hook a brother up

[happyjack]

the week is finally here! we're heading out of baltimore this thursday afternoon (3/20) for the long (and hopefully rewarding) drive north to vermont to ski on friday, saturday and sunday. i haven't skied north of pa, since 1992 (!!!) so i'm hella excited to get up there.

the wife found an inn she liked near magic so we booked there, but i'm thinking that we'll likely ski more at bromley since it appears to have a better set up for our kids (ages 5 & 7). hopefully the conditions at bromley and magic allow us to avoid stratton...i'd rather keep it small and quiet for the kids, which i realize will be a challenge on a holiday weekend.

anyway, i got a few questions i'm hoping you guys can help me with:

1 - the drive: i haven't made this drive in a long time, however my nightmares are still riddled with scenes of jersey turnpike/garden state parkway bloodbaths. i'm thinking that a thursday evening between 6-8 PM is gonna be ugly, so i am considering avoiding the area all together and driving an extra 50 miles to go through harrisburg and scranton to reach the ny state thruway at newburgh -- any thoughts or tips on this strategy?

2 - magic ski school/kids programs: anyone have experience with these? in looking at the trail map, it doesn't appear to have a separate ski school area...i.e. no separate lifts, etc. my kids normally ride the lifts with us, but i usually like to get them warmed up on the bunny slope which (at least in the md/lower pa area) is serviced by a carpet lift or t-bar. are we better off at bromley for the first day until the kids get their ski legs?

3 - magic's terrain: just curious about the relative difficultly of the greens and blues at magic compared to say stratton or even killington? i definitely want to get the kids up on the mountain, but don't want to put the fear of god into them either. both kids have pretty good snow plow turns and can control speed dairly well. my son, the 7 year old, is already choosing the "steeper" sides of the runs...my daughter is a little more tentative.

4 - eats & drinks: i like to patronize local establishments over the chains, so any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

cheers!
~jack

 

[bvibert]

I've only been on a few of Magic's green trails, mostly the ones that you need to use to get to the harder terrain, but they seem pretty tame and have always been nicely groomed. I believe they run their rope tow next to the tube park (which is closed AFAIK) for beginners to use as an option to going all the way to the top. I don't know how far up it goes though. That said, I think you're going to be better of at Bromley with the kids, you'll have more lift options if nothing else. I would suggest giving Magic a try at least one of the days though. It's a great mountain.

 

[riverc0il]

Bromley is a great option for kids and those learning to ski. Magic's short coming in this area is not having a beginner lift (yet) so every run must be top to bottom. Magic Carpet is pretty gentle off the summit and then you have more options from Magic Carpet down lower. Beginners may get Vertigo over Red Line though :lol: but other wise will be fine coming down if they have a good wedge turn and stopping ability.

 

[deadheadskier]

Magic's short coming in this area is not having a beginner lift (yet)

Actually long ago around 1984 they had a beginner chair up the little dipper. I learned how to snowboard off it when Magic and Stratton were the only two ski areas in New England that allowed the sport. You had to get 'certified' riding that lift before they'd let you up the summit lift.

I wonder when/why they took it out.

 

[Talisman]

I can help with a few items.

2 - magic ski school/kids programs: anyone have experience with these? in looking at the trail map, it doesn't appear to have a separate ski school area...i.e. no separate lifts, etc. my kids normally ride the lifts with us, but i usually like to get them warmed up on the bunny slope which (at least in the md/lower pa area) is serviced by a carpet lift or t-bar. are we better off at bromley for the first day until the kids get their ski legs?

Magic is usually deserted so a seperate area isn't an issue and there is a handle tow next to the tubing park for learning. You might be better off at Bromley for getting ski legs as there are several lifts there that are learner specific.

3 - magic's terrain: just curious about the relative difficultly of the greens and blues at magic compared to say stratton or even killington? i definitely want to get the kids up on the mountain, but don't want to put the fear of god into them either. both kids have pretty good snow plow turns and can control speed dairly well. my son, the 7 year old, is already choosing the "steeper" sides of the runs...my daughter is a little more tentative.

