Least Favorite Ski Areas

[Geoff]

As a 25-year KMarter, I'd have to say that Killington is my most loathed ski area. The bad qualities of the place are lengthy:
The convergence of BOTH agressive NYC and Boston A-holes.
A complete zoo on weekends.
Incredibly unfriendly staff
Poorly trained foreign workers on 6-month student visas
Lousy food
Too much uphill capacity for the number of acres. Causes trail crowding and a lousy skiing surface.
Awful new policies that change the October open, June 1 close to something more like November 10 open and May 15 close.

The problem is the place also has a ton of good qualities. A reliable 250" of natural snow. An easy drive. Killer night life. Superb unmarked woods skiing. A huge amount of ungroomed natural snow terrain that is typically very lightly used.

Every year, I ski other places looking to relocate. I have yet to find a place I like better and I have tons of lifelong friends at Killington.

 

[skibum1321]

As a 25-year KMarter, I'd have to say that Killington is my most loathed ski area. The bad qualities of the place are lengthy:
The convergence of BOTH agressive NYC and Boston A-holes.
A complete zoo on weekends.
Incredibly unfriendly staff
Poorly trained foreign workers on 6-month student visas
Lousy food
Too much uphill capacity for the number of acres. Causes trail crowding and a lousy skiing surface.
Awful new policies that change the October open, June 1 close to something more like November 10 open and May 15 close.

The problem is the place also has a ton of good qualities. A reliable 250" of natural snow. An easy drive. Killer night life. Superb unmarked woods skiing. A huge amount of ungroomed natural snow terrain that is typically very lightly used.

Every year, I ski other places looking to relocate. I have yet to find a place I like better and I have tons of lifelong friends at Killington.

So in other words your least favorite ski area is also your favorite? Weird

 

[loafer89]

I have found the perfect alternative, unfortunately it is located 365+ miles away from where I live, it is owned by ASC and does not recieve as much snow as Vermont and the lift network needs upgrading.

For me the choice is Sugarloaf.


I am with you Geoff, as a 20+ year skier at Killington, the place has gone downhill (pun intended) fast.

 

[snowsprite]

The only real (and for now unsolvable) problem I have with Killington is it needs to be at least 2 hours closer to my house!

It is a wonderful twist of fate that finally I became a ski fanatic. It is a cruel twist of fate that I happen to live in Southern CT.

:::grumble grumble:::

Sprite

 

[loafer89]

A Cruel twist of fate is being a ski fanatic and living on Long Island :roll: :x

We have been thinking about moving to New England, hopefully this will happen in the near future.

 

[Greg]

Re: Yawgoo and other small ski areas. There should be no surprise in regards to what anyone's experience is at these types of places. We're talking about a ski area with 245' vertical in Rhode Island. The expectation level should be adjusted accordingly... :roll:

 

[loafer89]

Actually Otis Ridge has 300' of vertical, but the front face is steep and fun to ski. Campgaw is also somewhat interesting to ski, especially with the views of Manhattan

But, yes point taken, expectations should be low for such places.

 

[dmc]

About 50% of the people I ski with are from Long Island..

If any of you LI people want to drive only a couple hours and give old Hunter another chance.. Let me know.. JimG and I can show you the other side of Hunter... The West side...

 

[thetrailboss]

Re: Yawgoo and other small ski areas. There should be no surprise in regards to what anyone's experience is at these types of places. We're talking about a ski area with 245' vertical in Rhode Island. The expectation level should be adjusted accordingly... :roll:

I agree. I think that people who judge a place based on JUST vertical or if the place has a HS Quad are missing a lot. :roll:

Some of the smallest places that I've visited have been the friendliest and the most fun...and that is what skiing is about...FUN :wink:

 

[loafer89]

Mohawk is my favorite small ski area, at 640', with good skiing for the money and friendly staff.

If you ski at Woodbury, the 300' of vertical is suprisingly steep, and the owner will ask you how the snow conditions are + he makes snow in October and beat Killington for earliest opening in NE.

