Spent Friday at Pats Peak with my son. We had some free mid-week tickets to use, and I wanted him to see the place before he raced there next weekend. Conditions were packed powder, firm in the AM but softening up nicely in the PM with temps in the mid 30's. It was overcast all day aside from a small break in the clouds at noon.
I really enjoyed the steeper pitches off the top of the mountain, but the run-out at the bottom is a real drag, esp for my son who ended up doing a lot of poling to make it back to the lift. Also somewhat annoying was the hike up and around the two double chairs to get from the top of the triple to Twister/Race Trail. Not sure why they didn't just run the double to start off with like they did later in the day.
Lift lines were non-existent for most of the day, and grew to maybe 2 mins when the buses started arriving. We left at 3PM having had our fill of the mountain.
I was surprised and honored to be recognized by Jeremy Davis (Father of the famous nelsap website and mid-upstate NY's most respected meteorologist) and we skied a few runs together with his friend Scott. He reported finding a new lost area near Pat's Peak, I'll let him surprise you with the details.
Jeremy almost had me convinced to try Pats. After your mention of the long run out I'm having second thoughts. I hate long run outs. Jay Peak has one of the worst, though, and I ski there - sooo .... maybe.