Big Burke announcement

[deadheadskier]

Yes, a couple of times, including a powder day when it was 100% open. I like Burke A LOT. I like it much better than Okemo, Stratton and certainly Sunapee. That said, I didn't go away from the place with an impression that there was much steep terrain. It probably is "steeper" than Okemo and Stratton overall, but nothing at Burke is much steeper than sections of say Defiance and Upper Chief at Okemo or Upper Spruce and Grizzly Bear at Stratton. Maybe a little regarding the Okemo trails listed, but not by much. I think Grizzly Bear is steeper than anything I skied at Burke. There's certainly nothing at Burke that approaches the pitch of some of the trails at Stowe, Sugarbush, MRG, Smuggs, Killington etc.

As far as the skiing being much more interesting than the others? It sure is today, hence my reference to the trails at Okemo in the 80s. Trails like World Cup and Chief were much narrower and hella fun back in the day.

Sorry for ruffling the feathers of the Burke loyalists. My comments certainly shouldn't be taken as criticism of Burke. I don't think a ski area needs to be steep to be a lot of fun. Wildcat is one of my favorites and it's not very steep at all. Perhaps Wildcat would be the better comparison to Burke when discussing trail pitch.

 

[Smellytele]

I would go with the Wildcat comparison because of the middle part of the mountain does have some steep with Feline, Starr Line and Black Cat, Hairball and also some other short pitches on the lower Mtn - Sphynx, and chutes.

 

[riverc0il]

The thing with Burke is that it is damn consistent. Some of the most consistently pitched trails any where. While nothing is super steep, the pitch stays the same for most of the run... you don't have a steep followed by a flat (except maybe Big Dipper which has the mountains steepest sections and flattens out where it crosses the auto road). So while some sections of trails at Okemo and Stratton may be comparable to Burke's steepest, overall Burke has trails that are consistently at the same pitch, not just steep for sections. I really REALLY like that in a ski area.

 

[steamboat1]

This thread is sad.

You guys are comparing the steeps of Okemo & Stratton to Burke.

Doesn't say much for Burke.

 

[riverc0il]

This thread is sad.

You guys are comparing the steeps of Okemo & Stratton to Burke.

Doesn't say much for Burke.

Bottom line: Don't listen to any comparisons made between Okemo/Stratton and Burke. Burke is consistently steeper than Okemo and Stratton. Period. And you can read on my site what I think about Okemo and Stratton and draw your own conclusions about my love for Burke. Go and check the place out. If you don't, it truly is your loss.

 

[skivideoguy]

Effects of Jay/Burke on Sugarbush/Stowe/Smuggs.......

Development like this will pull skiers from other mountains. Are they targeting Boston and Montreal? How will Sugarbush counter? What's their next move? More snowmaking? Some sort of base development over at Mount Ellen? Phase 2 speedup at Lincoln Peak on Clay Brook? Will Smuggs do something about their lifts? It's all good for skiers and I like that program alot! Great to see jobs in VT.

Can't wait to get up there early December!

 

[thetrailboss]

This thread is sad.

You guys are comparing the steeps of Okemo & Stratton to Burke.

Doesn't say much for Burke.

All you need to know is that Burke Mountain Academy is there and they put out some of the best ski racers in the world. It was the first ski academy of its kind. I think that speaks more to Burke's terrain and challenge than comparisons to Okemo or Stratton.

 

[troy]

dude kamon, now your totally talking bs... burke is way steeper consistent pitch than okemo/stratton. Stop dissin' the burke like that. dixiland and jungle are some of the steepest glades in the northeast, how's a 30 foot drop for ya, steep enuff? just sayin'

 

[thetrailboss]

Effects of Jay/Burke on Sugarbush/Stowe/Smuggs.......

Development like this will pull skiers from other mountains. Are they targeting Boston and Montreal? How will Sugarbush counter? What's their next move? More snowmaking? Some sort of base development over at Mount Ellen? Phase 2 speedup at Lincoln Peak on Clay Brook? Will Smuggs do something about their lifts? It's all good for skiers and I like that program alot! Great to see jobs in VT.

Can't wait to get up there early December!

Stowe and Sugarbush are lightyears ahead of Burke and I imagine they don't consider Burke to be a competitor. Stowe is set in its market and just maintaining things as they are. Sugarbush is trying to snag Stowe's crowd, grab some of the BTV locals, and continue to market itself as a destination resort. Smuggs is also pretty well set with its family market.

This is not to say that things can change, but Burke has a long ways to catch up with these folks and, to be honest, they probably want to go after a different crowd.

 

[Smellytele]

Stowe and Sugarbush are lightyears ahead of Burke and I imagine they don't consider Burke to be a competitor. Stowe is set in its market and just maintaining things as they are. Sugarbush is trying to snag Stowe's crowd, grab some of the BTV locals, and continue to market itself as a destination resort. Smuggs is also pretty well set with its family market.

