One of my close friends from home is a ski instructor at this mountain and he has a house in the Poconos which allows for me and my friends to go up all the time, ski for cheaper, and stay over at his house.  It makes the entire experience significantly better.  Instead of rushing to get to the mountain when it first opens to beat the usual waits, we go up the night before and stay over.  It makes the skiing experience just that much more enjoyable.  In addition, he knows how to get around the lift lines and navigate the mountain.  Now, I know everyone can’t be that lucky to just know people who work at ski mountains, but if you know someone who does, I would definitely suggest befriending them.  It will certainly enhance your ski experience.

Anyways, I should get back to my discussion about the Camelback.  Camelback is a multipurpose mountain.  Therefore, it is not solely for skiing.  In the summer there is an outdoor waterpark, during the winter there is an indoor waterpark, there is bike trails all over the mountain for mountain biking during the summer as well, there’s ropes courses, and lastly there is an alpine slide.  As you can see, the mountain’s infrastructure and network of things to do is immense.  During the winter, skiing at the mountain is very interesting because of all these other entertainment pieces.  It results in individuals skiing around waterslides and pools.  I have never seen this type of skiing anywhere else, and it makes the skiing experience just that much more unique.

Lastly, while the mountain is small and compact, it is really fun to ski because it is very navigable.  This allows for really quick runs on any slope you may want to ride.  In addition, when it’s not busy, usually night skiing during the week has the least people, you can get a ton of runs in which is not only fun but allows you to improve upon you skiing technique.

Camelback is a unique mountain and I suggest everyone visit it at least once to either check out the skiing, go to the waterpark, or enjoy another aspect of the entertainment they offer.