Mount Bohemia

WOW.



Chic chocs may be easier to get to for me. What is the nearest airport?

I will give a full report ASAP for this years season. Pictures, debauchery, eateries, drinks, everything. You will be planning your trips soon enough :)

I mean no wonder the place is buried in snow. Lake effect from any direction.

3D:

All of those trees are skiable too ;) pretty much the whole mountain is skiable

MidwestTeleMan wrote

All of those trees are skiable too ;) pretty much the whole mountain is skiable

Is it naturally clear or do armies of tree skiers work it in the off-season?

Both. Many of the trees are close together but clear enough to ski. They just cleared a bunch of area for three new glade runs as well. Ride down to the road and the bus picks you up and takes you to the main chair.

Harvey wrote

Chic chocs may be easier to get to for me. What is the nearest airport?

Hmm, 7 hours from St. Paul, MN.  I have relatives there I could stay with.  And Southwest flies to MSP. ;-)

I'm thinking I want to have a place for Bohemia weather links. Not sure how that would work in our current structure.

Maybe I could drop them into our Ontario page?


Just did google maps, 18 hours by car, chic chocs are 4 hours closer!

I understand the desire to ski Bohemia...But there are equally snowy and cool , quirky places within a easy  4 to 6 hrs driving from Albany...

Eastern Townships
Massif du Sud
Le Massif
Mount Alta  ( gotta hike )

Just to name a few..
 

did i mention  Jay Peak?  Jay can hook up on LES , good old fashion Lows and orthographic lift..

I kind of agree with Jason here.  I totally want to ski Bohemia but if you've never skied Utah before, I would think you'd want to knock that one off your bucket list before Bohemia, Harvey.

I tried to imply that I understood that with my comments about SLC and the Chic Chocs.

Skillz aside, I'm not your average skier.

Think about this, if there is any way I can swing it, the first winter after I retire, I plan to ski every NY ski area in one season.  Not Utah, not Colorado.  Or consider this, on days when there is new snow at Gore, I find myself leaving around 1pm to head home to nordic ski before dark.  I'd be surprised if many or any of the forum regulars would make those choices.

The whole thing is a fantasy anyway. I'll be lucky to get outside of NY, this season.

Fantasies and dreams keep us moving forward. They give us something to aspire to.

I definitely understand the deterrent due to how far away it is from everything. It's just a wonderful place in general and would highly recommend it. There is nothing like it truthfully, from what I can tell. If any of you do decide to come this way, shoot me a message and I will show you around and take you to the assorted breweries in the area as well.

MidwestTeleMan wrote

I definitely understand the deterrent due to how far away it is from everything.

Harvey wrote

The whole thing is a fantasy anyway.

This falls into the "pilgrimage" category as comparing it to a Utah trip is apples and oranges. The deterrent for Harvey (a full day of travel from the East Coast in both directions and no ski areas to hit along the way to break up the drive) is also part of the attraction as it redefines "off the beaten path."

MTM: do you have any idea how many ski-day visits Bohemia gets each season? Between the dirt-cheap season passes, the no-beginners policy, and the obvious accessibility issues, I wonder how the place stays in business (the Gaspé Peninsula is comparatively well populated!). Good for them, however they're managing.

I have access to cheap flights on Frontier to Minneapolis, then it is 7 hours.  

I'd enlist Jason's help to ensure a favorable pattern.  

Is Bohemia weekends only?

Bohemia is open every day of the week and if you stay there on a Tuesday or a Thursday you get Wednesday night lodging for free.

Jamesdeluxe wrote

MTM: do you have any idea how many ski-day visits Bohemia gets each season? Between the dirt-cheap season passes, the no-beginners policy, and the obvious accessibility issues, I wonder how the place stays in business (the Gaspé Peninsula is comparatively well populated!). Good for them, however they're managing.

People are willing to make this pilgrimage from all over the Midwest truthfully. The season passes are only available a couple days a year, otherwise, it's not possible to get one, then it's $62/day to ski there and people will still pay that because it is extremely worth it. The whole infrastructure they have is extremely minimal, the main picnic/ bar/ food area is only 4 yurts tied together. They have a yurt for the bathrooms, the log cabin hostel is pretty minimal and only has a small bar, sauna behind the bar and some bathrooms inside upstairs, down below is a smaller hostel but plenty of room for your things. They have 10 cabins to sleep 4 a piece and 7 yurts for a large amount of people to sleep there that are on the mountain. They have other cabins as well that are off. When it comes to people on the mountain, it only really gets busy on the weekends but even then it's still not too crazy. They only have two lifts only one of them runs during the Monday to Thursday, that side of the mountain is still open but you just ski lower and go to the road where you get picked up by the bus that comes regularly. Beers aren't absolutely ridiculous so most everybody will buy beer at the bar instead of people bringing beer in for themselves.

Another huge draw to the mountain itself is the cat skiing at a completely different mountain that has an ungodly amount of powder all of the time. The cat skiing is generally only offered 2-3 times a week so those spots fill up quickly and people ski the normal hill while they wait until their day comes. Voodoo Mountain (Cat Skiing Mountain) is constantly expanding as well and will soon have I believe 3 different peaks for people to ski at.

The whole thing is a pretty surreal area to be in and it keeps drawing people back. It's something you have to experience for yourself.

As James said, it's not just about the skiing.  Can't think of anoth ski area with no beginner terrain at all and no grooming.  Even MRG has a little snowmaking and grooms a few trails.

Found a TGR TR from 2007 that was a first time impression.  Unfortunately the pics are not visible any more.  The guys drove from the Twin Cities after skiing a couple days at Welch.  What a contrast!

Posted in 2007
https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php/79562-TR-Mount-Bohemia-2-15-2-18

A comment in the TR thread:
"The best pow day of my LIFE was at Mt Bohemia 4 years ago...and I mean BEST!!! 42" of lake effect, 10 degree temps, all on top of a 130" base! Lots more snow than this year, but still looks good. I guess we can go back to calling it "Mt Coreshot"..."

Harvey wrote

I have access to cheap flights on Frontier to Minneapolis, then it is 7 hours.

LOL, so you're looking at a 14-hour door-to-door assuming dry roads.  Has anyone here actually done this itinerary from the East Coast?

For this type of nutcase pilgrimage, I'd personally opt for the Chic Chocs: a five-hour flight to Gaspe (25K United miles/too expensive to pay cash) with Mont Bechervaise right in town, an hour to Mont Miller, Mont Albert further in. Matt's article was a classic.