Best cruisers...

[Frank101]

Hey,

Trying to plan a trip and we are mainly all cruisers. We like long, scenic, interesting trails and I was wondering what the best options in the Northeast would be.

I am coming from Toronto, so I am seriously considering Tremblant (I know the nightlife is good but that is not a concern.). I would be going through the week on a non-holiday week so I'm not to worried about the crowds it just comes down to the hill and the trails.

Thanks for your responses!

 

[gladerider]

you might like tremblant. except for the far right side called the EDGE, the entire mountain is a cruizer. haha. well. i've also met some people from toronto hitting up whiteface. face has cruizers, but many are very steep for some people. how far is vermont?

 

[thetrailboss]

Sunday River should be on the list. Stratton and Okemo as well.

 

[Geoff]

Sunday River should be on the list. Stratton and Okemo as well.

From Toronto? Why would you even think of anything as out of the way as Sunday River?

 

[tjf67]

Whiteface/LakePlacid NY.
The blues can be a little difficult, they are long. The views are great. There are over 100 eateries and a few of the places take your money @ par.

 

[thetrailboss]

From Toronto? Why would you even think of anything as out of the way as Sunday River?

The man asked for the best crusiers in the Northeast. Sunday River has them. And I would not consider it to be "out of the way." Sugarloaf, yes.

 

[ski220]

Mount St. Anne. Great mountian and close to Quebec for night life. Otherwise think about Stowe Vt.. Has a real village with plenty of restaurant and shops. Plus within close enough proximity to other great northern Vermont areas for a day trip. Sugerbush. Two mountians and is close enough to Stowe to go for a day (or two). Plus the Mad River Valley has some of the best restaurants going.

 

[x10003q]

Gore Mtn has some awsome cruisers on its main face coming out of the base area. There is a gondola and a high speed triple so you can really get in a lot of skiing. If you go mid week you have to share the mountain with about 150 people. :wink: An added bonus is Whiteface is about 70 minutes north of Gore and the tickets are usually good at both mountains.

 

[ski220]

Sunday River should be on the list. Stratton and Okemo as well.

While Sunday River might be an option. Stratton and Okemo are not what I would call scenic or interesting.

Killington would be a much better choice for a week. Plenty of terrian there with Pico just around the corner and Okemo for a day trip. Remember, their going to be there for a week. Not a day or a weekend.

 

[RootDKJ]

Stowe?

 

[madskier6]

The man asked for the best crusiers in the Northeast. Sunday River has them. And I would not consider it to be "out of the way." Sugarloaf, yes.

So from Toronto, Sunday River is not "out of the way" but Sugarloaf is "out of the way"?? If they've driven all the way to Sunday River from Toronto, then Sugarloaf is pretty much right up the street.

 

[OutCold]

Gore Mtn has some awsome cruisers on its main face coming out of the base area. There is a gondola and a high speed triple so you can really get in a lot of skiing. If you go mid week you have to share the mountain with about 150 people. :wink: An added bonus is Whiteface is about 70 minutes north of Gore and the tickets are usually good at both mountains.

I second that. Twister is my all time favorite cruiser. It's a nice long blue with lots of rollers and great scenery. Gore is great too because their tickets are interchangeable with whiteface so you can hit both mountains on the same trip without any hassle.

 

[UVSHTSTRM]

Hey,

Trying to plan a trip and we are mainly all cruisers. We like long, scenic, interesting trails and I was wondering what the best options in the Northeast would be.

I am coming from Toronto, so I am seriously considering Tremblant (I know the nightlife is good but that is not a concern.). I would be going through the week on a non-holiday week so I'm not to worried about the crowds it just comes down to the hill and the trails.

Thanks for your responses!

Well, the east = cruisers, as in there are plenty of cruisers pretty much anywhere you go. You don't care about nightlife, thus all resorts in the east are still in play, but I am guessing consider you are there for a week you would like a little bit of apres ski. You don't mention travel criteria nor time of year and budget, which are key contributors to what you may have in mind. Not knowing those two things the list would look like this in no particular order. Killington, definately long trails with some nice scenery, plus plenty of variety for a week, Sugarloaf, cruisers, definately plenty of scenery, Stowe (nuff said), Sugarbush, reliable snow surface, nice long trails, scenery, Jay snow, snow and snow, good views, Sunday River, very good surface conditions with or without natural snow and plenty of cruisers, Loon, plenty of cruiser, but the big reason I mention this is you can hit up Cannon and Wildcat during your stay (neither have lodging options) and will most likely have the tops for scenery in the east. As I mentioned earlier time of year is a huge factor with some of these places. Sunday River low natural snow totals, particularly early on in the year, Sugarloaf can have real lean early seasons, Feb, March and April can see upwards of 200 inches of snow, plus windholds are a huge factor, Saddleback can be lean as well, but tends to get more snow than most Maine resort due ot a 2000 ft base area, Killington in the past few years has been hampered at times by freeze thaw events (which is common for NE), which they seem to struggle more than others to rebound from, Stowe gets the goods generally spread out over the year as does Jay. Nightlife/Food, Killington and Stowe probably will provide the most variety at the base, but all have a nice pubs, food options at the base and nice towns nearby. Others to consider might be Smuggs, Okemo (not sure about scenic), Stratton (see Okemo), but they all have plenty of cruisers and dependable snow man made snow conditions providing favorable odds for nice cruising runs. Oh almost forgot, never been, but Whiteface has long runs and has a Lake Placid just down the road. As with Sugarloaf, Whiteface can get windy and icy, but then again, what place doesn't.