This is not to say that things can change, but Burke has a long ways to catch up with these folks and, to be honest, they probably want to go after a different crowd.

Which crowd would that be?

 

[thetrailboss]

Which crowd would that be?

For Burke, I'd say more purists and folks who have less income than those who go to Stowe or Sugarbush.

 

[deadheadskier]

dude kamon, now your totally talking bs... burke is way steeper consistent pitch than okemo/stratton. Stop dissin' the burke like that. dixiland and jungle are some of the steepest glades in the northeast, how's a 30 foot drop for ya, steep enuff? just sayin'

Burke has some impressive drops on marked glades, maybe the most impressive I've seen in the east actually. That said, those glades are far from "some of the steepest" in the east. They're great fun and have the big drops, but are not what I consider steep.

Burke is a great mountain with consistent pitch, but it does not offer all that steep of terrain. It really doesn't.

 

[kingdom-tele]

For Burke, I'd say more purists and folks who have less income than those who go to Stowe or Sugarbush.

can't run a resort with that clientele.

 

[riverc0il]

dude kamon, now your totally talking bs... burke is way steeper consistent pitch than okemo/stratton. Stop dissin' the burke like that. dixiland and jungle are some of the steepest glades in the northeast, how's a 30 foot drop for ya, steep enuff? just sayin'

Oh now c'mon, now you are just swinging to the opposite field as DHS. I'd done that drop in Jungle and it isn't a 30 foot free fall and one big drop does not a steep glade make. One of those glades dumping into East Bowl has a big one but I wouldn't put that at 30 either. Maybe it depends on the amount of snow. Burke is significantly and much more consistently steep than Okemo or Stratton but it does not have any where near the steepest glades in the northeast. NOT EVEN CLOSE.

 

[riverc0il]

Burke is a great mountain with consistent pitch, but it does not offer all that steep of terrain. It really doesn't.

I don't think any one said it did. This discussion started on this route because you said Burke is about the same pitch as Okemo and maybe Stratton is steeper...

 

[deadheadskier]

I don't think any one said it did. This discussion started on this route because you said Burke is about the same pitch as Okemo and maybe Stratton is steeper...

troy did and my comments were in response to his.

I stand by my argument. There's very little if any terrain at Burke that's steeper than what you can find at Okemo or Stratton. Maximum steepness. I've conceded that yes, overall, Burke is consistently steeper than those two mountains and offered Wildcat as a better comparative, but overall, there's really nothing there that much if at all steeper than the steepest terrain at Okemo and Stratton.

There's nothing at Burke like Goat or Star at Stowe, Upper FIS or Steins at Sugarbush; Chute or Paradise at MRG; Ovation or Outer Limits at Killington; Face Chutes at Jay etc. That's what I'm saying. Great consistent pitch, but nothing on their map is in the conversation of top maybe 30+ steepest trails in the east. It's a great mountain for advanced terrain, but it's expert terrain pitches doesn't go much beyond what you can find at Okemo or Stratton.

If you all want to get out your protractors, topozone or google earth maps and prove me wrong, go for it.

 

[Nick]

Another question, maybe deserves its own thread.... in glades, I feel like density and cover are more important than pitch. The only place I truly care about pitch is open terrain ... groomers or bowls .. maybe because that's what makes a groomer more challenging to me ?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[steamboat1]

For Burke, I'd say more purists and folks who have less income than those who go to Stowe or Sugarbush.

Yep Burke has more purists then Stowe or Sugabush.

Are you serious?

 

[kingdom-tele]

Yep Burke has more purists then Stowe or Sugabush.

Are you serious?

same purists, just fewer of them. need more purists. preferably with less less income.

 

[EPB]

troy did and my comments were in response to his.

I stand by my argument. There's very little if any terrain at Burke that's steeper than what you can find at Okemo or Stratton. Maximum steepness. I've conceded that yes, overall, Burke is consistently steeper than those two mountains and offered Wildcat as a better comparative, but overall, there's really nothing there that much if at all steeper than the steepest terrain at Okemo and Stratton.

There's nothing at Burke like Goat or Star at Stowe, Upper FIS or Steins at Sugarbush; Chute or Paradise at MRG; Ovation or Outer Limits at Killington; Face Chutes at Jay etc. That's what I'm saying. Great consistent pitch, but nothing on their map is in the conversation of top maybe 30+ steepest trails in the east. It's a great mountain for advanced terrain, but it's expert terrain pitches doesn't go much beyond what you can find at Okemo or Stratton.

If you all want to get out your protractors, topozone or google earth maps and prove me wrong, go for it.

I'd say that the topography at Burke compares best to the south ridge quad at Sr at the bottom with Bear Peak on top od it. I mean that as no disrespect as the snow, glades and character of the runs at Burke on both the lower and upper mountain are superior at Burke. That said, id say both Bear Peak and Burke are steeper on the whole than Okemo and the lower section comps very well to the length and vertical of the south ridge at SR.