Big Boulder

So it's 4PM. You're tired of the runs at Jack Frost and you've done all you can do in One Park. Bummer. Oh wait! Good thing that lift ticket you bought is good until 10 PM over at Big Boulder.

What makes east coast small mountain skiing stand out? Lots of night skiing, and lots of terrain parks. Boulder is a prime example.

Big Boulder is a smaller mountain than Jack Frost, but it sure doesn't feel like it. They've got some monster ungroomed trails to roll through, and six terrain parks. They say they've got seven but come on, you can't count Plaza as its own park. Can you?

Anywho. They've got something to offer for every level of rider. There's the mellow small-feature ride-on run, Tannenbaum. At the other end of the spectrum they have Big Boulder Park and Love Park each with some big boosters and nice rails.

Freedom park is where a lot of people tend to hang out. It's a nice middle of the road alternative for people who don't suck.

Here's a video run through of Freedom.


On Wednesdays you can bring your trusty student ID and get a 3-9PM ticket for the low low price of $15. It gets a little crowded on student day but the price sure is right.

They also have tons of contests and events going on all the time. I'd list them all here but it would be redundant. Just check the site. www.jfbb.com

Jack Frost

Woo Hoo! This week I made my way out to the Jack Frost and Big Boulder ski areas. I skied for two days and had a hell of a good time.

The snow is really starting to pile up on the slopes. The difference between the conditions now and in late December is huge. Between the two mountains, all but one of the trails were wide open. If you get there early enough, you're bound to be ripping fresh corduroy until at least noontime.

Jack frost has got some pretty good alpine runs, short though they are. I counted about 8 minutes from top-of-the-lift, to top-of-the-lift, so you'll be getting LOTS of runs in.

One unique aspect of JFBB is that skiing off-trail is ENCOURAGED. Communications coordinator Guido Martelli says that where "other mountains in the area might pull your pass for skiing off-trail, we love that stuff." So you can go down that powdery lift line or make your own line through some thick forest. The management here thinks that if you can ski it, then you absolutely should.

Frost even has some nice leg-burning glade runs open and that's a tough thing to find in the Poconos.

Here's my favorite alpine run of the two mountains. You can see some of the glades off to the left and right near the top. Guido Martelli, JFBB's communications coordinator is in the video to give examples of the proper way to shred.

Telstar/Rivershot







Let's talk terrain--


Jack frost has one terrain park with a little something for everyone. Here's a video run-through.
This video is close to a week old so there's no guarantee it's still going to look like this. (they change things up A LOT)


One Park



Jack Frost is also home to some pretty average lodge food. Standard fare. Cheese fries, chicken fingers, mots sticks, burgers, dogs-- you know the drill.

They often feature live music in the upstairs bar, and they brew their own beer (supposedly) which isn't bad. It's got a pretty good bite, although if you're into that super hoppy stuff it may not be for you. And don't even think about getting food in that upstairs bar kitchen, it sucks.


Stay tuned for the Big Boulder section. I'm really antsy to get this post up and the video editing is taking longer than I thought thanks to some ancient software I'm using.

I've got some more terrain park vids from Big Boulder and plenty to say about what goes on after the sun goes down, (That's mostly when that mountain is open) so be expecting an update in the next 24 hours.