If you're think you have a pretty good chance of going more than once, get some waterproof shell pants. Uninsulated is more versatile if you buy differing warmth underwear bottoms, and you can ski/board in the spring with just your boxers on underneath them so you don't overheat. Gore-tex is nice, although their patent has run out so you can find similar quality waterproof breathable fabrics these days, its just that I don't know what they're called off the top of my head. Fisherman's bibs should almost definitely work with some long underwear on, although I'm not too familiar with whether they are breathable or not, not being a fisherman. They should defnitely be waterproof enough though.
Gore-tex is a membrane, so unless you puncture or rip the fabric, the waterproofness should not fade too much with time. Same with the other membrane fabrics out there. Their ability to bead water will decrease over time and with washing, but this mainly affects the breathability, not waterproofness. You can use products to temporarily renew the beading property though (sprays and washes). I think some of the cheaper clothing doesn't use a membrane but some sort of a coating, which is more apt to wear off over time or in the wash.
As others have stated, the pants are more important than the jacket, at least in terms of importance of getting good waterproofness, since you will be spending at least half your time on your butt, and even more than that if you are a newbie snowboarder.
If you are skiing, do NOT, I repeat do NOT stuff your pants down into your ski boots. They will wrinkle up and you will get huge sores at the creases and otherwise cause you grief. Try to keep only your socks inside, or your socks and just your longjohns (if they aren't too bulky and prone to bunching/wrinkling). If you are snowboarding, the boots are more forgiving in this manner, although it is probably not wise to stuff your jeans down into them either.
Comparable quality mittens are warmer than gloves. Usefull to know if your hands tend to get cold. Mittens are probably more useful, since with the bulk of the gloves, you won't really be able to use your individual fingers to oh, say, manipulate small zippers or buttons, anyhow. You can get fancy gloves with gore-tex and whatnot as well, although probably will get some dampness of some sort from 1)sweating in your hands 2)snow stuffed down from the wrist 3)the glove not being 100% compltely waterproof due all the seams needed to construct the glove. $5 gloves/mittens will almost definitely get soaked if you have your hands in the slush a lot though. Scotch guard will help a little but not for long. Some more expensive gloves/mittens will have a removable wicking layer inside, which is kind of like a second pair of (not very insulating) gloves. I have a pair like this which have the inside wicking layer attached by a cord to the outer insulating layer, which makes it safer to take off my gloves on the lift to mess with my pants, jacket, hat, etc, without having the gloves fly off (I keep the wicking layer on and only take off the outer gloves), but this is defnitely a convenience and not a necessary feature.
I've found that the synthetic fleece neckwarmers are really useful. They are just a circular piece of fabric that goes down around your neck, permanently closed unlike a scarf, go for about $7-10, maybe $15ish if you buy at the resort's shop. You have to pull it down over your head, but its more secure this way. More versatile than a full face balaclava in that you can pull it up to cover the bottom half of your face on the lift and pull it down to your neck when getting off. Your breath will make it damp after a day though.
A cheap fleece hat for about $10 or a beanie type deal should be fine, as long as you can pull it down over your ears if necessary. If your jacket has a water repellent cinched hood then that should be fine for light precipitation and moderate wind. I don't think the Poconos are that harsh in terms of cold compared to maybe a Vt/Maine coldsnap, but I could be wrong.
Always carry the neckwarmer and hat on your person even if it's sunny and forecast for 45 degrees. Freezing ears and face really suck when the sun starts going down at the end of the day and the shadows get long.
A lot of people like to ski/snowboard in wraparound sunglasses. I don't use them myself, as I wear glasses and the clip-on sunglasses are murder on my eyes if I build up any speed or the wind is blowing, as the cold wind will bite into my eyeballs and make me feel like someone is sticking frozen needles into them. Goggles protect better from the wind and the occasional snowgun that is still running in the morning, but good wraparound sunglasses will defnitely be more comfortable if they work for you and the weather is fairly mild.
As for goggles, for the most part any decent pair $30 or up shouldn't really fog up. My experience is that even sub $30 goggles will usually have some sort of anti-fog coating and a probably even a double lens and plenty of ventilation. What does fog up, however, is glasses. If you wear glasses, they will fog up. Guaranteed. You can put anti-fog coating like cat-crap on the glasses before putting the goggles over them, but they will still fog up when you come to a stop or you accidentally redirect your warm, moist breath up into your goggles. Wear contacts if you have them, they will save you much grief. Opt for lighter shades of lens over very dark, as long as they have UV protection and aren't completely clear. You can always avoid staring directly into the sun on a sunny day, but if it's overcast and dark, you will really want to be able to pick out the little bumps in the snow.
Sunscreen for the face is advisable for a sunny day.
For underwear, synthetic and wool is better than cotton. The reason is that cotton is less warm, and does not dry as well when it gets wet and perhaps feels colder when wet, as well. Now, having said this, I skied my first three seasons with Hanes cotton undershirts and 75% cotton/25% polyester waffle weave longjohns. I still am too cheap to buy real ski/snowboard underwear bottoms and just use a 50/50 cotton/poly thermal underwear from hanes.
Same goes for socks, although I admit to having just skied in cotton athletic socks before. Some people swear by very thin socks for skiing, as this allows for a better fit with the boot and there is less chance of bunching/creasing that can cause discomfort. However, this might not work so well with rental ski boots, as having been used so heavily, the foam liner may have squashed down a bit and you may need to wear mediumweight socks to make sure your foot is not too loose inside.
If your feet tend to sweat a lot, get some spray [oops, should read antiperspirant] and spray your feet before you put socks on. Depending on how hot you get, you may sweat like a pig and saturate your socks and even the boot liner. Yes, I've done this before and it is not very comfortable, not to mention cold.
Just an aside, wool socks will tend to reek less when you pull your foot out of the boot at the end of the day. The difference is clear to my nose between when I wear wool socks and when I wear cotton or synthetic socks.
Not sure on the best deals, but you can try
REI-outlet, some ok prices but iffy selection at times
You could try their regular non-clearance items, but it won't be that hot a deal.
I've heard this place is ok, but I've never personally used them before.
Could also try this place, never used myself
Good luck, and have fun. Hopefully this was useful and nothing is blatantly wrong.
