Is Mount Snow #1 in S.Vt.?

[highpeaksdrifter]

With all the money they’ve sunk into new and improved snow making, early opening and late closing do those of you who ski Southern Vermont consider Mount Snow the best overall option in the region?

I didn’t know they ski almost 600 acres. I only skied there once, but that was a long time ago. It didn’t seem that big.

 

[bvibert]

I don't ski there all that often, but they do seem to be running a top notch operation there lately. We had a blast there early season last year and I hope to repeat that again this year. I haven't skied a majority of the mountain, but what I have skied (mostly NF) has been nice. It's a great choice if your in this area and don't want to travel the extra distance. On a good snow day I'm almost certainly going to bypass it for Magic though. I just love the vibe there.

 

[ALLSKIING]

Depends on what you are looking for. For snowmaking I would put them in the top two with Stratton for S.VT.

Its pretty big but not huge. For experts its small, the entire main face is blue to green trails. If the snow is good in S VT, I could think of a ton of other places I would like to go as well as N Ma.

 

[wintersyndrome]

Yes Mt. Snow is the southern most mountain in VT

 

[drjeff]

Yes. Not that I'm biased or anything

Here's the latest video they just put up on their website showing some of the installation work of the 150 fanguns this summer.

http://www.mountsnow.com/images/video/flashvideo2.html?url=fangun_install_08.flv

 

[hardline]

Yes. Not that I'm biased or anything

Here's the latest video they just put up on their website showing some of the installation work of the 150 fanguns this summer.

http://www.mountsnow.com/images/video/flashvideo2.html?url=fangun_install_08.flv

that vid was funny. i wasn't there for the early opening but i was there for one of the last weekends and they must blow a ton of snow.

 

[Geoff]

With all the money they’ve sunk into new and improved snow making, early opening and late closing do those of you who ski Southern Vermont consider Mount Snow the best overall option in the region?

I didn’t know they ski almost 600 acres. I only skied there once, but that was a long time ago. It didn’t seem that big.

By most metrics, Stratton is #1. The mountain is higher. It has more vertical drop. It has more acres. When I skied there as a kid in the 1960's and 1970's, it was a lot more interesting than it is now. Back then, it was double chairs, natural snow surface, and minimal grooming with narrow trails that took every advantage of the limited terrain features of the hill. They chainsawed and groomed the character out of the place. Mount Snow has more variety in their terrain but an advanced skier will tend to wear it out fairly quickly since so much of the front face is very low intermediate.

 

[roark]

By most metrics, Stratton is #1. The mountain is higher. It has more vertical drop. It has more acres. When I skied there as a kid in the 1960's and 1970's, it was a lot more interesting than it is now. Back then, it was double chairs, natural snow surface, and minimal grooming with narrow trails that took every advantage of the limited terrain features of the hill. They chainsawed and groomed the character out of the place. Mount Snow has more variety in their terrain but an advanced skier will tend to wear it out fairly quickly since so much of the front face is very low intermediate.

Magic has the best terrain in S VT. EOD.

Snow vs Stratton:

On paper, Stratton might look better.

At least there is something for an advanced skier at Snow! Stratton has been so homogenized there's no character left. There is nothing at Stratton with the pitch of the north face, or the interest of some of the (admittedly few) old school trails like upper ledge and uncles. Trees seem much better at Snow as well, although I do know my way around Snow better so I'm sure there is much I can learn at Stratton.

But the things most important to an area with so little snow are snowmaking and grooming. Obviously we'd love to ski powder every day, but it ain't going to happen.

I believe last year Snow seriously overtook Stratton in snowmaking (they did get lucky with the December rains refilling the pond) and grooming. The fan guns are for real, especially in the marginal temps common in S VT. The few days I skied Stratton last year the grooming was terrible: large ruts, chunky buildup where the passes didn't quite overlap. Since they groom almost every single trail every single day they don't have the time to do a top notch job. Snow seemed to focus on certain trails each night being sure to do a good job on each without trying to groom every single trail on the mt every day. And Stratton skis so damn small since the only interesting part is off of Ursa. Go elsewhere, and it's either the gondola or two rides on six packs to get back up.

That said, this year I got a pass at K. Snow does get boring.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

With all the money they’ve sunk into new and improved snow making, early opening and late closing do those of you who ski Southern Vermont consider Mount Snow the best overall option in the region?

