SMITHFIELD TOWNSHIP — Thousands of skiers and snowboarders are expected to be taking a ride up the mountain at Shawnee as the resort and many others are getting ready for one of the busiest weekends of the season: the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
“We count on it. Luckily, the stars are really lining up. We had some excellent snow-making temperatures this week, a little bit of natural snow, even some flurries today,” said Shawnee Mountain administrative manager Jim Tust.
All the trails are open and we are told this resort near Marshalls Creek is running at 100 percent, with a mix of natural and man-made snow.
Steve Freeman brought his son up to the Poconos for the day from West Chester, excited to visit for the first time in about two decades.
“Kind of reliving my childhood memory here. I was his age when I was here last, so kind of reliving my past,” said Freeman.
His son, Connor, has hit most of the trails already on his skis.
“Sometimes you go fast, but you have to slow down then,” said Connor Freeman.
With thousands of people expected to hit mountain at Shawnee this weekend, we found plenty of skiers already here, trying to beat the rush.
“My strategy is to go right on the ski lifts, no lines, just go right on. The mountain is ours, the sun is out, the ski is ours and let’s rock the mountain,” said Jeff Reich of New Jersey.
Reich says, by this weekend, there will be lines to get on the lift, so they came a little bit early.
He says it’s one of his favorite places to come with family and kick back for the holiday.
“We learned how to ski here, I taught them how to ski here, so this is like a comfort mountain for us,” said Reich.
Conditions are good for now, but Sunday may be a toss-up with warmer temperatures and possibly rain.
“It’s not the worst case to have it warm up. We don’t want to see heavy rains, but a little bit of drizzle won’t interfere,” said Tust.
But there should be plenty of snow for skiers and snow angels this holiday weekend.
