SKI Magazine 2014 Best Ski areas in the East

[MadMadWorld]

Unless you are a kid there is nothing special about customer service at Smuggs. If watching a clown do tricks in the cafeteria at lunch time is your thing then you might not agree.

Allowing people to use BOGO lift ticket coupons on weekends is pretty damn customer friendly. I don't know of any mountain that offers anything like that. I will say that Jay was pretty awesome about giving me a season pass holder discount on a weekend lift ticket when I was only a midweek season pass ticket holder at MRG. I also remember Smuggs being extremely flexible with "professional courtesy" lift tickets when I was a ski instructor at a different mountain. Those are just my experiences though.

 

[MadMadWorld]

I would pick 'Le Massif' over Tremblant any day, not even close. If you like shopping, I suggest Tremblant.

Agreed but I do prefer Tremblant backcountry over Le Massif.

 

[dlague]

Allowing people to use BOGO lift ticket coupons on weekends is pretty damn customer friendly. I don't know of any mountain that offers anything like that. I will say that Jay was pretty awesome about giving me a season pass holder discount on a weekend lift ticket when I was only a midweek season pass ticket holder at MRG. I also remember Smuggs being extremely flexible with "professional courtesy" lift tickets when I was a ski instructor at a different mountain. Those are just my experiences though.

There certainly are other places that allow BOGO on weekends. If there is no verbiage that states that weekends are not included then there is no issue. We ski every Saturday on a BOGO or better. We will be skiing at Jay Peak and Pico on Sundays using BOGOs or better.

BTW - I think that Smuggs at the top of the list is specifically for those families that have young children - many activities around the ski area are to keep kids busy while the parents ski. The restaurants that we went to were not kid friendly. My experiences there have been mediocre at best. The long lift lines for double chairs is hard to swallow! They do have great terrain, but my family wants no part of it! Maybe midweek is a better time to try it again!

 

[Conrad]

I wonder what Sunday River did to drop down 9 places, haha

 

[Moe Ghoul]

Smuggs added snowmaking equipment that was running last season that really helped out. I guess these polls are easily skewed based on the questions and the number of voters and I don't think anyone takes them too seriously. If it gets a few new folks to come and check out the hill it's good for biz. Kmart or Stowe not getting the #1 spot won't hurt their bottom line. A place like Smuggs getting top honors might help boost sales for the coming season. Since it is my home mountain as of last season, I'm a little biased.

 

[steamboat1]

Don't get me wrong. I like Smuggs for the same reasons I like Mad River. I'm an old school type of guy. My beef & negativity in this thread is because no way, no how does Smuggs deserve a #1 ranking.

 

[deadheadskier]

Smuggs added snowmaking equipment that was running last season that really helped out. I guess these polls are easily skewed based on the questions and the number of voters and I don't think anyone takes them too seriously. If it gets a few new folks to come and check out the hill it's good for biz. Kmart or Stowe not getting the #1 spot won't hurt their bottom line. A place like Smuggs getting top honors might help boost sales for the coming season. Since it is my home mountain as of last season, I'm a little biased.

You move from Philly?

Sent from my XT907 using AlpineZone mobile app

 

[thetrailboss]

Don't get me wrong. I like Smuggs for the same reasons I like Mad River. I'm an old school type of guy. My beef & negativity in this thread is because no way, no how does Smuggs deserve a #1 ranking.

I think that the rankings indicate that like other areas more folks went to Smuggs, liked it, and voted for it in this poll. I was a bit surprised to see them as No. 1 overall....like DHS said, I assumed that it would be Tremblant again. But I guess I'd rather see things shaken up than just have it be the same old same old.

 

[snowmonster]

Agreed but I do prefer Tremblant backcountry over Le Massif.

That's interesting. I would think that Le Massif would win the backcountry war. Their Secteur Hors Piste reminds me of a wilder Brackett Basin. That, their on-map glades and the triple diamond La Charlevoix runs could feed my wild side. On the softer side of things, they've got the food, the train (and its gourmet meals) and La Ferme, their hotel in Baie St. Paul, to keep SKI readers who love their amenities happy.

 

[Moe Ghoul]

You move from Philly?