Magic's terrain is fairly challenging and the green off of the summit can easily be neggotiated by confident snow plow turns. The lack of skier traffic makes those beginners I brought to Magic gain confidence. i would be concerned about snow pack and grooming of the steeper terrain at Magic as the snow making there hasn't been the best, but this has been a year with good snow pack in VT.

4 - eats & drinks: i like to patronize local establishments over the chains, so any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

The Mill in Londonderry has treated me well but I haven't been there this year. Baba Louis in Chester has a cult following. The bar at Magic is a good spot for an apres ski beer.

cheers!
~jack

 

[gladerider]

1 - the drive: i haven't made this drive in a long time, however my nightmares are still riddled with scenes of jersey turnpike/garden state parkway bloodbaths. i'm thinking that a thursday evening between 6-8 PM is gonna be ugly, so i am considering avoiding the area all together and driving an extra 50 miles to go through harrisburg and scranton to reach the ny state thruway at newburgh -- any thoughts or tips on this strategy?
~jack

it all depends on what time you are hitting NJPike. I would strongly suggest you take 287 > 87.
also, depending on what time you are passing by Philly, 95 helps.

it all depends on what time you are hitting it. i don't think turnpike north bound between 6-8 should be that bad. it could be bad if you are crossing George Washington.

this is what i would recommend.
95 to philly > 95 > 276 (NJ Turnpike ext) > NJ Turnpike to exit 14 > 78W > 24N > 287 > 87 to Troy > Bennington Pass

 

[happyjack]

thanks for the replies and info.

sounds like we should plan for bromley on friday and play it by ear for the weekend.

i've had 3 different people tell me the route thru pa. is too far out of the way, so i guess i'll stick with jersey. all the recs have been some variation of gladrider's route.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

If you live in Baltimore..I'd suggest I-81 to I-78 east to 287 north to 87 north and then the cutover to Bennington..NJ Turnpike is a shitstorm..

 

[deadheadskier]

..NJ Turnpike is a shitstorm..

Quite possibly the WORST highway in the Country

 

[happyjack]

If you live in Baltimore..I'd suggest I-81 to I-78 east to 287 north to 87 north and then the cutover to Bennington..NJ Turnpike is a shitstorm..

hmmm...that route looks pretty..ummm...steezey. according to google maps it would save time/mileage versus the route through scranton and is only about 35 miles longer than the jersey turnpike route. we may have a winner.

 

[Sorcerer]

4 - eats & drinks: i like to patronize local establishments over the chains, so any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

cheers!
~jack

You don't have to worry about chains in that area - there aren't any.

Not knowing what you like there are a number of choices within 3-4 miles of Magic.

Cheaper simple places are Grandma Frisbies (1.5 miles), Stoddard,s (for breakfast or lunch), New American Grill(similar to a diner) or Jake's(Bar and Grill with Pizza) in the shopping center.

The Mill (old barn like place with big fireplace), and Swiss Inn (swiss specialties including fondues) are a little fancier but still great with kids.

If you want Gourmet, both The Garden and Three Clock Inn are great.

 

[happyjack]

thanks again to everyone for the recommendations and advice. we had a great trip.

we ended up skiing bromley on friday and saturday. no crowd at all...we waited maybe 5 minutes once for the hsq on saturday. there were definitel a few icy patches, especially near the summit, but good times nonetheless. it was a great mountain for the kids..they loved run around.

on sunday morning (our getaway day), only my son and i wanted to ski, so we tried magic. it was a ghost town, so we were the 3rd pair on the lifts going up when they opened. we got in about 8 runs before we had to leave for the drive back home...on probably half of those runs we didn't see another skier on the trail the whole way down. it was really icy though. they were grooming up until about noon so as long as we stayed on the groomed path it was tolerable...certainly better than no skiing at all!

we ate at jakes (great food, very reasonably priced) and the mill tavern (really awesome food, but you pay for it).