It’s mid-February, and my skis have been hung up in the garage since last ski season. I’ve wanted to go skiing, but the timing just hasn’t been right, with early December and late January travel and a nasty cold earlier in the season.
But, I finally had a chance to dust the cobwebs off the skis this past Wednesday, February 11, making the relatively short drive from my house to Pennsylvania’s Liberty Mountain Resort.
Despite skiing in this region for decades, Liberty has been a relatively recent discovery for me. When I lived closer to Baltimore, Whitetail was my “go-to” resort. It was about the same distance away as Liberty, but on paper appeared to offer more value: a high-speed lift and a higher-vertical.
But when I moved to the mountains west of Frederick a few years ago, Liberty became tantalizingly close: about 25 minutes away, versus 45 minutes for Whitetail.
So I began to mix things up. And I’m glad I did.
It is true: the lifts at Liberty aren’t as speedy as Whitetail’s (particularly the high-speed quad), and you don’t make as many turns heading down the trails.
But Liberty has a certain vibe to it that Whitetail has never really had. Perhaps this traces back to its roots: it began as a mom-and-pop kind of ski area, operated for many years by Irv Naylor’s Snow Time, which also ran Pennsylvania’s Roundtop and Windham in New York. Whitetail began its life on a corporate drawing board, originally funded by Japanese investors who wanted to place a Deer Valley-inspired, upscale ski resort close to the D.C./Baltimore region.
Each had its own character. Neither was bad, just… different.
Of course, a lot has changed since then.
Both properties are now owned by Vail Resorts, and Whitetail is no longer the shiny new resort it was when it originally opened in the 1990s. With consolidation in the ski industry, it’s natural that some of the unique character of different resorts has been polished away.
But Liberty perhaps feels more authentic to what it’s always been: an unassuming ski area, with very friendly and passionate employees, offering thoughtful runs with incredible views of the Pennsylvania valleys below. Its paychecks may be signed by Vail Resorts now, but when you’re on the slopes, it doesn’t feel like much has changed.
Not surprisingly, on a mid-week Wednesday, there were very few crowds when I pulled up to the resort around 11 a.m. Sunshine poked through puffy white clouds, with temperatures jumping up on their tiptoes and trying to reach 40 degrees on the thermometer.
This made the snow a bit soft, but not unpleasantly so - just a smidge springlike as the day went on.
And there was plenty of snow. Liberty has made plenty of snow this season, and has received some nice helpings from Mother Nature - something that might make Western ski areas jealous with the dearth of snow they’ve had this winter. And with the recent cold stretch, that natural snow coated the land as far as you can see, creating postcard winter scenes from every trail on the mountain.
I spent most of my time on the back side of Liberty Mountain, making laps down Sidewinder, Upper and Lower Strata, Upper and Lower Eastwind, Upper and Lower Ultra, and Heavenly.
100% of terrain was open, and the snow was in fine shape. There was never a lift line more than one person deep.
I do sometimes get impatient on slow lifts, but enjoyed some good company and conversations on a few lift rides, sharing stories with others who had also snuck away from their lives for a few hours on uncrowded slopes.
And the Liberty “vibe” was very much in place. Decent jams echoing out of speakers, not too loud, not too soft. Smiles on faces. Friendly greetings from lifties. The smell of cooking hamburgers wafting through the base area. And those gorgeous views of the rolling, snowy fields of Pennsylvania in the distance.
After the long stretch of sub-freezing temperatures, it looks like the mercury will begin rising in the next week, with daytime temperatures climbing into the low 50s. But winter is not over yet, and areas like Liberty appear set up nicely to glide into spring.
After getting home, I threw together a fun YouTube Short video documenting my day.
M. Scott Smith is the founder and Editor of DCSki. Scott loves outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, kayaking, skiing, and mountain biking. He is an avid photographer and writer.
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