As a beginner, Thunder Ridge is a great place to learn. Though I can't speak on behalf of the rental lines and what have you since I rented seasonally elsewhere, I can say that the staff is made up of some wonderful people. Seasoned ski instructors help you understand the sport and how to move your body to better your turns. There are plenty of trails for the small area, and some get very wide! Overall, I wasn't expecting Aspen but I was still pleasantly surprised. read more

Thunder Ridge Ski Area - Ski Resorts Near Me - Patterson, New York

Great location for first time family ski day trip. Midweek special package is $90 for lift ticket, rentals (w helmet) and 1:15 group lesson. Mountain is small enough to be comfortable letting the kids do their own thing without getting lost on the hill. It is a hill. Advanced skiers are not the market..this is a local, family friendly ski hill and one of the best. Food prices are in the sports venue price range but clearly most families pack their own for the large but sparse lodge. My 15, 13 & 10 yr olds loved their first ski experience at Thunder Ridge. read more

Mountain is ok for beginners but wouldn't recommend for lack of organization reasons. Applicable discounts can't be selected on your cart dates are non transferable and orders can not be edited even moments after you place them. The email address to ask these questions is not operational and when you call they will give you a different email address that won't reply same day. It's a real run around hustle they work hoping you'll just eat the cost. Don't get anything that's not same day bc they will not work with you read more

Although we arrived a little too late in the day to Thunder Ridge, (it was 1:50), the really cool people at thunder Ridge were able to get my boyfriend's 13-year-old into a group lesson starting at two and the bonus was that her group lesson turned out to be a private because nobody else was in the group. The instructor was patient and really cool with her, and she loved the time spent on the mountain, which was pretty well groomed considering conditions were not the best with a little rain that day. Friendly staff, clean, a great day to spend in the winter. read more

This place is great, rental department guys were so chill !! They were very helpful about information about snowboarding, the boot kids were very helpful and they helped me put he boots on,the pole kid was very nice and told me to have a great time. Can't wait to come back! read more

Been taking my two young kids here for 6 years straight. Best location for them to learn if we want just a quick NYC day trip. My kids ski, I snowboard. Clean warm lodge, clean bathrooms, decent food at restaurant. Plenty of lockers and racks to store your stuff. Parking is very close by, plentiful and convenient. Very family friendly. Rentals area is organized in their flow of how they manage it. Staff is friendly and helpful. First 3 years my kids did the lessons package - teachers were mostly good. Lifts are in decent condition. I've been to Mt. Peter 15 min north several times too - but I prefer Thunderridge. (Mt. Peter is not as organized with their registration/rentals and facilities not as clean as Thunderridge.) I highly recommend Thunderridge for families with young kids learning to ski or snowboard. read more

The worst run place I've ever been to The crowds are unbearable. There are lines to return everything we waited over an hour to check out. NEVER AGAIN. We went with young children for the first time and booked a group lesson. They mixed two adults in with that group that never mind couldn't ski, couldn't walk. It was not fair to all the kids in that group. So my grandson's first experience with skiing was horrible and he hated it. Please please please go anywhere else and rent the equipment elsewhere. After the lesson we tried to get the kids something to eat and they were out of everything. The crowds were unbearable and they were grossly unorganized. Do not waste your time here. read more

Small resort, great if you're starting off. My son and nieces come here every Sunday and they love it. They get an hour class and then they ski for about an hour. They have a small food stand and a bar with a television. Overall I think this is a good place for beginners, or for ski lovers who don't want to travel far read more

Over-crowded, unfriendly staff, they post on FB like they're a 5 star Vermont resort and lie about conditions, when I posted to FB saying so they deleted my post. Much better skiing in Massachusetts and Catamount...Stay away and save your money read more

I visited this ski lodge on a holiday and thought lines will be long. They were Not long at all. Then, I found out why. The place was absolutely falling apart. It was mid-January and there was more ice and puddles than snow. It was terrible, but my kids an I made the best of it. Towards end of day my sons took my daughter on the actual mountain. This was her first time on that mountain and was still using the bunny hill. With the help of my sons, she made it through, although she fell a few times only to be pointed at by a ski instructor saying "that's why we take lessons" (She had a kid not much older than 5 with her, mind you. Is that the lesson you want your children to learn?) I complained to management about the behavior and to my astonishment he says "well maybe she was not ready for that trail". I told him his staff is nasty and so was he. He replied "You're why the world is the way it is." He then told me never to come back. This man's name is John Shepard. As I spoke to other patrons, I discovered that this ski resort is bank owned and was not even going to open for the 2014-2015 season. Has the bank even looked at the deplorable conditions and has anyone even trained the staff including management the proper way. Some staff were even telling the patrons that they won't ski until new snow comes. Management says this is a teaching mountain, though I would not teach anyone there. It's horrible. Read the reviews. Some hit the nail on the head. I WILL NOT BE BACK!! read more

