Ascutney?

[DrSkimeister]

Hi folks....

Seeing Ascutney listed on the Lung Association ticket offer leads me to wonder about this mountain. I don't remember seeing much, if anything ever discussed about this place. How does it compare to other southern VT mountains? Just curious because it's about same distance for me as either Mt. Snow or Stratton.

Thanks

Happy Trails.

 

[thetrailboss]

We don't discuss it much because there is really nothing much to discuss. Few of us have been there. I live 25 miles from there and NEVER hear anything. They are a low-keyed operation. Not much natural snow since it lies in the shadow of Killington and Okemo. Not a long season either. Decent terrain from what I have heard.

Twin Tips is our resident expert on Ascutney. He frequents there.

 

[thetrailboss]

Oh yeah....and welcome to the boards! :beer:

 

[SnowRider]

ahh good ol' ascutney. I love that place. They do have lack of snowfall and that really hurts them. This makes it so snowmaking really needs to step to the plate and help them out. There season is short but they useally have decent coverage. The terrain park is bad to say the least. They have an AMAZING slopeside hotel and skating rink. I did one of there glades is bad coverage and if they got a good amount of snow I could have a lot of fun at the place in just there glades. Lifts are good, but with only 3 trails from the summit the HSQ to the top is not always open. They have a lift that has an optional halfway unloading station which is really nice when you want to just do the lower mountain. As compared to other southern vermont areas it isnt much. With k-mart and okemo nearby they steal a lot of buisness. Another up is the lack of crowds. Some of there terrain can be very steep. Its from what i've ridden, a harder mountain. Nothing like to hard...most abilities could escape every trail by simply sticking to the sides. If i'm correct TwinTip person is from there? I think he has the ascutney label as his Avatar? Overall its a fun mountain. Worth a trip up there on a good snowfall season.

 

[thetrailboss]

Good point about lack of crowds. I'd see that as a big plus.

 

[TwinTips21]

Ascutney is in the shadow of Killington and the bigger mountains in the center of the state keeping its snowfall totals for the year at around 100 inches. Ascutney is definitely an ideal mountain to hit after a nor' easter because it is in the eastern section of the state and when there is snow, nothing beats the glades there. They just got grants form the state and new compressors for the snowmaking which should continue to improve from last year. One thing ascutney always has going for itself is a lack of liftlines, although it has become busier and busier as the years pass. The HSQ only has 3 trails that come down from the intermediate summit, only two of which are blue boxes (the other is a double diamond) and those trails become a sheet of ice by mid-day (Trails are only 300 in vertical out of a total 1800). Once you make it past that one can escape to the skiers right to find some nice narrow and usually snowy trails like "sidewinder" and "ledges". Also the skier can keep to the left side and hit a few nice glades or steep cruisers off of cloudspin like "Touch n' go" or "Bushwhacker". In the end I'd say to hit one of the more crowded mountains on a Saturday and hit Ascutney on the always crowded Sunday because the longest line you'll encounter is 2-3 minutes around 11am-1pm if that. It's definitely one of the best mountains in Vermont to hit after a good sized snow storm. You can get first tracks on some trails after 12!
*One thing I forgot to add is Ascutney is incredibly steep compared to other mountains in Vermont. I'm sure others who have been can attest to that.

 

[TwinTips21]

One last thing I forgot to add, If your looking for rails and jumps don't count on there poor excuse for a terrain park. Look for jumps and natural features in the glades.

**Compared to Mount Snow and Stratton it is different in that it's a freestanding mountain (tallest east of the Mississippi), It has less money invested in it, its a heck of a lot cheaper and A LOT less crowded.

 

[thetrailboss]

Wow. 100" of snow a year?!

 

[riverc0il]

one thing that has always kept me away from ascutney is their lift ticket prices. looking at a trail map and comparing to their below 2k vert, low natural snow fall, and high lift ticket prices, the mountain does not look like a good value. i would really love to give ascutney a shot, but i will not be paying what they are asking unless they get a freak powder day isolated to that region.

