Advice on December Trips

[jbs1677]

Typically where is the snow in december. I would love to get up to whiteface for a late december trip because when they get dumped on its my favorite mountain.. Any other ideas on solid december trips in the east???

I heard Jay got an inch or 2 in early sept! LOVE THAT!

 

[Puck it]

Go where there is good snow making. Mt Snow, Okemo, Killingon are the closet to you.

 

[bigbog]

December's a fluid month....;-)
The bigger mountains/operations-with-snowguns usually prevail. Watch/listen to snow reports. Everyone does their best to get the desired terrain open asap...sometimes it takes longer, sometimes not.

 

[riverc0il]

Northern Vermont. Period. You can always be skiing trees in December at places like Jay and Stowe unless it is an absolutely horrendous early season. And even then... they are usually just one dump away. If you want to maximize your chances of great snow in December, I see no reason to look any where else. Especially if you need to plan or book ahead of time.

 

[crank]

I say keep you plans fluid if possible, Killington and Okemo are usually pretty good because of their massive snowmaking operations. I've seen northern VT go from great to suck due to the rain/freeze thing. I have also skied powder and trees at Jay in mid December. As always it's hit or miss. For the sure thing - decent man made adn a good amount of terrain hit the big gun resorts. If you are flexible, follow the snow.

 

[riverc0il]

jbs1677 seems to be looking for natural snow, not man made, if I read his post correctly. If man made snow is important (and as such, having good skiing options if the weather is really bad), then going with an area that has good snow making is a good idea. You can't really have both though as the areas with the best natural snow do not tend to have the best snow making.

 

[Greg]

Welcome jbs1677!

 

[UVSHTSTRM]

If were talking Natural it's the usual suspects Jay, Stowe. If it's a combo of some natural snow and snowmaking then Sunday River (not the glades), Killington can be hit or miss with the glades, but is a solid bet for having a large amount of trails open as is Sugarloaf.

 

[deadheadskier]

The only place in the East you can even remotely bank on for natural snow is the Greens from Killington North. That statement is for any month of winter, not just December. Other than that, total crap shoot regarding long term planning outside of some Northern Maine areas and Wildcat having decent base depths in the spring.

Todays economy and the internet often favors last minute booking anyhow. I'd determine several places in different parts of the east that you'd like to visit and book five days out. You'll get the best conditions that way and probably near the best rates too.

 

[WWF-VT]

+1 Northern VT. That area is most likely to get early season natural snowfall. Last year Castlerock at Sugarbush was open in mid December. Keep an eye on the weather / snowfall before you go.

 

[Glenn]

My wife and I did a Mon-Fri trip to Mt. Snow in early December. The cold weather early in the season last year really helped with the snowmaking; coverage was excellent. However, the rain mid week and the worse icestorm in 30 years on Thursday night did not help things.

 

[jbs1677]

Greg, Thanks for the warm welcome.
Glenn, we went up to sugarbush in that Icestorm last year and it was nasty. But that also said friday morning stunk but once the ice chopped up and melted a bit because it was just a thin layer, the skiing got excellent!! Really enjoyed the weeknd. the only issue was that sugerbush had one of the peaks closed and they charged full price which stunk.

I am looking for more of the natural stuff and was hoping mid december was going to have some epic snowfall. Per the farmer's almanac we are supposed to be in for a doozy this winter........ Never been to stowe or killington... Would be interested in checking out each.... I really wanted to go back to Whiteface and check out the new terrian!!

 

[Glenn]

That storm was rough. Mt. Snow lost power and the mountain wasn't open that day. But Friday was an amazingly sunny day ironically.

 

[deadheadskier]

Greg, Thanks for the warm welcome.
Glenn, we went up to sugarbush in that Icestorm last year and it was nasty. But that also said friday morning stunk but once the ice chopped up and melted a bit because it was just a thin layer, the skiing got excellent!! Really enjoyed the weeknd. the only issue was that sugerbush had one of the peaks closed and they charged full price which stunk.

