Coldest ski area in the NE US

[Masskier]

What ski area would you think is the coldest? Colder temps usually means more snow and lighter powder. Burke is the coldest in VT and probably the NE US. Check it out.

 

[snowmonster]

I always thought it was Jay Peak. It sure feels that way when you're on the Freezer.

 

[ccskier]

When you factor I the wind, I would say Jay. Hands down, Burke doesn't get the wind.

 

[WoodCore]

I can't say for sure but would imagine Wildcat and Sugarloaf should be on this list.

 

[riverc0il]

With the wind, Jay no doubt. Burke can be cold but no where near as bad as riding a lift at Jay when that wind is blowing. Very few places have forced me inside after a single run. Jay is one of them.

 

[BackLoafRiver]

Saddleback has to be in the running somewhere. It is damn cold. When you factor in the wind...it's downright painful sometimes. I would say it can be worse than Sugarloaf

 

[andrec10]

Whiteface=Iceface. This mtn has to be in the running for coldest.

 

[UVSHTSTRM]

What ski area would you think is the coldest? Colder temps usually means more snow and lighter powder. Burke is the coldest in VT and probably the NE US. Check it out.

I find it hard to believe it isn't Sugarloaf......on the coldest days in the Northeast it has the Northwest Location and high altitude, plus they don't close the lifts to the top for no reason.

Also Big Squaw at Moosehead Lake is pretty cold......I was there one day as a teen and it was 35 below out without windchill.......wind chill -55. It warmed by afternoon to -20.

 

[Warp Daddy]

Whiteface=Iceface. This mtn has to be in the running for coldest.

THAT -------------------------plus Tremblant = coldest in Eastern North America!!!!
i've skied it with -75 degree F windchill

 

[Philpug]

I always thought it was Jay Peak. It sure feels that way when you're on the Freezer.

That Freeze is the coldest damn lift I have ever been on. Whoever decided to put that lift there should have their design license revoked.

 

[bigbog]

When the temps really plunge with winds..they can indeed be pretty brutal around Sugarloaf but the thin fleece headmasks and the neoprene over the boots(name?..as they're somewhere in the closet..LOL) is fantastic for those days...
The quad/glute-work at Sugarloaf really warms you up if you have the layering plus above right...

$.01

 

[Old Geezer]

I'll bet this question would get entirely different answer if it were to be asked on a canadian ski site, biglines.com for example.

 

[Masskier]

When you factor I the wind, I would say Jay. Hands down, Burke doesn't get the wind.

Its amazing, In skiing Burke most weekends over the past 13 years, I can only remember 3 times that there was a wind hold on the Willoughby quad. When looking at Burke from Kirby road, you can see another peak that apparently shelters the lift from the wind most of the time. Does anyone know the name of this peak/mountain?

 

[Masskier]

I find it hard to believe it isn't Sugarloaf......on the coldest days in the Northeast it has the Northwest Location and high altitude, plus they don't close the lifts to the top for no reason.

Also Big Squaw at Moosehead Lake is pretty cold......I was there one day as a teen and it was 35 below out without windchill.......wind chill -55. It warmed by afternoon to -20.

I thought the same thing. However when I checked into it, the January average high is the same for both
Burke and Sugarloaf (23) degrees, but the January average low is -1 at Burke and 0 at Sugarloaf. Burke actually has an average low of -3 for several nights in January. I think this makes Burke the Coldest in the NE US.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

My vote for the coldest resort in the east in Tremblant,PQ.

I never thought Burke was a very cold place and data from the US Weather Service seems to comfirm that. For example In Jan, the average temp at Burke is 28F and the average temp in Jan at Stowe is 11F. The average low in Jan at Burke is
5F and the average low in Jan at Stowe is 1F.

 

[Masskier]

My vote for the coldest resort in the east in Tremblant,PQ.

I never thought Burke was a very cold place and data from the US Weather Service sems to comfirm that. For example In Jan, the average temp at Burke is 28F and the average temp in Jan at Stowe is 11F.

I'm not sure where you are getting your weather data from but, the January monthly averages for Burke are, High 23, low -1, mean 11

see http://www.weather.com/outlook/recreation/ski/wxclimatology/monthly/USVT0062

Stowe January averages are high 25, low 1, mean 13

see http://www.weather.com/outlook/recreation/ski/wxclimatology/monthly/USVT0233

 

[marcski]

I'm not sure where you are getting your weather data from but, the January monthly averages for Burke are, High 23, low -1, mean 11

see http://www.weather.com/outlook/recreation/ski/wxclimatology/monthly/USVT0062

Stowe January averages are high 25, low 1, mean 13

see http://www.weather.com/outlook/recreation/ski/wxclimatology/monthly/USVT0233

These readings are probably for down in town. The weather on Mansfield will certainly be more severe.

Without having any empirical data to compare, I would also think Stowe might have the coldest temps of resorts in the US. Perhaps Tremblant for coldest in the East.

 

[jaywbigred]

When the temps really plunge with winds..they can indeed be pretty brutal around Sugarloaf but the thin fleece headmasks and the neoprene over the boots(name?..as they're somewhere in the closet..LOL) is fantastic for those days...
The quad/glute-work at Sugarloaf really warms you up if you have the layering plus above right...

$.01

They are called Boot Gloves: http://www.rei.com/product/679011

My .2 cents - how cold a ski resort feels a function of its natural topography and weather profile but also of its lift - speed and exposure being the key factors. With that being said, Bolton Valley is COLD, in my memory -- similar weather profile as Stowe (I'd guess), but with no gondi and v. slow lifts. Perhaps my memory is effected by having skied it at night too.

Also, on a sunny day, Bromley is among the warmest, but ski it on a cold/windy day, and the last 500 yards of the Sun Mountain Express are almost unbearable.

 

[danpop]

Not sure if the coldest, but Cannon is a very cold mountain.

 

[bigbog]

Remember Masskier,
Those temperatures taken by NOAA/USWS strictly by the physical day/hour..etc, not after 8am and before 3:30pm...skiing hours alone...but I'd definitely have to go with either someplace in higher in elevation for pure temperature, but to the human experience..Vermont and NH are colder..but a lot drier than Maine...air always feels a little colder with a little more moisture.
That's it JayBigRed.. After I finally got a comfortable fit above my high insteps...letting the circulation flow, every day was significantly warmer..;-)