Okemo Conditions

To split up the drive back from Stowe, we stayed at the Jackson Gore Inn last night and are skiing Okemo all day today.  Looks like a great mountain with lots of sno approved high speed lifts (including the Sunburst Six which is sno approved with distinction because of the bubbles and heated seats).  Unlike most mountains, they have not started closing down sections of the mountain yet, so we get to ski on all 600+ acres today.

should have skied the face...we had lots of un groomed trails, rocks, ropes to go under, trees.....and

nevermind, you hate that stuff

I skied it and it wasn't really that great.  Read my trip report.  
http://forum.nyskiblog.com/Okemo-March-30-2015-td4058162.html

When is Okemo scheduled to open?

I am getting ready for the hate

Went to Ludlow for the weekend, family friend owns a stunning house 1/3 mile from the mountain.

Yes Okemo is cookie cutter mountain with boring trails, but the place is load with little kids and their families that only stick to green wrap around type runs. So on a busy Saturday I had 2k verts of perfectly groomed packed powder to my self. Literally not a sole for the entire length of the run..

MattC thanks for getting me carving right..I was making high speed GS turns all day..

Also there are now a ton of open glades that look as good or better then most mountains..

When I was there 2 years ago, they had these weird rollers on all the trails to try and keep the better skiers from going fast.  Was annoying as heck.

Glad you had a good time.

After a day at Mt. Snow reuniting with my brother in law, I decided to head up to Okemo as Tuesdays are $59 for NY/NJ residents plus they claimed that they had the most (open) ski-able terrain in VT as of now.  I think that claim is true as I skied for almost 6 hrs. on a new trail every run.  Was surprised that there was still a foot or two of snow in the woods on some parts of the mountain - must have been insanely good skiing there a two weeks ago.

Okemo doesn't get much love on this forum and I understand why - it caters to the family market and that can make for a bland experience.  However, in this second crappy winter, lots of open terrain with soft snow and sunshine is very welcome!  It was perfect spring skiing and there was plenty of terrain to keep me interested.  Their trail ratings are skewed - blacks are blues and double blacks are almost black - probably done to keep the kids safe.  Plus, even with mostly high speed lifts the place does not seem crowded midweek - I skied many trails alone.  There were also 4 or 5 sections with big, soft moguls.

I also noticed that they have a ton of gladed areas - this place must be a blast when there is decent natural snow cover.

Skied Okemo today with my brother and his son. $59 NY & PA resident ski day. Plus we had 2 tickets won in a trivia game at 99 Restaurant, good deal. Gray cloudy most of the day flat light. Snow was wall to wall covered groomed to a T. No people to speak of. Rode the orange heated seat bubble six pack for the first time, it wasn’t cold so not really needed but it sure is fancy. I don’t go to Okemo much so I kinda forget how vanilla it is. Nice trails and all but not a lot of character in the runs. Also they have these swales of snow running across most trails they were unnerving in the flat light. We started at Jackson Gore worked our way across and back. Trails on South end that had sun yesterday were solid other trails still powder or mostly powder with groomed soft mixed. I liked the longer mid mountain trails the best. By the time we got back the sun had peaked out and the powder warmed to soft which was hard on my tried knees. Okemo has weeks of good snow stocked up.  

Txt from new member, snowing at Okemo...

Have friends who skied at Okemo yesterday morning, 10/15.  Apparently conditions were a lot better than a couple days before, at least for advanced skiers.  One friend is an Okemo season pass holder coming back from an injury.  She's been happy enough with the groomers since Opening Day.

Okemo was good today, not too crowded. Completely empty on the Solitude side.

Most of it was strips of white among grass and mud, but some of it looked a bit like winter:

Max Pass Strategy in action? Kind of cool watching everyone execute.

Used our Max pass at Okemo today, had not been there in 5 or so years. For early December and zero snow in the woods the skiing was really good. They claimed 34 trails and had a legitimate 10 ways down. Everything was groomed (what did you expect at Okemo) and the snow was edgeble and fairly good everywhere but Jackson Gore which was slick. Really liked the bubble chairs when it got cloudy and breezy in the afternoon and my wife liked the heated seats. Really impressive their snow making capacity.

Same question I asked in the Stratton thread. Having never skied there, I'm looking for advice from Okemo loyalists: what is the best way to maximize my max-pass at Okemo? What should I skip? What should I make sure I don't skip?

we use to go to Okemo when my kids where young. Fun place for a family. It's just a mad house on the weekend or holiday. As far as terrain , every trail is exactly the same..

You and the boys will have a lot of fun there.

JasonWx wrote

Fun place for a family. It's just a mad house on the weekend or holiday. As far as terrain , every trail is exactly the same..

that is dead on. it does have one of my favorite apres ski bars, tom's loft. its not associated with the mnt, you an walk across the parking lot to it.

I plan on skiing there tomorrow.  Free on Max Pass and they are advertising that they have the most open terrain in the east.  What could possibly go wrong?

Not bad today. Crowded, but nobody in the trees:

Spectacular spring skiing conditions today 1-11-20 at Okemo! It was hero snow, warm, and sunny! Gave me tons of confidence to ski the diamonds! Plus no crowds/no lines!