I didn’t know they ski almost 600 acres. I only skied there once, but that was a long time ago. It didn’t seem that big.

I think their terrain is steeper than Okemo and Stratton. I haven't skied Bromley or Magic before. The fact that they open early and close late gives them major bonus points IMHO..Bennington which is where I stay when I hit Mount Snow is only 4 hours from me..Mount Snow is up there for southern Vermont..fo shizzle..But if I have more than a short weekend..I would rather head farther north..

 

[Greg]

I give Mount Snow a lot of credit for their early season effort last year. November bumps on Chute were rad. I also give them credit for seeding Ego Alley in the spring and staying open late. It's slightly closer than Okemo, and overall I like the North Face better than most of Okemo. Mount Snow was also the first "real" mountain I skied and I skied there a lot in the mid-90's so it will always be a bit special to me. SoVT powder day and I'm hitting Magic, but Snow is still a good hill and worth the 2:30 drive.

 

[rachelv]

Speaking as someone who has to drive 3-4 hours to get anywhere in VT, Mt. Snow has definitely become my #1 choice after last year. Yeah, it can get kind of boring, but when the trees are open, and now that I'm spending more time in the park, it can keep me busy for a weekend no problem.

The snow's been great, they've done a great job managing crowds, and it's just really obvious that they're making a big effort to keep everyone satisfied. I could drive another hour for some more challenging terrain, but especially now that I really know the mountain and can always find something to entertain me it's just not worth it. I only ski weekends (unfortunately) and I know Mt. Snow's going to have decent conditions.

Last year we generally did Mt Snow on regular weekends, then headed further -- Stowe, MRG -- on long weekends. I feel like this year's gonna go the same way.

 

[Marc]

With all the money they’ve sunk into new and improved snow making, early opening and late closing do those of you who ski Southern Vermont consider Mount Snow the best overall option in the region?

I didn’t know they ski almost 600 acres. I only skied there once, but that was a long time ago. It didn’t seem that big.

One of the reasons they have that much acreage is because a bunch of their front trails are gigantic, wide boulevards.... apologies if someone has pointed that out already.

 

[BeanoNYC]

Speaking as someone who has to drive 3-4 hours to get anywhere in VT, Mt. Snow has definitely become my #1 choice after last year. Yeah, it can get kind of boring, but when the trees are open, and now that I'm spending more time in the park, it can keep me busy for a weekend no problem.

+1 (minus the terrain park)

Mount Snow is my first choice in Southern Vermont. If I have the time, however, I'll head north a few more hours and hit Sugarbush.

 

[ALLSKIING]

Speaking as someone who has to drive 3-4 hours to get anywhere in VT, Mt. Snow has definitely become my #1 choice after last year.

+1 (minus the terrain park)

Mount Snow is my first choice in Southern Vermont.

Is this true even during a powder day? If so you guys really have to try Magic. The place is like a small MRG.

 

[BeanoNYC]

Is this true even during a powder day? If so you guys really have to try Magic. The place is like a small MRG.

Meh...powder day I would travel the extra hours up North. I've never been to Magic, but it's on my list, for sure.

 

[ALLSKIING]

Meh...powder day I would travel the extra hours up North. I've never been to Magic, but it's on my list, for sure.

But what if its a southern storm......

 

[BeanoNYC]

But what if its a southern storm......

Touche'

 

[Greg]

Is this true even during a powder day? If so you guys really have to try Magic. The place is like a small MRG.

Meh...powder day I would travel the extra hours up North. I've never been to Magic, but it's on my list, for sure.

Magic is on the northern periphery of what I consider a doable day trip, especially if the roads are sketchy. If I can't fit in an overnight further north, Magic is the place to go for me on a powder day. You really need to take advantage of powder days at Magic since their snowmaking capability is not as extensive as Snow, Okemo and Stratton.

 

[marcski]

IMHO, other than Magic, which as stated above, has the best terrain in S. Vt. hands down, Mt. Snow has the most interesting terrain to me. The north face including the woods has more to keep me busy, occupied and having fun than either Stratton or Okemo. Plus there are still a few interesting blue runs on the front face. More so than anything at Stratton. Plus Snow has a bit more pitch than Stratton and Okemo. Stratton does have some decent tree skiing, but I think since they put in URSA, the place skis weird. They also desparately need to replace the liftline lift with a hsq. Plus, the liftlines get pretty bad and the people in those lines are even worse.