New Jersey Skiing

Are you hooked up with the PR staff there Harv?

I tried to get Northwood to reach out to them to have them team down there running gates but they are in Austria training that week

Z wrote

Speaking of skiing in NJ my sons race schedule has a SL and dual SL at was used to be Hidden Valley in NJ on it during Presidents weekend and a GS at Blue
Not sure if the points will be worth the drive - really depends if other academy’s decide to schlup down there

I had an SL points race at Hidden Valley in the early 1990s and somebody got Chris Puckett to show up. He pulled up late in a white Lincoln Town Car - so NJ. It was hilarious watching him get out of that car.

x10003q wrote

I had an SL points race at Hidden Valley in the early 1990s and somebody got Chris Puckett to show up. He pulled up late in a white Lincoln Town Car - so NJ. It was hilarious watching him get out of that car.

Quintessential NJ vehicle = Chevy Suburban.

Harvey wrote

Volunteers to ski opening day and send me 500 words... I'll buy your lift ticket with coke and fries.

  When is opening day?

Peter Minde wrote

Harvey wrote

Volunteers to ski opening day and send me 500 words... I'll buy your lift ticket with coke and fries.

  When is opening day?

Opening Day for American Dream is Oct. 25.  Not really clear if Big SNOW will be operating or not by then.  I found it on a list of the initial group of entertainment venues.  The photo shoot and tour didn't include Big SNOW, but given that they were shooting fashion models the backgrounds of roller coasters or the ceiling of the ice rink were going to be much better than an indoor slope with no snow on it.

So far the Big SNOW Facebook group is dormant.  Haven't seen any new articles with quotes from Hugh Reynolds, the Snow Operating VP of Marketing, since Summer 2018 when the grand opening date was supposed to be in March 2019.

Are you close enough to drive by to see the mural being painted on the outside of the slope building?

marznc wrote

Peter Minde wrote

Harvey wrote

Volunteers to ski opening day and send me 500 words... I'll buy your lift ticket with coke and fries.

  When is opening day?

Opening Day for American Dream is Oct. 25.  Not really clear if Big SNOW will be operating or not by then.  I found it on a list of the initial group of entertainment venues.  The photo shoot and tour didn't include Big SNOW, but given that they were shooting fashion models the backgrounds of roller coasters or the ceiling of the ice rink were going to be much better than an indoor slope with no snow on it.

So far the Big SNOW Facebook group is dormant.  Haven't seen any new articles with quotes from Hugh Reynolds, the Snow Operating VP of Marketing, since Summer 2018 when the grand opening date was supposed to be in March 2019.

Are you close enough to drive by to see the mural being painted on the outside of the slope building?

It's a long 30 miles away.  Traffic not great in that part of NJ.  Don't be on Route 3 when people are leaving after a ball game or a concert.

Peter Minde wrote

marznc wrote

Peter Minde wrote

Harvey wrote

Volunteers to ski opening day and send me 500 words... I'll buy your lift ticket with coke and fries.

  When is opening day?

Opening Day for American Dream is Oct. 25.  Not really clear if Big SNOW will be operating or not by then.  I found it on a list of the initial group of entertainment venues.  The photo shoot and tour didn't include Big SNOW, but given that they were shooting fashion models the backgrounds of roller coasters or the ceiling of the ice rink were going to be much better than an indoor slope with no snow on it.

So far the Big SNOW Facebook group is dormant.  Haven't seen any new articles with quotes from Hugh Reynolds, the Snow Operating VP of Marketing, since Summer 2018 when the grand opening date was supposed to be in March 2019.

Are you close enough to drive by to see the mural being painted on the outside of the slope building?

It's a long 30 miles away.  Traffic not great in that part of NJ.  Don't be on Route 3 when people are leaving after a ball game or a concert.

I’m only 18 miles and I wouldn’t even think about a casual drive by. Traffic is insane down there on a good day

Peter Minde wrote

It's a long 30 miles away.  Traffic not great in that part of NJ.  Don't be on Route 3 when people are leaving after a ball game or a concert.

I take I-81 thru PA when driving north to avoid the entire state of NJ whenever possible.  I grew up in NYC.  Visiting my godparents lives meant a drive across the G. Washington bridge.  The reputation of NJ drivers . . . wasn't that nice 50-60 years ago. :-)

The impending traffic issues around American Dream has been generating articles for a while.

July 2019
https://www.njtvonline.org/news/video/will-the-meadowlands-megamall-cause-a-traffic-nightmare/

Sep 2019
https://fortune.com/2019/09/03/reaching-the-american-dream-a-traffic-nightmare-mall-of-america-of-the-new-york-city-metro-area/

marznc wrote

I take I-81 thru PA when driving north to avoid the entire state of NJ whenever possible.

Via PA is shortest route, even in the middle of the night, if you are going to NY or VT from NC. Why wouldn't you?

