How many people ski Mt Snow on a busy weekend?

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Mount Snow needs to put that picture in their brochure..

 

[gmcunni]

:-o when was that? i'd pack up and go home.

 

[drjeff]

:-o when was that? i'd pack up and go home.

That was Saturday of New Years Weekend this year - and it was by no means a warm day either

 

[Highway Star]

I'm sure my skis are fatter than your skis...anyway the 6'3 chick you were drinking a Mai Tai with at Caseys Caboose was a dude..FYI..

Nope........

 

[hardline]

thats just silly

 

[ERJ-145CA]

Yikes, that's why I'm glad I have a lot of weekdays off.

 

[marcski]

I don't enjoy liftlines like that either. You've got to be in the woods to make the runs last as long as you can if you must ski with those extensive lines. I'd be on the Sundance triple or the NF if the front face looked like that. Even with lines on the NF, once both triples are running you don't really wait more than 10 mins over there. If you ski the woods, its doable. But, IMHO, that's what Stratton looks like on most weekends....and you can't seem to escape the crowds at all over there like you can at Snow.

Oh, and Jeff....how about shrinking those pics before posting, huh?

 

[Vince]

I know on busy days Okemo mgt. hopes to do 12,000 skiers. Not sure how often they do this. But that is what they shoot for. Saturday was as crowded as I have ever seen it for a non holiday weekend. I could tell it would be a big weekend based on the Friday crowd................... Sunday was odd ball conditions with the top 200 yards of the mountain a foggy chunk of ice. While Solitude and Jackson Gore were pretty good.

 

[billski]

I'll never forget those pics. Convinces me that midweek is the time to be.

 

[drjeff]

Oh, and Jeff....how about shrinking those pics before posting, huh?

Sorry about that, I uploaded the way I normally do, not quite sure why we got full on 110" super widescreen mode :lol:

 

[Ballistic]

Hmm, I'm making my first Mt. Snow visit this Friday morning. Hopefully I won't have to deal with lines anywhere near that long.

 

[Jisch]

I am fairly certain on Friday you will ski up to the lift every time, there will be empty chairs going up all day. That's based on a mid-week trip I made last week. The lines weren't that long yesterday, even at the busiest time.

John

 

[Glenn]

We've been up to Mt. Snow a lot this year...about 10 times....mostly all day trips on Sundays. My wife and I were just commenting this weekend about the lift lines; they haven't been bad at all. Now, let me just say that we have the "classic" season passes. Basically, we're blacked out during Christmas vaca, MLK weekend and Presidents Day weekend. So we're not there for all the high volume days.

But on most Sundays, the lines are tollerable. I can't really recall waitng more than 10 minutes or so in line. The highspeed lifts are often the busiest. If you opt for the Summit Local, it's often ski on. Sunbrook and Bear Trap are empty in the AM...and at times, light volume in the afternoon. The North Face can be hit or miss.

Even with the wind holds on Sunday, lines weren't that bad at all. In fact, the Grand Summit had a shorter line than Canyon. But that may have been with the scratchy conditions up top.

I wouldn't worry about a line there on a weekday; it's usually pretty quite midweek/non holiday.

 

[drjeff]

Hmm, I'm making my first Mt. Snow visit this Friday morning. Hopefully I won't have to deal with lines anywhere near that long.

This Friday, no problems. Next friday, even during Holiday week, still not a big deal. The next 2 weekends, that's where the crowds will likely be, with Saturdays (even on a holiday weekend) usually being the busiest of the weekend days.

 

[drjeff]

We've been up to Mt. Snow a lot this year...about 10 times....mostly all day trips on Sundays. My wife and I were just commenting this weekend about the lift lines; they haven't been bad at all. Now, let me just say that we have the "classic" season passes. Basically, we're blacked out during Christmas vaca, MLK weekend and Presidents Day weekend. So we're not there for all the high volume days.

But on most Sundays, the lines are tollerable. I can't really recall waitng more than 10 minutes or so in line. The highspeed lifts are often the busiest. If you opt for the Summit Local, it's often ski on. Sunbrook and Bear Trap are empty in the AM...and at times, light volume in the afternoon. The North Face can be hit or miss.

Even with the wind holds on Sunday, lines weren't that bad at all. In fact, the Grand Summit had a shorter line than Canyon. But that may have been with the scratchy conditions up top.

I wouldn't worry about a line there on a weekday; it's usually pretty quite midweek/non holiday.

Exactly, as long as Mount Snow is spinning all(or atleast almost all) of the lifts, you can always find a chair that serves some good terrain that will have atmost a 1 minute wait. Will that lift be a high speed quad, probably not - will it often be located very near a high speed quad, well in many areas of the mountain, yes

 

[Geoff]

That was Saturday of New Years Weekend this year - and it was by no means a warm day either

Mister Moose got stuck there over part of the New Years weekend. I guess his sister had a place and he & Ms Moose had a family obligation. He was telling me the fixed grip lifts basically had no line. All the tourons went for the high speed lifts. He said he timed it and it was much faster to just ride the fixed grip lifts.

It amazes me how Killington lost business to Mount Snow and Okemo. Other'n the usual choke points like the K1 gondola and the Skye Peak Express at Bear, KMart no longer has lines unless a bunch of the lifts are iced in or on wind hold.

Edited:
...kind of redundant with Dr Jeff's simultaneous post

 

[vcunning]

From my experience, the photos that DrJeff posted represent about a 12 minute liftline wait at the high speed base quads. Ego Alley and the Summit Triple would have much shorter waits.

The big change that Mount Snow has made under the new ownership is that they generally spin all or most of the lifts during the day. Some don't start until 10 and maybe stop at 3. But they tend to be spinning at peak times. This is different than in years past.

My experience is that I avoid the high speed quads at the base and rarely wait in line at any of the other lifts. The trails on the other lifts tend to be less crowded.

I apologize to my fellow passholders for divulging any secrets. However, when the parking lots have been full, I've had days of not waiting in line. It makes me think that if Mount Snow had more parking and more lifts, they could accommodate more people (with the right distribution)

 

[Geoff]

I apologize to my fellow passholders for divulging any secrets. However, when the parking lots have been full, I've had days of not waiting in line. It makes me think that if Mount Snow had more parking and more lifts, they could accommodate more people (with the right distribution)

How would that work? You invariably end up with too many people sharing too few acres. That's the pre-POWDR Killington syndrome.

 

[drjeff]

How would that work? You invariably end up with too many people sharing too few acres. That's the pre-POWDR Killington syndrome.

In years past, I wouldn't have believed it, but this year, with ALOT of folks on busy days essentially never leaving Carinthia and it's parks, even when the Main Mountain has had big lines on the high speeds, most of the trails have had very tolerable densities of skiers/riders. Putting all of the park features in an area seperate from what most of the non park population uses has really changed for the better IMHO, how the mountain skis/rides for the non park using crowd

 

[vcunning]

How would that work? You invariably end up with too many people sharing too few acres. That's the pre-POWDR Killington syndrome.

Yep, I agree with your point.

However, the funny thing is when the parking lots are full (and of course all the trails are open . . . thank you Mother Nature), I rarely wait in line. Sunbrook and Carinthia are often great areas to explore. For the 1st time this year, I had to wait in line at Sunbrook. It wasn't until I heard (later) that there was a competition on Bear Trap that I figured out why.

My suggestions for readers are to explore remote territory at MS. It's generally uncrowded and the lifts are spinning without lines. Of course, you need to get there early enough to get a parking spot. Two weekends ago, the bottom, lower lot (Lot E) was full and the Snowbarn parking lost was full at mid-day.