Looking for trip advice

[bman]

Hey everyone, first post on the forum, appears to be a great resource.

My friends and I are looking to take a little ski trip soon, shooting for Jan 2-4 or so. The idea is to hit up MRG, Stowe, and maybe Jay.

We were thinking about skiing 3 days, however the recent weather has scared me quite a bit. I am worried about a wicked crust in the trees, with not enough new stuff to cover it up. The type of skiing we love is woods and ungroomed terrain .

So the question is, where is the best snow going to be next week?

If it appears the natural stuff is not going to be too good, I may just opt to do one or two day trips to ski groomers at stratton or snow.

Oh and we live near NYC, so distance does matter

 

[OppositeGeorge]

Everybody will have a different opinion on this. Here's mine:

IMO Stowe is your best bet in questionable conditions as at least you'll have groomers to fall back on if the trees suck. MRG will be, well, whatever it is. Look @ trip reports before you hit it. Jay is IMO the most likely to have fresh stuff in the trees, but if the trees suck chances are the groomers won't be much better. Check trip reports for Jay, too.

Okay, now everybody can tell you why I'm incredibly wrong

 

[thinnmann]

So the question is, where is the best snow going to be next week?

Vail, Alta, Snowbird....

The only difference in the amount of $$ you are going to spend is airfare - so go for it!

 

[riverc0il]

Latest weather patterns do not look as bleak as previously thought for that time frame. Seems like it could go either way but we'll probably get snow this weekend through the first week of the new year, perhaps some mix occasionally. I think the three areas you are considering are spot on for most likely to have the best snow and open terrain in New England. The base is ample up there and the new snow this weekend will open stuff back up again even with a tad of mixing. Bush is an option too, though Stowe and Jay will definitely have the better snow conditions with less chance of mix. Can't beat MRG's terrain though, sounds like a fun trip.

 

[ckofer]

The outlook for the next few days looks good for the northern areas, do the 3-day adventure.

 

[campgottagopee]

You can't go wrong with Stowe or Jay as far as snow. Those 2 will have a great shot of having good snow. Another consideration for you may be Whiteface on the way up.....they're predicting up to 8 inches of snow for tonight up there. You really could hit it at a good time.

 

[BeanoNYC]

We usually base out of Stowe and plan a day trip to Jay. (Your looking at 1 to 1.5 drive, depending on road conditions.) This way you can always fall back on Stowe if reports from Jay are grim. You can usually find discount coupons to Jay in the Stowe area. (The Subway on 108 is usually a good place, it's located inside of the Mobile towards the back)

Let me know if you need any advice from a NY perspective. Welcome to the forums and be sure to post a trip report with pictures!

 

[billski]

If I could, I'd be at any of those resorts this week. They are most likely going to be above the snow-rain line, plus their elevation will work in their favor. Nice accumulations nearly every night.

the bigger challenge you will have is if you have to drive north during the precip. Starting as rain in the south, then through what I call a "transition zone" and finally snow. It's that transition zone that can be scary. If you can travel before/after precip event, it will be much less stressful.

Once we were day-tripping up Rte. 93 in NH. Somewhere around Concord everything simply turned to ice on the road instantaneously. We watched about 15 vehicles spin, slide and wipeout in a 1 mile stretch. We then craaaaawled to the next exit, a 3 mile stretch that I still vividly recall, passing carnage left and right at about 10mph, found a restaurant and just sat for 1 1/2 hours until the salters/sanders had hit the road.

 

[catskills]

Due to the lack of snow, If your going to ski groomers there is none better than Hunter Mountain mid day, which is a much shorter trip from NYC. Skiing midweek on those days should not be very crowded. Look at trail report and where they are snow making. If they make snow on Clair's, that could be a sweet day of skiing on the west side.

 

[OppositeGeorge]

If I could, I'd be at any of those resorts this week.

That, my friends, is probably the best comment so far.

 

[All World Skier]

Hey everyone, first post on the forum, appears to be a great resource.

My friends and I are looking to take a little ski trip soon, shooting for Jan 2-4 or so. The idea is to hit up MRG, Stowe, and maybe Jay.

We were thinking about skiing 3 days, however the recent weather has scared me quite a bit. I am worried about a wicked crust in the trees, with not enough new stuff to cover it up. The type of skiing we love is woods and ungroomed terrain .

So the question is, where is the best snow going to be next week?

If it appears the natural stuff is not going to be too good, I may just opt to do one or two day trips to ski groomers at stratton or snow.

Oh and we live near NYC, so distance does matter

For Trip advice I recommend perhaps with friends definitly don't trip and go on a plane
The Stewardess's kinda freak you out especially if they don't smile

 

[bman]

Thanks for the comments, weather looks very good for the day after new years being a little powder day, so I am gonna drive up on new years day I think. Probably stay in the Mad River Area for the first night