 

[riverc0il]

wowie, this thread took off since i logged on this morning. daaaaaaaaaamn. i understand why people would say you just can't hate a ski area, but we certainly have our favorites and least favorites. and that is what this post topic was, "least favorite." for the least favorites i listed, i have skied them all multiple times and several within the past year including kmart and loon and had great days at both. but they are still make least favorite and i pick my days at those areas carefully. i also believe there are such things as bad ski days and think choosing to see only the positives is very optimistic and happy, but seeing the world through rose colored glasses and not acknowledging that which we don't like.

As for the rude people at Loon. I'm not rude I invite all people I see going to loon to join me for a run. There are rude people in every large area.

hope you did not take offense to my comment regarding people at loon bob. you are a class act and great guy and not part of any issue i have had with loon's typical clientel. while rude people do exist at every ski area, they exist in higher numbers and larger proportions at certain areas compared to others. that is just my experience. then again, i am sure some folks have looked at me as having a bad attitude at times if they are not appreciative of my perspective.
:beer:
i would like to add in defense of my original post that i cited a lot of positive attributes to my least favorite areas, especially loon which i think is physically a great area with great trails. i had an absolute BLAST there on a rediculously uncrowded late season april afternoon during which i ran into bob. i found some amazing tree trails and was simply blown away by mike's way. a lot of the cruisers that wind off the top of the mountain are really well cut and have tons of character and feel great. but loon is still one of my least favorite area. because least favorite DOES NOT mean hate or what not. this isn't a positive or negative thread, it is about opinion
/rant

 

[riverc0il]

One bad weather day can ruin the opinion of a ski area for some people... And that opinion can keep people from going... And beofre you know it...

NELSAP....

true only to a limited extent. it is a true idiot who does not return to a ski area based on bad conditions following bad weather. a good ski area will offer a refund after the first hour or two of bad skiing and try to win the customer back for another try. a good ski area can maintain a positive long term image in light of poor short term weather if they approach and handle the situation appropriately. additionally, any skier that has been doing it long realizes they get what they deserve if they going skiing following crappy weather. they should either enjoy it or shut up and i think most skiers will realize that and others are quick to point it out to someone who has not seen the illogical nature of attacking a ski area's reputation when they skied near a bad weather event.

 

[NHpowderhound]

Well put Riv! My post was not to bring out negativaty in skiing, just my point of view. I've had stellar days at all the resorts I mentioned earlier in this thread.But I know what I like and dislike. I'm appreciative of Loon,Killingskiing, and Sunday River. If it wasnt for them there would be liftlines at Cannon,Jay and Sugarloaf and Burke! :lol:
I think this thread is a fun way to vent about the things that we wish we could change if we were Emperor of the Federation.Just cant let my Star Wars analogy go. :wink:
((*
*))NHPH

 

[riverc0il]

the force is strong with the powderhound one!

 

[teachski]

In defense of the smaller areas

The smaller areas serve a very real puropse. Not only do they provide a great foundation for early skiers, but they also have an atmosphere that the larger areas do not. There is a lot more personal service at a small area. They want your business back. As I have said elsewhere, What the small area lacks in vertical drop it often makes up for in service and personality.

I've been at small areas and have seen this. A couple years ago I was at Blanford. I slipped on a little patch of ice outside the ticket window and tore my the leg of ski pants (brand new). Not only did a couple staff people come over to make sure I was ok (after I was standing,I got up quickly) but the manager also found me and told me that the area would like to pay for new ski pants for me. I told him that was ok, but he insisted.

At the little area I work for, a kid came in with a pair of skis and boots his mother had picked up at a tag sale...good enough for him to learn on, she said. She dropped him off. Not 10 minutes after she left, the binding ripped out of the ski taking the toe of the boot with it. The kid came back into the lodge and asked to use the phone to call his mother because his skis broke.