 

[SnowRider]

totals for the year at around 100 inches.

It's about the same as Mt. Sunapee and only 20" below Loon if I'm correct

 

[TwinTips21]

They actually advertise an average 200" but I would estimate it was only around 100" last year. Then again last year was a bad season.

 

[riverc0il]

for reference, ascutney charges $56 which is more than bolton, valley, mad river glen, magic, burke, cannon, and mount ellen only tickets. however, they are much cheaper than nearby competition in their niche market such as sunapee and bromley (and of course stratton and okemo, i don't see those mountains as competitors of ascutney though).

btw, their web page looks MUCH better now. not sure when they did the redesign, but bravo, long over due.

 

[thetrailboss]

Their price is a reason why I don't ski there. The owners seem to be having a better time "not in the stock market" rather than trying to actually run a ski area. Minimal advertising and effort to get folks to the slopes. I honestly don't know how they make it, but they do, or at least they must. I guess they have the most secret following of any resort. I am local and don't see ANYONE wearing an Ascutney ticket EVER. Don't even know what Ascutney tickets look like!

 

[TwinTips21]

I think the owners basically feel they have no way of out-dueling the killington and okemo advertisements so they don't even try. The main way ascutney advertises is by having great deals and getting repeat customers. The owner, Steve Plausteiner, is a nice guy and you'll see him on the slopes and running the snowmaking crew.

 

[thetrailboss]

To be honest, their advertising really turns me off. Last year I uke: when I saw how the magazine they put out fluffed up the owners more than focusing on the mountain. It just seemed kind of pretentious. But I can see how a consultant would advise them to do that...especially going against nearby "corporate" resorts. It just really turned me off.

 

[nelsapbm]

I went there a few years ago for an afternoon. It's a nice small area, but I'm not itching to get back. Nothing overly challenging. It was not all that crowded. If you are at all interested in skiing lots of different ski areas, I'd check it out so you can knock it off your list.

 

[Greg]

Back in college we knew a guy whose father owned a really cool A-frame right on the mountain. We skied there a number of times. It's been almost ten years since I've been there so maybe it's changed. Decent hill; some good terrain; and a helluva lotta partying in that A-frame. I seem to remember there being a short hike skier's left of the trails which brought you to an area overlooking a beautiful valley. I want to say there was a cabin or something out there too, but recalling specifics from back in those days tends to be a bit hazy so I might be confusing that with somewhere else. Twintips?

 

[Talisman]

Ascutney has interesting terrain and is an easy place to score discount tickets. The lack of natural snow means hitting the glades or some terrain almost never happens. I have had some good ski days there after major snow storms but we're talking three or four in the past 30 years. I also have had some great spring skiing there because of the low elevation. Typically snow storms favor places like Magic, Killington, Pico and Okemo over Ascutney. Sunapee may not get more natural snow, but they have enough snow making water and the will to use it. Ascutney doesn't have much water and the years of several thaw cycles make for limited terrain being open.

 

[GolfingOwl]

I actually learned to ski on Ascutney in the mid-70's. We had friends who moved to Brownsville from Philly. I'd like to go back, if only for nostalgic reasons.

I'm not sure about the lack of adverstising. Maybe for locals they don't promote the mountain the way they should but I have seen them try to market the place as a destination/family resort. They were at a ski Expo here in Philly recently and I've received mailers from them and even seen ads in some giveaway-type ski rags. Usually they emphasize their slopeside lodging and family programs (almost seem to trying to market themselves similar to Smuggs).

 

[schifty]

Since i have a ski house at Ascutney and have skied there for the past 30years i feel
confident in saying STAY AWAY even if it's FREE. Ascutney is a time share mountain
and since the people who originally purchased time shares have now learned how bad things are they just trade and never return. that leaves the mountain with new blood
(these poor people trade there Aruba shares) each week and since everyone knows they will never be back that's how there treated. The only way this place stays alive is by selling time share's to non-skiing suckers.