I went at the end of the season so the snow was melting and the trails were patchy. It's a small place, but it's also the closest place to southern Westchester that I could find. I'm guessing the snow conditions are much better earlier in the season. The bunny hill is really steep and there are huge poles right in the center so for a beginner it's kind of terrifying. read more

Booked our two new to ski kids into 6 weeks of lessons. Hired equipment elsewhere. First day was total chaos. I've been to many ski resorts but this was just nuts. Dis-organized, too many kids, changing area too small, kids with gear, kids without gear. Eventually got everything sorted and dropped them off for their first lesson, decided to hang out and see how they enjoyed it. First 20 of 90 minute session they sat against a fence waiting for everything to be organized. Next 20 minutes they were showing the kids how to take their ski's on and off and some basics (fair enough!), then they got off to the magic carpet area. They did a few runs but the lines were long each time and spent more time queuing up than anything else. Each run though is very short, and most of the time they just stopped as it's so flat. I was disappointed but the kids seemed to enjoy it so we kept going. Week 2 was great. It was a bad weather day but there were very few people there as a result so the kids actually got much more instruction and ski time. Kids were moved up to the second training slope, which has more of a gradient. Was really happy about that and kids seemed to be doing great. Week 3 after usual 20 minutes of 'getting organized' kids were moved out and back to the original slope. I didn't know this until the end of the lesson when I picked the kids up and asked them how it was and they both told me they didn't like skiing. I asked one of the instructors what was going on and was just told that last week was a one-off because of the weather and they would be back on the baby slope until the instructor thought they were ready. I wasn't sure what to make of this, I don't really care about the kids progressing so long as they have fun and they weren't. Week 4 - we got stuck behind an accident heading north (truck stuck under bridge!) and were going to be fairly late for the lesson. I called up to ask if we could switch to the 4pm lesson, or the Sunday lesson, but was informed that wasn't possible but we could have a make lesson at the end of the season Week 5 - kids started out on the baby slope again and I made a fuss and they agreed to move them up. I know this sounds like a crazy parent but I'm not. The baby slope really is flat, you get nothing by learning on this, and the kids weren't having fun. Between week 5 and week 6 we spent a week up at another ski resort. First day of ski camp they had both kids up on the ski lifts. Four hours of lessons per day, kids had a blast. Real focus on getting the kids skiing and having fun. Much better organized. Much better slopes. Smaller group sizes. Better priced. Definitely the way to go with hind sight. Week 6 - sorry Thunder Ridge, we're done with you guys. Won't be back. read more

ups to Matt Gross for pointing this out. all abord the ski train, choo choo! accessible via train from Grand Central. lift ticket + round trip fare = $53. you can also drive and rock a $20 3-9pm pass from Ski Haus. great place to practice. lookout for ice. read more

Horrible mountain. I will never go back!! Go if you want to snowboard/ski on patches of grass and ice patches. I was honestly terrified going down this mountain. read more

Worst mountain I have ever been to. The staff was very disrespectful. When I got to the top of one of the mountains, there was a skier that had fallen ahead of me and wasn't getting up. I yelled at the employee to stop the lift so the man in front could get up, but they refused. I then proceeded to try and get off the lift and avoid the poor man on the ground and got nailed by the chair lift and thrown to the ground. I then told the employee he should of stopped the lift because now there are two people hurt. He proceeded to tell me "we only stop the lift if we absolutely have to". The fact that now two people are lying on the ground hurt isn't good enough to stop?! His name is Connor. I was very disappointed and this morning woke up to a massive bruise on my arm because of the incident! Additionally, this is a very beginner mountain. They say 5 lifts but 2 of them are magic carpets which is definitely NOT worth the $57 you have to pay for a lift ticket. Safe to say I will NEVER be returning here read more

Thunder Ridge Ski Area - Bruise on arm from chair lift - Ski Resorts Near Me - Patterson, New York

