Hunter VS Mt Snow

[jmgard]

Had plenty of great untracked powder in the trees at Snow today. It's been my home mountain for a few years now and has plenty of fun stuff to keep you occupied if you know where to look. Decent tree skiing all over the place, some marked, some not so much. Caveat: I avoid it on Saturdays if at all possible. It can be insane, however they have a ton of redundant lifts so if you don't ride Bluebird you'll generally be okay. This is because Mount Snow is to Connecticut what Loon is to Eastern Mass. Tons of people go there because it's the first "real" mountain if you're coming from points south. Long John at 1pm on a Saturday is one of the most difficult trails on the East Coast...

 

[jmgard]

To add: I've been to Hunter once, on a midweek day last season with 4-5" of fresh snow. It was a fun day and I was pleasantly surprised by the terrain on the back side (Annapurna) and upper mountain/F lift area (Crossover, Minya Konka, etc.), and the 6pack lift on the front is great for fairly long laps if there's no line, but it definitely feels a lot smaller than Snow. Never been on a weekend but have to imagine it's similarly busy. One weird complaint: there's a big wide slope in the middle of the mountain that is named as like four different trails at the same time? What's the deal with that?

 

[180]

The reason, resorts like to name so many trails is to help with identification of locations for ski patrol and maintenance

To add: I've been to Hunter once, on a midweek day last season with 4-5" of fresh snow. It was a fun day and I was pleasantly surprised by the terrain on the back side (Annapurna) and upper mountain/F lift area (Crossover, Minya Konka, etc.), and the 6pack lift on the front is great for fairly long laps if there's no line, but it definitely feels a lot smaller than Snow. Never been on a weekend but have to imagine it's similarly busy. One weird complaint: there's a big wide slope in the middle of the mountain that is named as like four different trails at the same time? What's the deal with that?

 

[jmgard]

The reason, resorts like to name so many trails is to help with identification of locations for ski patrol and maintenance

Ah ok thanks, I get that for upper/middle/lower, I just hadn't seen it side-by-side on one open slope before.

 

[Funky_Catskills]

they both suck pretty bad.

yawn..... chortle.....yawn....

 

[Funky_Catskills]

Seriously. Welcome to the internet I guess.

Welcome to the complaints of intermediates with too much testosterone to admit they suck and can't navigate eastern conditions.... hahahaha.....

 

[lerops]

Depends where you're coming from. For me Mt Snow is about 3.5 hours, so I don't really consider that a day trip distance. If I lived closer I could see it though. Catskills are 2-2.5 for me, so those are my choices for day trips (with Platty being 2.5 hours and my first choice as long as conditions allow).

If I'm going to drive an extra hour from the Cats to somewhere else, I'd personally probably pick Gore. That's about the same distance as Mt Snow (although obviously if we're looking at only Peaks resorts then this choice is irrelevant).

This


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[andrec10]

Welcome to the complaints of intermediates with too much testosterone to admit they suck and can't navigate eastern conditions.... hahahaha.....

Thanks for that!

 

[Funky_Catskills]

Thanks for that!

I dunno.... If it gets crowded I find a place that is not.. Even at Hunter.
I stick to the sides of the trails where the snow ends up..
I ride the harder trails that aren't as crowded.
I ride during lunch on weekends when it's not as crowded.
I take the D chair to the F chair to avoid the 6Pack..
I don't complain. I can handle this.. Not even a problem. It's actually fun.. Remember fun?

 

[andrec10]

I dunno.... If it gets crowded I find a place that is not.. Even at Hunter.
I stick to the sides of the trails where the snow ends up..
I ride the harder trails that aren't as crowded.
I ride during lunch on weekends when it's not as crowded.
I take the D chair to the F chair to avoid the 6Pack..
I don't complain. I can handle this.. Not even a problem. It's actually fun.. Remember fun?

Exactly!

 

[NYDB]

It's not worth it to me to drive the extra hour plus all the time, but it is worth it to do once in a while to mix things up with my Peaks Pass.
The lodge is so much nicer, Hunters lodge is a dump with a bar that overlooks the parking lot(who's bright idea was that?)