The owner was at the desk at the time. He took the kid to the rental shop and set him up with skis and boots (no charge). Later, seeing he was having trouble, he asked a ski instructor to work with the kid for a little while. The boy's mother offered to pay when she returned, but the owner said, no, that's ok, just come back and ski with us sometime.

THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPEN AT A LARGE SKI AREA.

Small ski areas offer families that otherwise might not be able to afford to ski, the opportunity. Parents feel comfortable enough to leave their children at a smaller area for periods of time(alone).

Many smaller areas offer night skiing. My small area does and it has a sports bar with great food and entertainment. The kids ski and the parents go out to eat and enjoy the entertainment.

There is a lot to be said about the small area. Please don't bash them. They are great feeders for larger areas.

 

[teachski]

WAWA is ok for what it is. It is not my favorite place to ski, by far. The terrain is ok, given it's size, that is not the problem there. The problem there is the crowds. You have to know when to go there. It is also somewhat overpriced for what it has to offer. Their food and beverage is also over priced. It cost me more to eat there than it did at Stowe. I paid close to 2x the amount for a soda (same size). It was POLAR soda...the people who run WAWA own Polar Beverages.

 

[krisskis]

About 50% of the people I ski with are from Long Island..

If any of you LI people want to drive only a couple hours and give old Hunter another chance.. Let me know.. JimG and I can show you the other side of Hunter... The West side...

I agree DMC...my sis and husband ski there every sunday and monday during ski season. I hadnt been there in quite a while but when i went up with her, my son and i enjoyed the shit out of the West Side...awesome trails and much less crowds made it worth the trip.

 

[Vortex]

Steve, nice words. thankx. I understand the negitives. I'm just more of a positive person and don't enjoy the negitives.
Everyone has places they like better than others. You presented your points well. The presentation of the topic was my issue. I also posted that I was comfortable with the explanation.
Those who know me know I'm out for the fun and those who know you realize your dedication to your passion. You opinion is highly valued and that is why I have asked for it more than once. Cool

 

[dmc]

One bad weather day can ruin the opinion of a ski area for some people... And that opinion can keep people from going... And beofre you know it...

NELSAP....

true only to a limited extent. it is a true idiot who does not return to a ski area based on bad conditions following bad weather. a good ski area will offer a refund after the first hour or two of bad skiing and try to win the customer back for another try. a good ski area can maintain a positive long term image in light of poor short term weather if they approach and handle the situation appropriately. additionally, any skier that has been doing it long realizes they get what they deserve if they going skiing following crappy weather. they should either enjoy it or shut up and i think most skiers will realize that and others are quick to point it out to someone who has not seen the illogical nature of attacking a ski area's reputation when they skied near a bad weather event.

I totally agree...
BUT... On this very board - on a few occasions - people do diss ski areas because of stupid crap like weather..

I know how the thread was presented.. I'm down with that..
BUT... There ARE people out there that will try and make themselves look like they are "joe skiers" by dissing areas...
And thats not cool..

I've seen these threads before.. And they will start getting negative...

 

[Geoff]

I have found the perfect alternative, unfortunately it is located 365+ miles away from where I live, it is owned by ASC and does not recieve as much snow as Vermont and the lift network needs upgrading.

For me the choice is Sugarloaf.


I am with you Geoff, as a 20+ year skier at Killington, the place has gone downhill (pun intended) fast.

We took a very hard look at Sugarloaf this year. It has a lot of positives but it also has many down sides:

* The drive sucks. And I'm coming from Portsmouth, NH
* Compared to Killington, the apres ski is non-existent and the restaurant options are very limited
* They should rename the place Mt The Lifts Are On Wind Hold
* The lift layout is bizarre
* Parking is a disaster. It pushes you into decaying slopeside housing that's mostly transient renters. The newer development over by the golf course has a lift that doesn't run midweek. WTF?
* ASC-malaise is even more visible at Sugarloaf than at Kmart. They're on a VERY tight operating budget and it shows.
* They had a very difficult time coping with all the discount season pass traffic.

We'll likely give it another shot this year. I really like the terrain.