I went to Thunder Ridge for the first time and I was very unhappy with my experience with them. They are a very money hungry resort and hit you with a fee every chance they can. I was also extremely disappointed with conditions of the slopes, they do not take care of them at all. The food is less than average for a ski resort and was served cold. I will not be returning to Thunder Ridge. I recommend spending an extra $10-$15 and go to a better mountain! read more

This place is okay. But, I will say when I was there they had done a few renovations and it seems it was on going and they were good upgrades. I would avoid on the weekends or holidays. We went last year on MLK day and it was PACKED and full of children. Which isn't a problem- but the place is not a large ski area and so lots of people means crowded slopes and lines at the chair lift. We went today and the staff were very friendly- Frank in particular helped me with my rental boots when I was having a tough time. But there was only 1 lift open (out of 3) and because of this a few of the trails were closed too- again not usually an issue for a bigger resort but it is small so the same slopes after a while gets a bit boring. Overall, okay. I would say go Monday-Thursday because lift tickets are $25 and rentals are $25 (except holiday Mondays) which is a good price for skiing. Hopefully they can continue renovations. read more

After three years of A+ skiing in Italy, Thunder Ridge is an obvious downgrade. However, you can ski here decently if you're learning or if you're still below advanced level. I didn't get why they were pouring snow on the slopes with the cannons DURING the day. Other than that, it's a pleasant, relaxing place, very comfortable for New Yorkers. read more

This was much better than I expected. And, many runs were even closed. The trails are relatively short, but not super short. And, the lower lift takes only a few minutes (where most of the open trails were). The cost is inexpensive during the week. Even with some half of the advanced trails closed, there was still variety in the width and structure of the open trails. When I checked out the closed trails, it looked like one could really get their money's worth here in full open. I was tempted to pass the resort up because I've been to small or family run resorts several times while traveling through, and unless they're literally on your travel path, they aren't worth going to. This one was actually well out of my way. I didn't want to go to Mountain Creek a third time while staying in New Jersey. So, I took a chance. I'm glad I did. read more

If you avoid holiday weekends, and bring your own gear, this is a great place for beginners to improve their skills. Close to NYC, with a range of beginner trails, this place helped my family quickly progress to skiing more challenging mountains. read more

This is a small mountain very close to NYC. This is a great for beginners and intermediates to improve their skill level but not enough for experienced skiers. It gets very busy at the weekend and the ski school generates a lot of traffic with small children learning. Staff are helpful and it's cheap! Love having this place so close to home! read more

I took my son--a 9-year-old first time skier--on the Friday before New Year's Eve for a half-day lesson. While I haven't skied in almost 20 years, I grew up skiing all over in the Berkshires, Vermont, and Aspen, Snowmass and Beaver Creek in Colorado. No, this is not a mountain for anyone who is an experienced skier but it is absolutely ideal for beginners, especially kids. They run this place like clockwork and I was so impressed with how quickly we were processed through sign in and rental. The staff were friendly and helpful. And $140 for a lift ticket, a 3 hour lesson and equipment?? That is an amazing deal. Most importantly after three hours out in the cold and more than a few tumbles, my son is definitely up for more skiing. I'm thrilled!! read more

Please Avoid Thunder Ridge at all costs. I decided to give the mountain a try despite reading many bad reviews but after 20 minutes there I knew I had made the wrong decision. To save you time so that you can look up a better mountain in the area, here are just a few things that are wrong with Thunder Ridge. -It is extremely overpriced, $50 on weekends for tickets and even more if you have to rent equipment ($35+) -The Facilities are very old and the "safety equipment" they use around the runs and lifts is a joke. Not safe at all for children...period. -The Snow making machines they use only create small overused trails that are crowded and icy. In times of low snow dont be surprised if the trails are covered in dirt patches that make some parts dangerous and take away the fun. -The "34 trails" they brag about on there website turn out to be only a handful of roughly joined paths. -The staff is extremely unhelpful, unfriendly and at times even rude. After trying to have a discussion with a staff member about a trail I was ignored. Even If Thunder Ridge is the closest mountain to you as it was for me, it is worth 15 or 20 minutes more to go to another mountain. Dont make the same mistake as me! read more

This is a great mountain to learn on and to make some quick turns for a very reasonable price. You can't beat the location and the deals they have on night skiing. It is perfect to hit up after work. Just one caveat, this is a very small mountain, but like I said the convenience and price make up for it. read more

