GREEK PEAK MOUNTAIN RESORT AND TOGGENBURG MOUNTAIN

It's true. I'm grappling internally about an overgenerous warranty right now. I'm probably going to bang m.

Oh my!

campgottagopee wrote

MAN_0_MAN I too remember those days. As a kid I remember standing in line for the lift for what seemed like hours. Just think if some of that money from the 70's and 80's was put back into the hill, most likely none of us would be having this conversation

Amen to that!

Instead of reinvestment in GP, the Deer Run boondoggle was hatched.

Rj1972 wrote

campgottagopee wrote

MAN_0_MAN I too remember those days. As a kid I remember standing in line for the lift for what seemed like hours. Just think if some of that money from the 70's and 80's was put back into the hill, most likely none of us would be having this conversation

Amen to that!

Instead of reinvestment in GP, the Deer Run boondoggle was hatched.

RJ, could you just imagine what GP would be like if we had the snowmaking power of say Hunter??? WOWZERS!!! Flip a switch and instant POW!

Jess Pezak told me that when the gas pedal is to the floor on Hunter snowmaking, the electric bill is $13,000 an hour. You need Hunter level skier visits to pay for that.

We're not as big as Hunter, plus who knows what skier visits would be like if that kind of investment was made and maintained back in those days. Certainly is fun to dream about.

GP was one of the premier ski areas in NY way back when. I recall reading several articles in the various ski magazines regarding their ski school and family programs. Now they are barely a blip on a map. Had they continued to reinvest, I wonder if skier visits would have been maintained over the last two decades. They picked up an awful lot of competition from the investments made in the Pocono's. I know the owners changed their philosophy on NJ, NYC, and PA busses in the late 80's, which may have also contributed to their demise.

Call me crazy, but I actually prefer the skiing at GP over Hunter, albeit Hunter's snowmaking capacity is in a league by itself.

Would be very interested to see a GP skier breakdown by county.

According to Google maps GP is only 10 minutes farther from my house than Plattekill, but it is not on the average skier's radar here.

From Scranton, GP is one full hour closer than Belleayre.

Does anything in the Poconos (beyond Elk) compare favorably with GP for skiing?

I started skiing in the early  '80's and at the time we lived in Geneva. We made the trip to GP a few times and were impressed at the size and layout (had only skied at Bristol and Swain at the time). We moved to Rochester in '87 and never went back as it was a good haul-besides Bristol was making improvements.

I went back to GP for a Masters race in '08 and felt like I was in a time warp-nothing had changed. Same clunky doubles that usually stopped a couple of times on the ride up, marginal snow and run down facilities. The only difference was the lack or crowds. I was glad to see the recent change in ownership with a renewed emphasis on the ski hill ( like most people, I could never understand building a big hotel, condos and an indoor water park with lousy ski amenities). The area has lots of potential, and Odyssey is a nice race hill (especially for Central and WNY).

Sounds like the GP/Togg link up has ruffled quite a few feathers, but for the sake of Upstate NY skiing I hope it is a success.
The sport can't afford to lose any of them.

BTW, I'm new here and my home hill is Bristol.

Johnny V. wrote

I started skiing in the early  '80's and at the time we lived in Geneva. We made the trip to GP a few times and were impressed at the size and layout (had only skied at Bristol and Swain at the time). We moved to Rochester in '87 and never went back as it was a good haul-besides Bristol was making improvements.

I went back to GP for a Masters race in '08 and felt like I was in a time warp-nothing had changed. Same clunky doubles that usually stopped a couple of times on the ride up, marginal snow and run down facilities. The only difference was the lack or crowds. I was glad to see the recent change in ownership with a renewed emphasis on the ski hill ( like most people, I could never understand building a big hotel, condos and an indoor water park with lousy ski amenities). The area has lots of potential, and Odyssey is a nice race hill (especially for Central and WNY).

Sounds like the GP/Togg link up has ruffled quite a few feathers, but for the sake of Upstate NY skiing I hope it is a success.
The sport can't afford to lose any of them.

BTW, I'm new here and my home hill is Bristol.

Welcome Johhny V, I live in Binghamton and consider GP my home hill. I've been purchasing season passes for myself and my Son for the past 20yrs. You are spot on on the previous owners lack of attention to the ski amenities. I am grateful the place was purchased by people who grew up skiing there, and have made vast improvements  the infrastructure. On the other hand, I wasn't impressed when they covertly raised the season pass price by inserting a fictious "resort tax", later changed to a " resort fee", after being called out on it, to the 2015-2016 season passes. If they want to raise their prices, just be up front about it. We perennial season pass buyers understand all the improvements are worth paying for, just don't insult us by trying to sneak the increase by us.

As far as the purchase of Toggenburg, and the reciprocal deal with pass holders, it is a great deal for Togg pass holders, GP pass holders, not so much. I've skied Togg once, and doubt I would drive past Greek to ski there again. Now if they'd purchased Snow Ridge and offered a similar deal, I'd be tickled pink, even though the lift tickets  have cost me next to nothing when I have skied there.

I've never skied Bristol despite having free passes through the Warren Miller movies in the past. I can be in the Cats for the same drive time. Maybe I'll have to add it to my list.

Harvey wrote

Would be very interested to see a GP skier breakdown by county.

Does anything in the Poconos (beyond Elk) compare favorably with GP for skiing?

I wonder if GP actually tracks skier breakdown. That certainly would be an interesting piece of information.

In terms of the Pocono's, nothing compares to GP's diversity of terrain.

