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Most Overrated and Underrated Ski Resorts in the east

Slidebrook87

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For this one I'll have to say Whiteface and Stowe for overrated and Sugarbush and Sugarloaf for underrated. I might even say Hunter is underrated. The terrain is good and you can avoid the crowds by riding the non-detachable lifts. What do you think?
 

bdfreetuna

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Over/underrated by what measure? I can think of ski areas that are good for avoiding crowds. I like going to Bolton Valley to get 1st chair and mostly ride solo. I like Mad River Glen and Bromley for the same reason.
 

asnowmobiler

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Overrated means many things to many different people.
Without being specific I’m not sure how anybody could answer this question. Maybe some sort of Pole would be better?
 

Slidebrook87

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Overrated means many things to many different people.
Without being specific I’m not sure how anybody could answer this question. Maybe some sort of Pole would be better?

Overrated meaning a resort that may be ranked high in surveys, or by people you know. Essentially resorts that get a lot more praise than they should. This can be for anything. Terrain, snowmaking, lodging, etc.
 

asnowmobiler

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I feel snowbird is overrated because my fat ass can’t ski most of it. LOL

It is a world-class resort and I would never miss the opportunity to go there but it’s overrated for my abilities for all but a very small potion of the resort.
 

Slidebrook87

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I'd also say Telluride and Deer Valley are. Head to a place like Squaw or Mammoth. Those are certainly underrated.
 

crazy

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Underrated: Bromley. Magic. Tenney. Whaleback. Lots of fantastic places under the radar. Middlebury and Dartmouth have pretty neat ski areas that are worth checking out.

Overrated: Tuckerman Ravine. The bowl is only 500 vertical feet. It's fun to ski, don't get me wrong, but 95% of people ski it in the spring and don't ski it in powder. Bowls are best skied with powder. The back bowls at Snowbird, the Beast of the West, are way steeper, longer, and more fun. I would much rather be at Snowbird than Mount Worthless. Snowbird also gets 2x the snow. Tuckerman Ravine would be a joke out west, it's only here in the east that people would worship it.

If you're not a baby and ready for big boy terrain, check out Mount Katahdin. That actually has some long, scary steep lines that would put many western lines to shame. It takes more than an hour and a half skin to get to Mount Katahdin, which keeps the weekend warriors and city folk out, thank god. Katahdin is like the Platty/Magic/Jay of the east, while Washington is like the Okemo/Stratton/Sunapee of the east.

Want to know where the best skiing is at Mount Washington? 1,000 miles west, actually, at Mount Washington in Vancouver Island!


P.S. I'm totally kidding about Tuckerman Ravine. It's actually a lot of fun. If you're a seriously talented skier who has completed Avy Level 1, definitely check out Mount Katahdin.
 
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jimk

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Sugarbush and Sugarloaf are pretty popular places to be considered under-rated.

Over and under-rated are such subjective terms. You seem to equate under-rated with good places that get relatively small crowds, which kind of makes sense to me.
Maybe another way to ask the question is: what areas in the East have the best combination of good terrain and low crowds?
Black Mtn, NH might be in the running for that for a small/mid size mtn with very small crowds. I always thought Wildcat and Cannon were good for that too compared to the big, famous places in VT. Smuggs might be a contender. Maybe Sugarbush North would be a candidate too if you consider it without busier Sugarbush South? When there's good natural snow, maybe Magic is a candidate? I thought Saddleback was a really neat place considering it did not get as much traffic as many other ski areas in the East.
 

Not Sure

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Overrated: Tuckerman Ravine. The bowl is only 500 vertical feet. It's fun to ski, don't get me wrong, but 95% of people ski it in the spring and don't ski it in powder. Bowls are best skied with powder.

Not really a fair comparison . There's a huge difference between conditions even when there is powder in Tuckerman . Fall in powder out west you won't take much effort to self arrest . Tuckerman powder is very unstable wind slab often and slides a heck of a lot . People don't ski it as much because there is no active avalanche control like at resorts. Yes the west is steeper and longer but a heck of a lot safer too. Lots of people have died on the the East Coast Mount Washington.
 

Tonyr

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For this one I'll have to say Whiteface and Stowe for overrated and Sugarbush and Sugarloaf for underrated. I might even say Hunter is underrated. The terrain is good and you can avoid the crowds by riding the non-detachable lifts. What do you think?

I've never been to Whiteface but Stowe happens to be my family's favorite place to ski in the east. If you factor in lodging, restaurants, the ease of lapping Mt Mansfield from the four runner quad, and all the off the map glades it is tough to beat. I'd consider Stratton, Mt Snow, and Okemo overrated. All three are crowded, over groomed, and not very challenging. Sugarbush may have the best overall terrain in VT and is Alterra's new crown jewel in the east so it's hard for me to consider that resort underrated. Killington on the other hand gets a bad rap for its party vibe but I think the glades there are incredibly underrated. Dare I say that I prefer Killington's glades over Jay's?!

Tony
 

Los

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Sugarbush and Sugarloaf are pretty popular places to be considered under-rated.
Maybe another way to ask the question is: what areas in the East have the best combination of good terrain and low crowds?
Black Mtn, NH might be in the running for that for a small/mid size mtn with very small crowds. I always thought Wildcat and Cannon were good for that too compared to the big, famous places in VT. Smuggs might be a contender. Maybe Sugarbush North would be a candidate too if you consider it without busier Sugarbush South? When there's good natural snow, maybe Magic is a candidate?

good rephrasing and good choices -- Black, Wildcat, Mt. Ellen, Magic, and Cannon (but only if limited to Mittersill. The main mountain seems to gets pretty crowded on a regular basis...) I'd also add Bolton Valley and Whaleback... And if I ever get to ski Dartmouth and Middlebury when they actually have decent coverage, I'm sure I'll add them to the list...
 

Slidebrook87

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I've never been to Whiteface but Stowe happens to be my family's favorite place to ski in the east. If you factor in lodging, restaurants, the ease of lapping Mt Mansfield from the four runner quad, and all the off the map glades it is tough to beat. I'd consider Stratton, Mt Snow, and Okemo overrated. All three are crowded, over groomed, and not very challenging. Sugarbush may have the best overall terrain in VT and is Alterra's new crown jewel in the east so it's hard for me to consider that resort underrated. Killington on the other hand gets a bad rap for its party vibe but I think the glades there are incredibly underrated. Dare I say that I prefer Killington's glades over Jay's?!

Tony
I would argue that Stratton, Okemo, and Mt. Snow aren't overrated or underrated. They generally attract families looking for a good all-around mountain to be at. The people who ski there are usually wealthy and have kids in ski racing programs. I don't think that anybody thinks any of the mentioned resorts are amazing, but they're not awful either. In terms of awful places, I was not very impressed with Mt. Peter NY, Whiteface, and Bretton Woods, but hey, it's skiing.
 
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