I am looking for more of the natural stuff and was hoping mid december was going to have some epic snowfall. Per the farmer's almanac we are supposed to be in for a doozy this winter........ Never been to stowe or killington... Would be interested in checking out each.... I really wanted to go back to Whiteface and check out the new terrian!!

I wouldn't bet on December for epic snow. Last year was an exception, not the rule. It happens, but you're much more likely to hit natural in January, February or March. As for the Farmers Almanac, I count on it, like I plan my day from the morning horoscope.

As for SB charging full price? Pretty much par for the course for all major resorts in the east. Unless there is very limited terrain, after thanksgiving most areas are charging full non-holiday rates.

Welcome to the forums!!!

 

[Greg]

But that also said friday morning stunk but once the ice chopped up and melted a bit because it was just a thin layer, the skiing got excellent!!

12/12/08? Yeah, the morning was rough, but the human gromers broke it up nicely. Too bad we got that freezing rain on top. That day had a lot of potential with about 10" of snow prior to the changeover. That's December for ya. Still, can't complain about crunchy snow when you have Rumble in mid-December:



My last run down the Mall that day was epic.

 

[JD]

+2 on NVT for early season natural shredding, -1 on tree skiing being safe until January some time. December is a powder fest skinning areas that have not opened yet like parts of J and Stowe, Bolton is a bit of a stash for that as they have the highest base elevation in the state, Burke also. I heard there some where at sugarbush to skin but it's not legal. At some resorts, closed trails are a "slack coutry" type of thing until lift service opnes for them. It's ussually the blue runs that ski the best on thin natural cover....happy hunting. In alot of ways, it's my favorite time of year.

 

[tarponhead]

I really wanted to go back to Whiteface and check out the new terrian!!

My tribe will be there Christmas break. Regarding new terain: I believe they blow snow on the Wilmington, but Hoytes is sans the guns so we'll see. Also they have the new glades opening up.

FWIW, if you have never been to Stowe, you have to go. That place is awesome.

 

[riverc0il]

Double post.

 

[riverc0il]

I wouldn't bet on December for epic snow. Last year was an exception, not the rule. It happens, but you're much more likely to hit natural in January, February or March.

I couldn't disagree. I have had some of my best powder days of the season in December. :-o These are the storms that fall when people are not watching. The storms that just barely clip northern New England while Boston, Hartford, and NYC are getting rain. These are the storms that fall when people are spending their money at malls instead of ski areas. These are the storms that fall when the family hasn't given out Christmas ski presents yet and kids are too busy with school to take vacations and traffic at the ski area is minimal. Boot deep powder all day long is not unheard of the day after a storm. Especially mid-week. Especially if you don't mind a short walk to parts of the ski area that don't have lifts turning yet. Nov-Dec 07 http://www.thesnowway.com/category/trip-reports/reports-by-date/2007-2008-season/page/3 was some of the best conditions of the season... because there were so few people out there compared to the hordes that come out for 6" in the dead of winter. Early season presents a lot of opportunities for big dumps. You gotta be flexible and ready to go at a moments notice. Which is the big problem with booking a vacation in December. Because you are also just as likely to get skunked and be skiing two WROD trails flat and fast as a skating rink as you are a foot of fresh. But the fact remains that it is pretty rare December does not yield a big jackpot at least once or two in NoVT.

 

[jbs1677]

You gotta be flexible and ready to go at a moments notice. Which is the big problem with booking a vacation in December. Because you are also just as likely to get skunked and be skiing two WROD trails flat and fast as a skating rink as you are a foot of fresh. But the fact remains that it is pretty rare December does not yield a big jackpot at least once or two in NoVT.

Steve, I love the info you sent from that site is excellent. I have been talking with my friends about skipping out of work on a Wednesday and ski thursday and friday some week in Early Dec or whatever day of the week is snows to avoid the crowds and take advantage of the fresh tracks available...

You have all be super helpful about this. As you can tell I am VERY excited about this winter and am having problems concentrating at work because its all I can think about... Even excited when I hear that parts of colorado got 2 inches of snow yesterday