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Largest resort in the East?

Nick

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This article about Killington adding new snow guns had a statement in it that Killington is the "largest ski and snowboard destination in Eastern North America,".

A commentor mentioned that he thought Sugarloaf was the largest, and I thought with the addition of Burnt Mountain it was in fact, at least in terms of skiable acres.

I know marketing teams will use aspects of their resort to make statements that work in their favor (e.g. biggest could mean most acres, most trails, longest trails, most visits, hell you could probably even say biggest in relation to base lodge size if you wanted to stretch it).

So, who is the "biggest" now? Is it the Loaf with Burnt?
 

WWF-VT

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Marketing spin 101 from Killington and Sugarloaf:

Killington Resort, the largest ski and snowboard destination in Eastern North America

Sugarloaf is the largest ski area east of the Rockies.


Anyone knows that a "ski and snowboard destination" is obviously not the same as a "ski area" so they both win.
 

VTKilarney

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I think it is fair to say that for the majority of skiers, Killington skis bigger than Sugarloaf.
 

Savemeasammy

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The word "destination" sounds like Marketing 101 to me. It's ambiguous. I'm sure they chose it for a reason...


Sent from my iPad using AlpineZone mobile app
 

Domeskier

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You can keep your McSki Areas and their endless monotonous groomers and their billions served. I prefer quality over quantity. That's why, when I ski, it's Satan's Staircase or bust!
 

VTKilarney

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I prefer quality over quantity. That's why, when I ski, it's Satan's Staircase or bust!
You do understand that you will have to attend an intensive two-day training session before they will let you on Satan's Staircase, don't you?
 

deadheadskier

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If the Loaf throws a lift up Burnt, I think they could make the claim. As it is now where so much of the acreage requires hiking in or out, I don't really count Burnt so much in my view of how large Sugarloaf is. Same way I don't really count Slidebrook at Sugarbush in thinking about how large that ski area is.

IMO, Killington skis the biggest in the East right now.
 

mbedle

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Heres the rundown between the two:
Trails - Sugarloaf
Acres - Killington, but Sugarloaf claims the largest "developed" skiable acres. Not sure what that means.
Miles - Killington
Vertical - Killington claims the largest, but Sugarloaf claims the largest "most continuous" - which is true.
Lifts - Sugarloaf

So, with that said, they both appear to be right, in their own minds.
 

bigbog

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I think it is fair to say that for the majority of skiers, Killington skis bigger than Sugarloaf.

I love Killington's terrain as much as Sugarloaf's....but it's over 300mi one way for me..and the "majority of skiers" who go to experience the Ultimate in Excellence are terminal Intermediates. What does some other person's opinion of a mountain influence my thoughts of it and how to ski it????? Very strange.
Much more fun to just go and ski the mtn for all its worth....
 
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trackbiker

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Heres the rundown between the two:

Vertical - Killington claims the largest, but Sugarloaf claims the largest "most continuous" - which is true.

So, with that said, they both appear to be right, in their own minds.

If we are talking the "East" like in the title of this thread and not New England, Whiteface has them both beat on vertical.
 

Domeskier

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Do the numbers for Killington reflect all its secret stashes? Could we have another run down of them here for the sake of completeness?
 

VTKilarney

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Vertical - Killington claims the largest, but Sugarloaf claims the largest "most continuous" - which is true.
I've always felt that vertical drop is Killington's biggest deception. Killington is an example of people perceiving the sum as better than the parts. Several peaks at Killington, if they stood on their own, would not be considered to be anything special. And I'm of the opinion that too much time is spent on connector trails at a place like Killington.

On the other hand, Sugarloaf should not be so smug about their vertical drop. Their lift that covers the most vertical drop only covers 1,750 feet. Compare this to the K-1 Gondola that covers 1,642 feet. I've never been a fan of taking multiple lifts if it can be avoided. I tend to stick to one lift if at all possible. So for a person like me, Killington might not ski that much shorter than Sugarloaf.
 

VTKilarney

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If we are talking the "East" like in the title of this thread and not New England, Whiteface has them both beat on vertical.
But again, vertical does not necessarily equate to "skiing bigger". The vertical at Whiteface is really chopped up. The summit quad at Whiteface is 1,830 vertical feet. But... the gondola is 2,456 vertical feet. So for those skiing the gondola, Whiteface does indeed ski bigger "vertical-wise" than Killington or Sugarloaf.
 

mbedle

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I've always felt that vertical drop is Killington's biggest deception. Killington is an example of people perceiving the sum as better than the parts. Several peaks at Killington, if they stood on their own, would not be considered to be anything special. And I'm of the opinion that too much time is spent on connector trails at a place like Killington.

On the other hand, Sugarloaf should not be so smug about their vertical drop. Their lift that covers the most vertical drop only covers 1,750 feet. Compare this to the K-1 Gondola that covers 1,642 feet. I've never been a fan of taking multiple lifts if it can be avoided. I tend to stick to one lift if at all possible. So for a person like me, Killington might not ski that much shorter than Sugarloaf.

All true, and with that said, the largest single lift vertical in the east would goto Stowe. My Bad, didn't realize Whiteface's gondola was the big.
 

VTKilarney

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What does some other person's opinion of a mountain influence my thoughts of it and how to ski it????? Very strange.
Another's opinions don't have to. It's completely up to you. But if people didn't share their opinions on this forum, it would be a very boring place.
 

St. Bear

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But again, vertical does not necessarily equate to "skiing bigger". The vertical at Whiteface is really chopped up. The summit quad at Whiteface is 1,830 vertical feet. But... the gondola is 2,456 vertical feet. So for those skiing the gondola, Whiteface does indeed ski bigger "vertical-wise" than Killington or Sugarloaf.

While it takes two lifts to get to the summit of Whiteface, describing the mountain as chopped up is not accurate. They ran the Olympic down hill there. Twice.
 
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