Harvey wrote

marznc wrote

I take I-81 thru PA when driving north to avoid the entire state of NJ whenever possible.

Via PA is shortest route, even in the middle of the night, if you are going to NY or VT from NC. Why wouldn't you?

The shortest route from Raleigh to Lake Placid or Boston in terms of mileage follows I-95 and I-87.  I go straight north thru Danville and Lynchburg, then take the cut over to I-81 just south of Charlottesville to I-88 in Binghamton.  I go that way to I-81 when I drive to Massanutten as well.  Definitely less stressful driving then I-95 north of Petersburg.  And no tolls.  Only need to pay a little attention to avoid driving by Harrisburg and Wilkes-Barre during rush hour.

I started driving about once a year from NC to Lake Placid back in the 1980s.  Back then only during the summer.  Often straight thru in one direction, and staying overnight somewhere in the other.  The best route then was going north from Baltimore.  Traffic around DC/Baltimore has been getting significantly worse in the last couple decades.

Is it 81 to 84 or 88?

I hate i88.  I swear you go over the same small hill 10 times.  Everyone of those hills and little towns looks exactly alike

Z wrote

Is it 81 to 84 or 88?

I hate i88.  I swear you go over the same small hill 10 times.  Everyone of those hills and little towns looks exactly alike

I take I-81 to Binghamton to I-88 when driving to Albany to Lake Placid.  Listening to old radio shows or recorded books is what makes driving 10+ hours in a day possible.  Prefer empty boring road on I-88 than the NJ turnpike most of the time.  Last year I went skiing at Killington on the way to spend Thanksgiving break in Boston.  Drove to Lake George in one day via I-88, got there about 7pm.

I turn off I-81 onto I-84 at Scranton when driving to Boston.  Or when I thought road conditions would be sketchy on I-88 due to snow or heavy rain.  There are more options for where to stop for the night along the NY Thruway from Newburgh on north if I can't make it to Albany for whatever reason.  It's about 12 hours to Albany from my house pretty much taking any route.

Apologies for some reason I thought you were in Western NC.

Harvey wrote

Apologies for some reason I thought you were in Western NC.

No worries.

I'll be finding out how it goes to drive from Asheville to Lake Placid soon.  Doing a quick trip on Columbus Day weekend for a special alumni theater performance at North Country School.  It's the first show in the new Performing Arts Center.  My daughter has a short Fall Break from UNC Asheville that weekend.  Looks like it takes 5 hours to get to Harrisonburg from Asheville.  That's an hour longer than from my house.  Hopefully won't be accidents clogging things up on I-81 in VA and PA.

Found a target date for the opening of Big SNOW.  Not going to be until the end of the year.  Triple Five is calling the phased opening schedule one with "chapters."  This fall the sections opening are all entertainment, no shops, no food.  Only Nickelodeon Universe and the ice rink are opening on Oct. 25.

https://www.nj.com/bergen/2019/09/its-time-to-talk-about-everything-that-wont-open-at-american-dream-next-month.html
" . . .
Additional openings for American Dream will be:

Chapter 2, November 27 -- DreamWorks Waterpark, with more than 40 slides and 15 attractions including the largest wave pool in the world, the 1.5 acre PerfectSwell.
Chapter 3, December 5 -- Big SNOW, a 12-story real-snow park for indoor skiing and snowboarding.

Chapter 4, March 2020 -- More than 350 shops, more than 100 dining destinations, SeaLIfe Aquarium, LEGOLand Discovery Center, CMX Luxury Movie Theater, Kidzania, the 300-foot Observation Wheel, and more.
. . ."

The idea of going to that part of NJ on my day off is incomprehensible.  

JasonWx wrote

The idea of going to that part of NJ on my day off is incomprehensible.

Since I don't have grandchildren at all or know any non-skiers who live in NJ/NYC, and I avoid the NJ Turnpike on the way north, I'm not in the target market either.  Especially since I don't like roller coasters.

I'm just curious enough to try to keep up with news reports.  At least until Big SNOW opens.

Big SNOW announced their pick for GM.  Jim Haas was with Intrawest and also had experience in Europe at an indoor snow center.  The slopes manager worked at Northstar, Diamond Peak, and Mountain Creek.  They have two months to get Big SNOW ready for a Dec. 5 opening.

https://www.saminfo.com/headline-news/9408-new-indoor-ski-area-big-snow-names-haas-gm
"SAM Magazine—Montville, N.J., Sept. 27, 2019— Four-decade industry veteran Jim Haas has been hired as the general manager of Big SNOW America, the new real-snow, indoor, year-round ski and snowboard center at the American Dream retail complex.HaasHN

Haas started his career with Snowshoe Mountain, where he held several management positions in risk, human resources, and resort services. He continued to work with Intrawest both internationally and domestically, first serving as GM of the indoor center Madrid Snowzone in Spain and then as VP of special projects for Intrawest’s commercial arm in Colorado.
. . ."