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Coldest ski area in the NE US

tjf67

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Out of the big mountain in the East I would say Whiteface, Stowe, Sugarbush, Jay, Sugarloaf are all pretty equal when it comes to cold. I mean when you are all bundled up is there really much differance between -20 and -25.

Coldest lift I think Jay takes the cake with the freezer chair. I have never been on that thing without the wind howling.
 

Riverskier

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Given their northerly latitiude and persistent winds I would have to say Sugarloaf. This is also evident in the way they seem to hold snow better in the spring than any other mountain in the east.
 

Greg

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I hope they're all butt ass cold this winter.
 

jbs1677

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AS a frequenter of Jay, Whiteface and Tremblant, i have to say tremblant has em all beat. Place is COLD.....
 

kingdom-tele

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in regards to the burke/jay wind difference -after noreasters and when the lake effect winds get going they are usually out of the northwest which means its a cross wind in your face at jay on tramside, in your face on the bonnie, and usually sheltered on state side, the same wind that reeks havoc on jay is at your back at burke blowing you up the mountain, not to mention the quad at burke is tucked into the trees as you go up which makes a huge difference, I always get a kick out of the people I pass on my way to burke on the heavy wind days who are heading to jay - do yourself a favor save a hour of driving and ride the quad, but everyone wants to rush to the "snow capital"

and the coldest day I have ever felt was at le massif - now I don't ride a lift when its -15 or more, those are strictly skin days
 

riverc0il

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Kingdom-tele makes a great point that Burke is the better mountain compared to Jay when Jay has wind holds. Obviously, one lift pod is better than none. I have made that detour a number of times. That said, Jay does get twice as much snow in a year as Burke so sometimes you grin and bear the wind and get twice as much snow. Safe bet is on Burke when the wind is blowing though, for sure. Regardless of actual average temperature... the "real feel" at Burke is WAY warmer than Jay which can feel down right miserable far too often. Burke may be the very best 2k mountain to ski when the wind is really blowing.

Good call on Cannon. While Cannon can be damn cold, it does not have the same brutality that Jay has. Cannon is really bad on the Peabody Quad as you crest the ridge over Middle Cannon (similar big wind in the face as the Freezer at Jay, not nearly as bad though). When the wind is blowing, the Cannonball can be quite fierce too. Though that is more a feature of the poorly designed trail that really whips the wind down the slope in your face. Profile is a huge ass wind tunnel. Once you get skiing though, the trails can generally be sheltered enough to make skiing bearable on all but the worst days.
 

SIKSKIER

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To follow up on Cannon,the high winds on Cannon are from the South,not the north.Nothing in New England can be as cold or colder than areas in Quebec.The arctic air we recieve here comes from the north which will almost always be colder,much colder.
 

Puck it

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Mont Ste. Marie is cold. It is an hour or more behind Ottawa. I skied there when it was -20F. Whiteface was brutal too. The chair on Little Whiteface was cold. I had to pole to get off the lift more than a couple of times and I mean pole.
 

AdironRider

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I thought I heard somewhere that Saranac Lake was the coldest town in the US on average. Whiteface has had some brutally cold days and is to this day the only place where they didnt spin the lifts for me because you would get frostbite just riding to the top on any exposed piece of skin.

I would argue that all other weather aspects being the same, that Eastern Resorts "feel" colder than most Western resorts. There have been days here in Jackson where itll be -20 and I feel warmer than a 10 degree day in the North Country. Its all about the humidity, almost more so than wind if you ask me.
 
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