This crew is full of spirit! There are plenty of little runs to cruise down. The lack of stars purely comes from the equip rental and not really scoping out the entire Thunder Ridge facility. The snowboards and BOOTS were super super amateur quality. Because of the boots I couldn't ride without everything coming undone. I got help from the staff (Who are Nothing But AWESOME! ) but after switching my gear 3x i decided to just chalk it up. I look forward to returning next season with my own board so I can fully enjoy all the runs. ALSO VERY CLOSE TO A TRAIN that'll get you from NYC to here + FREE SHUTTLE. read more

Excellent mountain for beginners. My daughters have skied a few times before and were not yet comfortable on skies. We started on the bunny hill which is great because there is a lift so they can get used to getting on and off before they use a lift on the mountain. We then went to the triple lift. It was a busy day and we never waited more than 10 minutes. The greens are perfect to learn how to turn and slow down. The staff is extremely nice and helpful. My daughters were both very comfortable on skies by the end of the day and we even went on some blue trails! read more

Definitely as good as it gets for proximity, convenience, service, and for teaching kids. I brought my 9-year old son who has never been skiing last weekend. He loved it and only wants to go back again this weekend. I could not have been more appreciative of the staff from the minute we arrived. A very well organized operation. Considering the lack of snow we have had, the mountain had enough trails open and they were in decent condition. From talking to people on the ski lift, everyone mentioned how great Thunder Ridge is for families and day trips. I couldn't agree more. Meryl Didio runs a great operation up there. If you have young ones or you are an adult wanting to learn how to ski, don't miss the little gem. read more

It is what it is: A great place to take a little one for a couple hours to see if she's ready before you drive to a real mountain and commit a day or more. Other than it's proximity, it's pretty bad all around: expensive, small, dilapidated, crowded, chaotic. Smelled (outside!) like they have some serious septic issues. read more

Sad to see so many negative reviews about this place! We had a great experience here, but we also went mid week. Took our LO for a first time lesson and had a wonderful experience with everyone we met. The staff was lovely- every person who helped us with rentals was great, we took a private lesson and the instructor and the people organizing them were all so sweet. I did see how it can get busy as it gets to after school hours, and can only imagine on a weekend it can be frustrating to stand on line, trying to navigate your gear; but that's how it is when you rent equipment or battle the weekend crowds. Overall it is a nice place, small of course compared to anything in VT, or up near Hunter, etc.. but I prefer a smaller place that is close to home over driving to the Catskills just for a day trip. We will be back again soon! read more

This is a dinky mountain. DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THE 6 WEEK LESSONS! The weather is too inconsistent and the staff is not helpful in scheduling make-ups. In fact, I would venture to say the staff is rude. You will end up wasting your money. Also note that they extend weather related make-ups into the schools' winter breaks. We paid for 6 lessons and only did 3 of them because they have a strict make-up policy that will mandate exactly when you need to be there, even if it is during the school break. (It doesn't help that they don't return phone calls, so scheduling is difficult. They will also deny that they don't return calls.) read more

This is truly a bigginers or learners ski area. It is very convenient but needs major improvement. Lodge is dirty and smells.

no stars...possibly the biggest disappointment i have ever had at any ski mtn in the us. i knew it was a small place a hour from nyc and didnt have high expectations but like others were totally flabbergasted how bad it was. first $35 for a childs rental snowboard for i would guess was four to five seasons old for half a day was a little pricey....2nd was a half day ticket for a 6 year old for $37 bucks...then making a adult purchase a full price full acess pass half day again at $45 was nuts....then to find out i could not teach my child on the flatest portion of this hill because i didnt put him in their pathetic ski school . then i was offered acess to their bunny hill which was too steep for a first timer to learn anything or a parent to try to teach the basics....then the absolutely best part was i was not allowed to remove my snowboard equipment so that i could properly try to begin to teach my son. when i even tried to complain to anyone i recieved the same terrible attitude from the lift operator to the people in the office....PLEASE DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY AT A PLACE THAT EXISTS JUST BECAUSE OF THE GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION AND LACK OF ANY COMPETITION SO CLOSE TO NYC.....THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT ANYTHING BUT SCREWING YOU . read more