Camelback has probably modernized the most over the years. It's nothing to ski, except for their Challenger trail, which I would probably compare to GP's Iliad. Where Camelback shines is with their facilities (summit lodge, modern snowmaking, extensive base facilities, high speed quads, two hotels, including a new hotel with an indoor waterpark). You also have the town of Tannersville, with outlets, shops, hotels, and restaurants. They also have their summer waterpark, Camelbeach, which can be somewhat compared to Six Flags. The crowds at Camelback are insane, even with two high speed quads. By 10AM, you want to throw in the towel.

Big Boulder and Jack frost are just pimples of ski areas, but are owned by Peak Resorts, who invested in both areas. Big Boulder is basically a giant terrain park--definitely created a nitch for themselves.  

Blue Mountain is descent, and also has HSQ's, but can also get quite crowded.

Bear Creek (aka Doe Mountain) is an interesting little ski area. It has next to no vertical, but a well equipped base area, including a hotel, spa, and modern facilities. The owners really turned the place around.

Shawnee is a nice area, with excellent snowmaking and a HSQ. They don't seem to get quite as crowded as the others, but attract a following far greater than GP. On a side note, the founder of OpenSnow.com's father works at Shawnee.

There are even some ski areas outside of the Pocono's that attract weekend and evening crowds. There's a little place in Schwenksville, PA, Spring Mountain, owned by a family that runs a chain of ski shops in PA, that does an amazing business in a very temperamental part of the state (in terms of weather).  

Then there is Mountain Creek in NJ, owned by Intrawest.

In terms of Elk, it's a descent area, but about on par with GP. They just don't have the diversity of terrain that GP has. One could certainly get bored at Elk.

With so much modernization in the Pocono's, GP would have to set the world on fire to convince skiers to drive the extra distance from PA and parts of NJ. Even if they reinstated their ski busses, I'm not sure they could invest enough to convince folks to go the extra distance. GP is not a destination resort. They have lost so much business, and trying to bring it back would be a monumental task.

 GREEK PEAK MOUNTAIN RESORT PARTNERS WITH REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL ON COMPLETION OF CNY’S LARGEST OUTDOOR DECK WITH SEATING EXCEEDING 250+
Grand Opening & Ribbon Cutting Thursday, October 15, 2015

(9 OCT 15) Cortland - In July 2015, Greek Peak Mountain Resort and Cortland Downtown Partnership were awarded the 2015 Market NY: Ski Cortland Grant through the Regional Economic Development Council and I Love New York. The core objective of Ski Cortland is to enhance and promote the advancement of the snow sport industry of the Central New York region by connecting the region’s largest all season destination, Greek Peak Mountain Resort, and nearby hub for commerce and culture, Historic Downtown Cortland to encourage the frequency and duration of destination stays. This is a matching funds grant, partnering Greek Peak Mountain Resort, Cortland County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Cortland Downtown Partnership, and the City of Cortland. The grant is predominately a marketing and advertising grant, however, a portion of the grant included a capital project which supports the core objective of attracting destination markets to our region.

This month, Greek Peak Mountain Resort completed the capital construction project of a 6,000 sq. ft. deck adjacent to Trax Pub & Grill, stretching to the base of the mountain. The views of Greek Peak ski trails, from the massive two-tiered deck, are magnificent. The Deck includes a fireplace and fire pit, with seating capacity of over 250 seats. The Deck will be used throughout four seasons to accommodate the demand for prime seating at Trax Pub & Grill with views of the mountain, as well as weddings and special events, upcoming Hops & Swaps outdoor festival on October 24th, and summer concert series.

Greek Peak, Cortland County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Cortland Downtown Partnership, and the City of Cortland invites you to join in celebrating the Grand Opening of The Deck, held on Thursday, October 15th at 11:00 am. Greek Peak Mountain Resort is located at 2000 State Route 392, Cortland NY 13045.

I guess I was incorrect--Marc and John didn't use the marketing grant to purchase Togg.--they used it to help pay for the deck.

"The core objective of Ski Cortland is to enhance and promote the advancement of the snow sport industry of the Central New York region by connecting the region’s largest all season destination, Greek Peak Mountain Resort, and nearby hub for commerce and culture, Historic Downtown Cortland to encourage the frequency and duration of destination stays."

After the ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, I'm sure hotel reservation lines in Cortland County will be ringing off the hook with destination visitors wanting to experience the new deck.

I'm probably not the average skier but I'd drive past PA any day to ski GP. I have no facts  but I am guessing that my chances of skiing new natural snow at GP are significanly higher vs Camelback or Elk.

I'm with you, Harvey. I don't know why folks fight the crowds in the Poconos to ski on ice. I have to think its proximity and modern facilities.

I grew up going to Camelback and Shawnee for ski club in high school. It was a fun way to spend Thursday nights but it was more about kissing on girls than actually skiing. It was fun not knowing any better but now I can't imagine paying for a lift ticket to those areas. Heck, if I lived out east and it was one of those snowless winters I can't imagine I would be skiing very much at all.

Greek Peak tho, looks like it has potential for a smaller sized area. It gets some natural snow, probably retains it better than areas to the south, and I think it has a nice town nearby (I really don't know for sure tho). The base area from what I have seen on the internet looks kind of nice too.

Greek was the mountain I grew up on and I went to college in Scranton PA. Greek has much better terrain than similar sized resorts in the Poconos, like has been mentioned.  I don't ever remember Greek doing much during the 80s and 90s when I skied there growing up but I will tell you people from my hometown (Elmira) are very excited for GP and their much needed updates. That hasn't been seen in a long time. We believe in John and Marc, and even thought not perfect, are doing things to attract people and business to the resort.

jjbrady wrote

  We believe in John and Marc, and even thought not perfect, are doing things to attract people and business to the resort.

I can tell you a bunch of we locals feel the same way