Sent from my XT907 using AlpineZone mobile app

No, we bought a house about 5 minutes from Smuggs last June, still have the house in Philly and divide time between the 2. It's about a 40 minute ride to Jay, so I managed to get up there a few times as well. The past year has been spent taking trailer loads of stuff up there, doing some small improvements to the house and a boatload of yardwork. We just got back from VT on Thursday, got the wood delivered and stacked, ran the heating system, yada, yada, so we are ready for winter. Headin back up around the end of October.

 

[bigbog]

I wonder what Sunday River did to drop down 9 places, haha

Maybe...
Less $$$ contribution to wherever the poll was done from, fewer visits from polling personnel, their inability to maintain 80mph to/from the mountain, and fewer restaurants in the area...along with less shopping. Will be a sad day when they decide to join the southern NewEngland ratrace....but it's
probably coming..

 

[MadMadWorld]

That's interesting. I would think that Le Massif would win the backcountry war. Their Secteur Hors Piste reminds me of a wilder Brackett Basin. That, their on-map glades and the triple diamond La Charlevoix runs could feed my wild side. On the softer side of things, they've got the food, the train (and its gourmet meals) and La Ferme, their hotel in Baie St. Paul, to keep SKI readers who love their amenities happy.

Well I only had 1 day on each mountain but there is a ton of gullies along the ridgeline between north-south at Tremblant. It can get pretty hairy in there. Reminds me of Stowe a little bit. I think comparing the Ligori area of Massif to Brackett Basin is a good one. Both mountains have a lot to offer and I enjoyed them both a great deal. I have to say though $399 for a seasons pass to Tremblant with only vacation/holidays blacked out is a steal.

 

[MadPadraic]

I wonder what Sunday River did to drop down 9 places, haha

Sunday River was just too high last year. It's hard to see how it beat Stowe, Sugarloaf, and err.. Holiday Valley.

 

[Edd]

Will be a sad day when they decide to join the southern NewEngland ratrace....but it's
probably coming..

How would that look? Not sure what you mean. They already have a solid chunk of Boston skiers crowding the place on weekends.

 

[bigbog]

Wish they would stop turning every meadow into a bump arcade... Just personal feeling.....maybe not a factual "every", but pretty close.
You get 14" overnight and a meadow, where one could let a powski run...now bumped up, turns into mini-park. That's why I end up staying at SL. Some would-be friends just say...get over it Steve...lol, suppose they're right. Guess I'm living in the wrong mtn range..;-)

 

[Riverskier]

Sunday River was just too high last year. It's hard to see how it beat Stowe, Sugarloaf, and err.. Holiday Valley.

Why Sugarloaf? Sunday River has better snowmaking (arguably the best in the East), better grooming, a better lift system, better intermediate terrain, etc. These are all things that are important to the masses. Does Sugarloaf have better terrain and get more natural snow? Definitely. And to most people on here that would catapult them past Sunday River, but that isn't necessarily the case with the average recreational skier.

That is the problem with these lists (aside from the fact that they are based on polling and not an analysis of actual criterias)- every skier would weight things differently based on their preferences. Though useless based on how they obtain these results, it may be more productive to discuss the results of individual categories. They are at least slightly more representative of reality as most people see it.

 

[WWF-VT]

Information from the printed magazine

Nearly 10,000 readers completed this year's survey with 40,000 resort evaluations
Most important qualites: Snow, Variety of Terrain, and Challenge
80% or responders rank themselves as advanced or expert skiers with one third skiing at least thirty days a season
60% own a season pass

In the east Sugarloaf was ranked #1 for Variety, #2 for Challenge, #4 for Service , #4 for Digital Presence and #3 for Overall Satisfaction. That's what lead to their overall #2 in the East

The head scratcher is that Mad River Glen ranks #4 for Variety, #1 for Challenge, #2 for Value, #1 for Character and #2 for Overall Satisfaction but doesn't crack the Top 20

 

[gostan]

Information from the printed magazine


The head scratcher is that Mad River Glen ranks #4 for Variety, #1 for Challenge, #2 for Value, #1 for Character and #2 for Overall Satisfaction but doesn't crack the Top 20

I love MR, but maybe the answer is that it probably ranks somewhere around #49 in days open.:razz:

 

[Cannonball]

Information from the printed magazine

Nearly 10,000 readers completed this year's survey with 40,000 resort evaluations
Most important qualites: Snow, Variety of Terrain, and Challenge
80% or responders rank themselves as advanced or expert skiers

If 80% of respondents consider themselves experts, you already have to question the validity of their responses.

 

[from_the_NEK]