What a terrible experience! My daughter and I were first timers at this mountain and we arrived roughly around 2:15pm. Not knowing anything about their pricing plans I proceeded to the ticket desk to ask questions about the best pricing package. The lady at the desk was not particularly nice nor did she seem to care about me as a new customer. I kind of felt like a nuisance to her with all of the questions I had as a first timer. The lady ended up selling us the half day ticket for $45 each, but failed to tell me that the ticket was only good until 5pm. MEANWHILE, there was a twilight ticket option for $25 that started at 3pm and went all the way to 9pm. Long story short, we paid $90 for 2.5 hours of snowboarding when we could've paid $50 for 6 hours!!! In my opinion, this is scandalous!!! It was a warm day and some trails were closed due to lack of snow. Not that many people showed up which is why I say the woman behind the ticket desk is scandalous! She tried to soak me for as much money as possible on a very slow day! A little after 5pm I was politely told by the lift operator that our tickets had expired. Shocked, I didn't argue and went right to the ticket counter and explained my situation. A different lady proceeded to tell me there's not much she can do except offer me an upgrade on my tickets for an extra $20!!!! What a joke! Sheer principle made me walk away and go home. I made a formal complain on their web site and got no response! STAY AWAY FROM THIS MOUNTAIN!! They are a rip off and could care less about their customers or making new ones. I will NEVER go back here again even though it is only 1.5 hours from my home in long island. I will continue to trek out to PA to blue mountain which is my new favorite spot where real human beings actually run the place. read more

The place was very run down. The staff and Conklin Family (the owners) were extemely rude. It was also my 7 year olds first time sking and i had a very similiar experience as another reviewer . However, in my situation I had purchased a lift ticket but didn't want the skies because I cannot ski and was only there to watch my child. They freaked out and started yelling that I should not be there without skies. What difference does it make??? It's all about money for this rude, money hungry, brainless, unprofessional group. I would not recommend anyone who wants to watch their children ski go there nor would I recommend anyone to go there to enjoy their day. Mohawk Ski Mtn is much better in every way as is Woodbury Ski Area in Woodbury, CT. read more

I have been to this mountain many times but thing are slowly changing for worse. Now. they have careless and rude receptionist, instructors that are just concerned with themselves and thief's, yeah, thief's! Two weeks ago, my family and I went to ski, and in the morning when we went inside to purchase tickets, my daughter's skis were taken from the rack. Let me just put a pause here to say that her skis had her name, were bundled together with the family's skis and had last name on both skis. The receptionist rudely asked me if I had a lock on the skis, trying to make it our fault. A lock, have you seen anyone put a lock on the skis racks? With 2 small kids she told me to wait 30 minutes on every ski lift line to see if anyone took by mistake. We asked to see the footage of the camera that was directly line of site of the ski rack, but they refused by saying: "We have no face recognition on those cameras"...What?! I do not need face recognition I just need to see who took my kids skiis. Well, after 45 minutes of trying to look for the skis, crying kids and frustrated parents, the mountain staff made no effort to help. They act like this was something very common and were making no effort to assist. We checked in with them at the end of the day, but no ski's. We had to insist to exchange contact info in case they showed up. Over the weekend, we sent them emails with pictures of the skis and descriptions, but they never responded. Finally, we contacted the office by phone and the woman said the skis were there (thanks for letting us know). But wait...here comes the strange part. We made another trip to the mountain just to get my daughter's skis back. Well, the skis were there but whoever took the ski's removed both name stickers with her name on it and adjusted the boot size. The other strange part was that the staff for the mountain knew that the boot size was altered. How, did he know the shoe sizes were altered?! The mountain receptionist did not even gave us a discount to ski that day, considering all we had to go through on the first place. There was no apologies given to us, and again very strange that they act like this was normal, it was a very disappointing experience! read more

Terrible! If trying to teach your child to ski then stay away. The bunny slope is way to steep with no place to stop at the bottom. Way to crowed on the weekend with skiers sitting half way up the bunny slope in the way of everyone. Conditions were very poor when we were there. Unless you have on skis you can't be close to the slope. My wife had to watch outside a fence which was their viewing area. Never again. Mohawk 1000% better for teaching. read more

My friend rented boots and skis , the staff did not explain how the buckle system worked, when returning the equipment, they had an odd, time consuming system of returning, The ski making guns I noticed at least two of them were broke one was buried in its own ice, one was even pointed directly into the wind which pushed all the snow onto the lift operators booth this seemed so stupid, At first they even refused me from getting on to the lift, they accuse me of having an hidden back pack under my jacket I had to show the overweight girl that its was my tummy under my jacket not an back pack, She never did say sorry for anything, Also The mountain is so small that it does not say how many feet it is on the trail map like other mountains. One good fast skier can probably make from the top to bottom in under 4 minutes., the ski trails were good I feel many mountains are alike in this area, This would be a good place to learn how to ski since the mountain is so small, I will give it that , The ski conditions were very good the day I was there. If one lives nearby One could make the best of it, But a long drive no way, not at $50,00 a day lift ticket for weekend skiing ending at 5pm, The parking lot staff seem to be just standing around doing little unless asked, also the midway mountain lift station was closed and looks like it is left to rot away while the bathroom look brand new and clean but no private place change clothes, I would not recommend read more

