I have just returned from 2 days at Camelback. We picked the place for convenience to New York - under 2 hours drive along the I80 freeway!! Skiing is mainly on artificial snow (climate change!) and base is good as all slopes have snowmaking. However, we did have good powder on 2nd afternoon as we were lucky to have a big, all day snowfall. There are two express lifts and a number of slow, old ones, but no lift queues whatsoever. The slopes are mainly easy and excellent for beginners - my 8 year old skied the double black diamond easily and it was equivalent to a European red! He has just started snowboarding and had a lesson out there. The teachers were friendly, small group, and at $74 for 1.5 hour lesson, lift pass and equipment rental it was excellent value. He found the slopes great for practicing and was able to get down the blues easily after very few lessons. Lift passes are $41 (slightly more at weekends/holidays I think). Skiing is from 8am till 10pm (all floodlit). For those that have limited time and want to combine a bit of skiing with New York city break, I would really recommend Camelback. It's not big so short break rather than full week is best, but for learning on a budget and convenience, it can't be faulted. It's not the big resorts of Vermont, but neither is it 6 hours drive away from New York. We stayed at the Chateau hotel which is 2 mins drive from the lifts, has an indoor pool and we paid £55 for a room and breakfast. Overall, excellent value for a quick blast on skis! There is also an excellent snowtubing place and good value outlet shopping mall within 3 miles.