Killington vs. Sunday River

[Vortex]

Geoff. I wondered how long it would take. Again ... Your probably the Sr K guy around here. You points are well taken. Again my likes for groomers have us on other ends of the fence. I would not go as far as the okemo reference, but I see where you were going. Apre ski no comparison

 

[kbroderick]

I don't know about "homogenous". Yes, Sunday River has a strong bias towards groomers with manmade snow; given the climate, there's not much of a choice. However, those groomers do have character. I can't think of a single trail outside of South Ridge that doesn't have at least some interesting terrain on it, and the feel of Obsession is hugely different from that of Right Stuff or that of Rogue Angel (and so on and so forth). Even White Heat, which seems at first glance to be a straight-down-the-fall line marketing gimmick, has at least three distinct changes in pitch before the short flat at the bottom and tends to not have some degree of sidehill.

 

[Brettski]

There really is no comparison

And what is all this talk about after skiing activities?

It's about the quality of the snow...and you say the trails are mundane? I love the fact that on the later terrain that there are no cross overs...boom cut four trails on this hill...done...and what about oz? Never mind the off piste stuf...

OK, so at 8 hours it's not a day trip option (nor is 4)

And here's another clue...no New Yorkers

I'm allowed to say that

I think once you get North of KMART it's that way

 

[deadheadskier]

I have quite a bit of experience skiing Killington and limited at Sunday River, but after last season, my vote sways towards the river.

Killington does have the better steeps and natural snow, however if I'm in that neck of the woods, I'd choose to be at Sugarbush or Stowe, which has K beat in both those catagories.

Sunday has the better grooming and to me, a considerably better trail layout with longer uninterupted fall line skiing. I'm not saying Sunday Rive is long on verticle, but you can at least sting together twenty decent turns without running into a Manhattan intersection like you get at K. I think both areas compare equally when it comes to real verticle, but SR trails seem more interupted and defined than the grid that the forefathers of killington laid out on the hill.

The intanglible would just be 'the feel' or sense of place. This I think SR has in spades. I just feel more relaxed and hassle free skiing there than I ever have felt at Killington. To me that's a big part of my ski experience and like I said, its an intangible. I couldn't tell you why I feel a better sense of place at SR than K, but I do.

 

[MikeTrainor]

Killington may have more nightlife options, but Sud's Pub in Bethel never disappoints, for a night out.

 

[Edd]

Sunday has the better grooming and to me, a considerably better trail layout with longer uninterupted fall line skiing. I'm not saying Sunday Rive is long on verticle, but you can at least sting together twenty decent turns without running into a Manhattan intersection like you get at K. I think both areas compare equally when it comes to real verticle, but SR trails seem more interupted and defined than the grid that the forefathers of killington laid out on the hill.

The intanglible would just be 'the feel' or sense of place. This I think SR has in spades. I just feel more relaxed and hassle free skiing there than I ever have felt at Killington. To me that's a big part of my ski experience and like I said, its an intangible. I couldn't tell you why I feel a better sense of place at SR than K, but I do.

These two paragraphs hit the nail on the head in terms of SR's advantages over K. Also, while SR can groom the crap out of trails, it is not hard to find plenty of interesting bumpy terrain. To the extent that it's possible, K would be better off if they closed off half of those crosstrails. It bums me out that such a big mountain I have a pass to is a pain in the ass. I'm going to give it another try or two this year. Wish me luck.

 

[millerm277]

I'm used to K, and have only skied at SR a few times, so I am definitely biased. However, Killington has some great terrain in my mind, the Canyon area, Ovation and such off the Superstar lift if it's open, and OL and Devil's Fiddle on Bear. The crosstrails don't affect any of these areas, except for the headwalls of some of the Canyon trails.

 

[Birdman829]

You should go to K more often because they have better terrain. And like you said you ski a lot of weekdays so just avoid hitting the Mart on weekends and you're set.

 

[Newpylong]

Cutovers are only a problem if you make them so. There is just as much fall line terrain there as anywhere, and plenty of trails spliced.

Devil's Fiddle
Outer Limits
Superstar
Ovation
Cascade
Downdraft
Double Dipper
East Fall


While not straight down these are all awesome advanced trails (steeper than anything at Sunday River) where you won't be interfered by cutovers. Always a different experience on them...


There are plenty of int. runs as well of the same... So many guides have been written for Killington because your experience will be based on where you go, sad but true.

 

[Edd]

Thanks to the folks that made trail suggestions for K. I think I'm going on Tue to give K another shot.

 

[Razor]

A couple of other things to throw on the fire. Sunday River is a much better value. You can get much cheaper deals. Restaurants in Bethel, while not as many as K, are much cheaper. You can get a terrific meal for under $15 just about anywhere. And nothing at K beats the pizza/beer/movie deal for $10 at Sud's Pub. On the other hand, on a freezing day like the one I experienced last Friday at K, the gondola and skyship options make K a winner. One may bring up the NY/NJ factor at K as a contributor to the "better vibe" at SR, but I'd hate to open that can of worms.

 

[sledhaulingmedic]

I prefer Somday Bigger, but end up a K-mart a little more often. K has some great little gems, Catwalk, Roundabout, but as far a steeps, there about even, Bear Mountain is about on par with White Hype and Shockwave.

K has it with the snow and elevation.

K loses big with the trail layout, The crazy trail intersections and "trails to nowhere" are annoying at best. As I get to know the place better, I mind it a little less.

I day trip both all the time. K-mart is a quicker ride, as it's nearly all highway. The new bypass in Grey will speed up the trip to SR.

I prefer the clientele at SR.

 

[Newpylong]

I prefer Somday Bigger, but end up a K-mart a little more often. K has some great little gems, Catwalk, Roundabout, but as far a steeps, there about even, Bear Mountain is about on par with White Hype and Shockwave.

K has it with the snow and elevation.

K loses big with the trail layout, The crazy trail intersections and "trails to nowhere" are annoying at best. As I get to know the place better, I mind it a little less.

I day trip both all the time. K-mart is a quicker ride, as it's nearly all highway. The new bypass in Grey will speed up the trip to SR.

I prefer the clientele at SR.

I agree with all of this except comparing White Cap to Bear. I don't believe there is much of a comparison... I think OL is much steeper than White Heat and as for Devil's Fiddle, there just aint anything at the River like that....

 

[SkiFirst]

I voted for sunday river. I just dont like killington to much.

 

[Brn4353]

very interested in hitting the river. Went to Killington this past Sunday for the first time and overall was happy. Lots of people on the little open real estate and the bumps on great northern were a little scary for the GF. Do they regularly have bumps like that on their "groomed" runs, or was it a crowd factor? Staff was awesome, other customers....ehh...not the nicest crowd, but I only got mowed into once!

 

[SnowRider]

I voted killington but i have never been to Sunday River. Killington may get crowded at times but I have had awsome weekends with not that many people around. I think you either hit it at a good time or you don't.

 

[millerm277]

very interested in hitting the river. Went to Killington this past Sunday for the first time and overall was happy. Lots of people on the little open real estate and the bumps on great northern were a little scary for the GF. Do they regularly have bumps like that on their "groomed" runs, or was it a crowd factor? Staff was awesome, other customers....ehh...not the nicest crowd, but I only got mowed into once!

That's a crowd factor, along with the fact that I think they got a couple inches of natural snow over the weekend. Normally, those trails will be flat, go back mid-week in february, and it's a whole different place.