Terrible! My daughter (then I) Left in tears. This was supposed to be her first ski lesson. We showed up 30 minutes early to get registered and get skis and rentals. The place was mobbed. We waited 1 hour to get skis, boots and a helmet! Then when we went outside to find her instructor, we were constantly sent in different directions! Asked for a manager and a nasty woman gave me a look like "what do you want?" Got a refund. Explained to her that her nasty attitude wasn't helping anything. No wonder they have such bad reviews! WILL NEVER GO BACK!!!!! read more

It was my 13 year old son's first time skiing. He had a great group lesson with an instructor named Dan. Dan went above and beyond and even worked with my son well past the the lesson. My son can't wait to ski again. read more

I had an excellent experience at Thunder Ridge on two days over the President's Day weekend recently, and wanted to convey some details... it's long, but somehow I remembered a lot, it's late, and decided to post this while watching Jimmy Fallon, so it *will* ramble.... First, thank you to: Brittney, Marsha, & Meryl at the front desk, Dave ,St. Nick, & Abi with ski school, Lynne (Lifts), Rob (Rentals) Every one of them was helpful, enthusiastic, pleasant and professional on every level. First, stopped in while driving by on Friday night just to get the lay of the land... Brittney (Brittany?) was welcoming, reviewed lesson program options, rental info and general questions. Definitely likes what she does. So, trying to get my 10 year old son on skis for the second time in five years, I called TR on Saturday afternoon from nearby to check on group lesson availability. Come on in, I was told... Amazingly there was a slot available! Got there, enrolled w ski school and picked up rental gear in maybe 10 minutes. Unheard of. Not typical. Suited up and was early for his great group lesson, with (can't recall the instructor's name, so sorry... 2PM Sat "Beginner" group but thank you!) then went to the "Little Thunder" beginner area progressed well, and he wanted to come back asap. While he was in his lesson I caught up with St. Nick, who filled me in on what's changed in skiing since I last did 15 years ago... My ski size just dropped from 215cm to 165. Wow. Two days later (President's Day) it was literally "the perfect storm".... a spectacularly sunny day, fantastic snow conditions, a day off for everyone.... that means madness at ANY ski area, let alone one an hour from Manhattan... We got to Thunder Ridge around 9:30a, and the lines were building. Marsha directed "people traffic" to help people find the outside lift window which also helps with lessons and rentals, so keep it in mind as possible option if very crowded indoors. Got our Rentals (thanks Rob and team) and Lift ticket, which took far longer than Saturday, simply because we had no wait then, but it's A: fit the helmet B: fit the boots C: fit the skis D: get the poles... A big surprise when we left the rental area to find that the line we started in 30 mins prior had become massive, we were done, but for newcomers it was like 10 times longer, a product of the holiday weekend. When I say they probably rented every set of gear they had that day, I am not exaggerating... The rental line was long but moving, well into the afternoon. ("obvious tip": you can skip the rental line if you own your gear) Off to Little Thunder with the little learner, who was 100% self directed and engaged for a few hours on an excellent beginner slope with a reasonable 3-6 minute carpet lift. We took a break for lunch in the "lodge" upstairs... busy, but turnover assures you'll find a seat soon... So he was then up for to the idea of a private lesson to get comfortable with the big lifts...: We were fortunate enough that Dave & Meryl helped us with a time, and Abi was our super awesome, friendly instructor who evaluated her student efficiently, and was off to the lifts with him in no time. An hour and six long runs from the top later, (bonus: no lines with an instructor!) my budding junior skier came skiing back with Abigail with the biggest smile on his face, totally hooked, and was actually able to handle the lifts alone moving forward!) Count us as fans of Thunder Ridge, whose staff really works hard to keep the machine well oiled, and to keep smiling and patient even when it's bursting at the seams for capacity... If there was any drama, you couldn't see it, even with the many skiers who turned out on what was obviously going to be the busiest day of the season. It's good to see the place having a great season considering the many mild winters we've had lately. Thanks again. We're "in". read more