 

[Geoff]

So from Toronto, Sunday River is not "out of the way" but Sugarloaf is "out of the way"?? If they've driven all the way to Sunday River from Toronto, then Sugarloaf is pretty much right up the street.

From Montreal, it is pretty much the same drive time to get to Sugarloaf as Sunday River.

 

[Frank101]

Thanks everyone for the responses....

I don't really have too much of a budget...from what I gather I can work out about the same price with various accommodation options at all locations in the east.

Although the travel time is a bit of a concern, it isn't the be all end all. My main concern is i'd rather not travel 4 extra hours if I can get a similar or better experience closer (i.e. no need to go to Sugarloaf if I can get just as much from Stowe/Sugarbush combo and about 4 hour less drive).

The three areas I think it has come down to is Whiteface/Gore, Stowe/Sugarbush and Tremblant. The drive from Toronto is about the same for all (6 1/2 hours) and I was curious as to which would probably have the best cruisers. Tremblant is nice because it has the village and casino on property. Whiteface/Gore and Stowe/Sugarbush I think would provide more options ski wise.

Right now the Stowe/Sugarbush option is really appealing to us. Tremblant is what's essentially holding us back. Is Stowe/Sugarbush much better than Tremblant? Is it worth coming into the ole U.S. of A instead of staying in Canada?

 

[riverc0il]

I can't compare to Tremblant nor Whiteface/Gore as I have never been. I do think Stowe is overall one of the best areas in the northeast for pretty much everything across the board. Stowe is a great cruising mountain. Everything is serviced by high speed lifts, you have many classics there (even though they have lost their classic characteristics, they are still classics for other reasons). Since you are doing a lodging deal, you don't have to worry about price being as much of an issue because ski & stay packages can be found for relatively reasonable prices. You have an hour drive between Stowe and Bush. Bush is not as good on the cruising as Stowe and there are much better mountains in the northeast for cruising, but you will find some good terrain there.

 

[EPB]

From my experience, I'd say Tremblant certainly has better cruising options than Sunday River and has a much better layout on which to cruise. Runs are much longer at Tremblant- the only real down side is that both main faces (north and south) have a bit of a runout. Lifts are better at Tremblant and the scenery is probably better there too. Nightlife and drive times would also be much more accommodating.

Other ideas would be Quebec City/ Mont Sainte Anne. Be sure to ski both Mont Saint Anne and Le Massif. Le Massif has probably the longest cruisers west of the Rockies that are accessible by one lift.

North Conway would also be another good option. Attitash and Wildcat are both within 20 minutes of North Conway and both offer long cruising terrain on the same lift ticket. Wildcat's scenery is as good as it gets.

 

[Warp Daddy]

Regularly ski Tremblant and Gore and sometime Whiteface .. All are super but there are differences to be sure .

Tremblant has really nice stuff on Versant Nord and the Soleil side . Long runs , great scenery , but the downside they can be really crowded and often the cold can legendary. The Duncan and Beauchemin and petit Bon Heur on the Nord are all great cruisers . On the Soleil side -- Toboggan is a classic and Laurentienne ain't too shabby either long runs , my fave there for cruising is Toboggan . The Edge side is woodsy but the Slooowest ride up on the mtn . ps avoid BOTH ONTARIO AND QUEBEC SCHOOL VACATION WEEKS

Gore has Twister which was mentioned but also has some really cool runs on the sides too my fav is Uncas steep but a fun run a mellower run off true Gore top is the Cloud to HeADWATERS COMBO. gORE TO CAN BE CROWDED ON THE WEEEKENDS

 

[Newpylong]

While Sunday River might be an option. Stratton and Okemo are not what I would call scenic or interesting.

Killington would be a much better choice for a week. Plenty of terrian there with Pico just around the corner and Okemo for a day trip. Remember, their going to be there for a week. Not a day or a weekend.

But zero cruisers at K really...

 

[riverc0il]

What about Bromont and Owl's Head? Never been myself but would be closer I would imagine and both are rumored to be good cruising mountains.