I thought that was setup so you could entertain yourself with viewing all the parking lot fights.

 

[Smellytele]

I dunno.... If it gets crowded I find a place that is not.. Even at Hunter.
I stick to the sides of the trails where the snow ends up..
I ride the harder trails that aren't as crowded.
I ride during lunch on weekends when it's not as crowded.
I take the D chair to the F chair to avoid the 6Pack..
I don't complain. I can handle this.. Not even a problem. It's actually fun.. Remember fun?

I find another place to ski that I don't have to deal with any of that.

 

[kingslug]

They groom the hell out of the west side now..so you know, everyone can go down it...be it on their ass..or face. Same with Racers. scary watching people sliding right for the fence/tree patch near the bottom..where that guy got killed. People see a groomed run and figure ..how hard can it be...

 

[legalskier]

Hunter is 2 hours away , Mt Snow around 3 ish...so... Tired of Hunter but is Mt Snow worth the extra hour. Havent been there in a while but they seem to get more snow.

I've skied both- MS 5 times, Hunter more times than I can count. Midweek mostly. Both have excellent snow making systems assuring very good coverage fast- good for seasons like this one. They have almost identical vertical drops, but MS's trails are longer which means they're generally flatter. MS North Face has a couple of good steeps but Hunter's steeps are better and more numerous. When I ski Hunter I feel like I'm getting a workout, not so for Snow. MS has nicer lodges but what I'm interested in is out on the hill.
If you're tired of Hunter, you ought to try a variety of other hills, not just MS. I agree with others above that Plattekill, Magic & Gore are very good alternatives if you're factoring driving distance, though conditions so far this season have been disappointing. Gore is one of my faves of all Eastern areas. I also like Pico but that's further away.

One weird complaint: there's a big wide slope in the middle of the mountain that is named as like four different trails at the same time? What's the deal with that?

Originally it was called "Hunter Mountain Ski Bowl." First time I went there was 1969- I remember having the same impression the first time I looked up at the front face- "wide open."

It's a shame that Princeton Ski Bowl at Bearpen Mtn went under- it would have been another option for the 'Cats: http://nyskiblog.com/magazine/eastern-us/bearpen-mountain-ny-original-beast/

 

[BenedictGomez]

This forum is savage...

I actually appreciate the honestly. For instance, given I just learned Mount Snow is only perhaps marginally better than Hunter (if at all), it tells me I never need to bother going to Mount Snow. There's value in that (brutal) honestly.

 

[Glenn]

I actually appreciate the honestly. For instance, given I just learned Mount Snow is only perhaps marginally better than Hunter (if at all), it tells me I never need to bother going to Mount Snow. There's value in that (brutal) honestly.

Or you could give it try and see what you think in real life vs. a forum opinion. Worse case: they were right, but you tried a new mountain.

 

[Funky_Catskills]

I find another place to ski that I don't have to deal with any of that.

Cool - I use the same techniques at other areas too.. Even Jackson Hole..

 

[sankaty]

Long John at 1pm on a Saturday is one of the most difficult trails on the East Coast...

I like Snow, but this is a true statement. They should market Long John from an ultimate-fighting-cage-match angle:

5000 novice skiers enter. Only one will leave.

 

[Funky_Catskills]

I thought that was setup so you could entertain yourself with viewing all the parking lot fights.

So - just look over the parking lot and onto the northern peaks of the Catskills. Thomas Cole, Black Dome and Blackhead mountains..
Or just stare at a parking lot.... all goood...


Other than Taste of Country - I an assure you after 25 years of riding Hunter I have not seen a fight in the lot..

 

[Funky_Catskills]

happy to stay at platty belle and windham during my limited time in the cats
happy to ski literally anywhere else in Vermont.

So what your saying is "you suck?" and need to ski low angles?
Thats cool...

I guess a "custy" can afford Windham - hahaha...