Looking for a base mountain for next year

boston_e said:

One other thing to consider is the drive time. While it may not seem like much, the difference between 3:30 and 4:00 is not insignifigant... espicially if you are doing it almost every weekend.

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Very true. What I found is that as distance increases, the chances of stopping are more with a kid, so trip actually takes longer than on paper. If the distance was the same, I'd probably go for Pico.

boston_e said:

Pretty much. I'm not sure I'd say Pico conditions would be worse, but they would have fewer trails when snowmaking is a must than some of the bigger places.

personally I'm a big fan of Pico for the family, but I don't think you can go wrong at any of these places.

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Are there no slopside rentals at Pico? I think there are ski-to-home condos on Killington. Not sure about Pico.

One more question: when thinking about conditions, I feel like crowds are as important as snowfall/snowmaking, so I need to balance those.

A mountain might get less snow. But if it is not crowded, it might just ski as well or better since snow wouldn't get skied off as easily. Would this be true for example for Gore vs. Stratton/MS/Okemo?

drjeff said:

Check out the real estate links on the website of the local paper for the Deerfield Valley, the Deerfield Valley News (www.dvalnews.com), while most of the real estate agencies are in the Mount Snow area, a bunch of their listings are also up the the general Stratton area which makes for an easy ride (20 min or so tops) to Stratton, Mount Snow, Bromley and Magic....etc...

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+1....
Great finds are sometimes done locally with sellers posting and handling everything themselves, if they have the time.....more than often...lower price for you and no chunk of seller's take dealt to an agent.
Nothing known about VT but is the way in Maine;-)...fwiw.

lerops said:

Very true. What I found is that as distance increases, the chances of stopping are more with a kid, so trip actually takes longer than on paper. If the distance was the same, I'd probably go for Pico.



Are there no slopside rentals at Pico? I think there are ski-to-home condos on Killington. Not sure about Pico.

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There are multitudes of condos at the base of Pico. I would presume that some are available for seasonal rentals, but I have not personally scoped those out.

lerops said:

One more question: when thinking about conditions, I feel like crowds are as important as snowfall/snowmaking, so I need to balance those.

A mountain might get less snow. But if it is not crowded, it might just ski as well or better since snow wouldn't get skied off as easily. Would this be true for example for Gore vs. Stratton/MS/Okemo?

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There is probably some truth to this. Fewer skiers will mean the trails don't get "skied off" as quickly.

have you skied each of these mountains before? If not it would be worth taking the next couple if weekends and checking any out that you have yet to ski.

Thank you, that's what I am planning as well. I've skied Okemo, Killington, Bromley, Hunter. Need to ski Pico, Stratton, MS.

lerops said:

One more question: when thinking about conditions, I feel like crowds are as important as snowfall/snowmaking, so I need to balance those.

A mountain might get less snow. But if it is not crowded, it might just ski as well or better since snow wouldn't get skied off as easily. Would this be true for example for Gore vs. Stratton/MS/Okemo?

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The snow is difficult to compare, but the crowding of lifts and slopes is not. Gore is way less crowded than your other choices in VT not including Pico.

Consider a ski club with a lodge...the CT Ski Council has a listing. Sterling is probably best known.


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fluid164 said:

Consider a ski club with a lodge...the CT Ski Council has a listing. Sterling is probably best known.

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Agree with this. Besides the CT. Ski Council you could also check out the Metropolitan Ski Council of NY. or NJ. Ski Council. They both have listings on their websites with probably more choices than CSC.

Lerops, a couple of notes from a Bromley vacation renter turned seasonal renter turned townhouse owner. I have skied at all the areas in your spreadsheeet except Gore. I have kids that are now 15,12,10. I am a failry accomplished skier who when at Sugarbush this past weekend skied Rumble on Castlerock, and I take every possible opportunity to blow off work on a powder day to ski Magic (3 pow days this year). And yet I love Bromley, which certainly doesn't have a Rumble or a Magician or anything close......

The mountain is small but not tiny, and it ski's bigger than its stats. Its base it high and I would disagree with your snowmaking comment - they have significant coverage as a percent of terrain. They have the fire power and use it (they opened 2 weeks before Thanksgiving this year). Grooming is stellar, yet they have several trails that are left for moguls. Glades are not overly long but they are good. And they have a couple of great glades for the kids.

But the main selling point is its a laid back, family oriented mountain that does not get the crowds - type or amount - of the larger "resorts". We ski mainly holiday time periods and I have been sold (literally) on the relative lack of crowds during those times. This is a huge factor with little kids - long lines mean cold kids! And its a huge factor for me - I want to get my vertical in. I would argue that while each run is less vertical, with shorter lines I get more overall vertical in than someone at the bigger but crowded ares.

Bromley also has a great set up where there is a double to half way and another 3/4 way. Both access easy terrain without hitting the summit winds. And they rarely have a line at all.

Also, all trails lead to one base area, which is great for letting kids roam on thier on as they get older and meeting up with family/friends.

Travel is quicker and easier than the other VT resorts (not sure of your location and how you got your timings). And you have the ability to get to Okemo, Stratton and Magic within 30 minutes, Mt Snow and K-Mart within 1 hour.

Ski school is stellar.

Anyway, its not for everybody but should be considered.

slatham said:

Bromley, which certainly doesn't have a Rumble or a Magician or anything close......

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The Plunge ain't to shabby.

steamboat1 said:

The Plunge ain't to shabby.

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Avalanche Glade was in good shape yesterday. Son dropped off about a 6 foot rock in there. The Pabst runs had some great bumps on the skiers left side. Two different mountains (Bromley & Magic), both a hell of a lot of fun, and the beautiful thing is they are so close to one another that they make for a great weekend.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

lerops said:

Are there no slopside rentals at Pico? I think there are ski-to-home condos on Killington. Not sure about Pico.

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i've stayed slopeside-ish @ pico. this isn't a season rental but you get an idea for what might be availab.e

http://vtcondo.jsacks.com/