Mountain Vertical updates...Sugarbush and Killington

[oakapple]

An advanced skier or snowboarder can look at a trail map, double check with friends, and trivially filter out all the marketing B.S. All the superlatives and inflated numbers are targeted at the occasional skier who doesn't have the same word of mouth sanity check on all the hype. Most of those are intermediates.

Yeah, but the non-advanced and occaisonal skiers do comprise a pretty significant portion of the customer base, and the advanced ones had to GET that way somehow. I am always amazed by how many advanced skiers have no recollection of what it was like to NOT be great at it.

 

[AdironRider]

I agree with this 100%. I haven't been anywhere new in the passed ten years where I arrived and didn't have a fairly decent expectation of what I was going to ski. If only slightly, it's been the smaller areas like Mt. Abram and Shawnee Peak that have skied a bit bigger than I expected them to.

So true. If anything my opinion of places turns to the better opposed to the worse 90% of the time for this reason.

I think the one place Ive really been let down is the Vail/Beaver Creek combo. I expected huge variety, big mountains, etc. I was let down with the traverse/moderate groomer fest that they were. Always sunny there though, that is nice for a groomer day.

 

[legalskier]

Interesting how Pico has more vert (1967') than Killington (!645'), which owns it. Even though they aren't connected, isn't Killington's true vertical 1967' by virtue of its ownership thereof? After all, you can ski both places on the same pass.

 

[Riverskier]

Interesting how Pico has more vert (1967') than Killington (!645'), which owns it. Even though they aren't connected, isn't Killington's true vertical 1967' by virtue of its ownership thereof? After all, you can ski both places on the same pass.

Family attribution.

 

[UVSHTSTRM]

Interesting how Pico has more vert (1967') than Killington (!645'), which owns it. Even though they aren't connected, isn't Killington's true vertical 1967' by virtue of its ownership thereof? After all, you can ski both places on the same pass.

Hahaha, so Sunday River and Loons vert is actually 2500ft because Sugarloaf? I only kid. Sidenote, I love Pico on a powder day.....or just about any day.

 

[UVSHTSTRM]

The problem with your metric is its basically just your opinion on a mountains vertical and who would rather ski it that way.

As the Killington guys here have proved, plenty of people ski down to the Skyship base. Just because YOU dont think youd ski doesnt mean plenty of other people wouldnt.

It would be like Jackson Hole only saying they have 3800 vert because you have to traverse out and back a ways in places (aka Hobacks - which involves a pretty boring traverse lift to get out of there as well). We all know that is not the case.

I dont like your site for this reason. Its basically just a jazzed up blog about what you think is awesome, and what you think isnt. Sweet, join the club.

You said it yourself, theres no standard metric for this stuff, so I automatically assume its just your opinion. Im not buying alot of it.

I think his site is more geared to numbers geeks (like me) and people intrested in a closer look at more realalistic numbers for those of us who don't care about kiddie slopes, drawn out cruisers, etc. I don't think he ever stated his metric as fact and posts both sets of vert, his vert based on his metric and the metric used by the ski resort. Also for 99% of the vistors to his site, they both can read and decipher the reasons for his numbers. Also I doubt you are going to find many casual skiers visiting his site, kind of like most casual skiers (day or two skiers) are going to visit the various blogs/sites we visit.

 

[AdironRider]

I think his site is more geared to numbers geeks (like me) and people intrested in a closer look at more realalistic numbers for those of us who don't care about kiddie slopes, drawn out cruisers, etc. I don't think he ever stated his metric as fact and posts both sets of vert, his vert based on his metric and the metric used by the ski resort. Also for 99% of the vistors to his site, they both can read and decipher the reasons for his numbers. Also I doubt you are going to find many casual skiers visiting his site, kind of like most casual skiers (day or two skiers) are going to visit the various blogs/sites we visit.

This is definitely true. Cant argue against the passion.

Everyones metric is different as well, which was my overall point if you exclude the brash, ignorant, blanket statements I tend to throw around often.

I geek out on trailmaps, so I can see the benefit of sites like his.

 

[UVSHTSTRM]

I geek out on trailmaps, so I can see the benefit of sites like his.

ditto!

 

[tjf67]

Wow Whiteface is a giant.

 

[oakapple]

For what it’s worth, if you are trying to keep the ski resorts honest, you should include anything that’s a “real ski run,” and by that definition Killington Peak down to Skyeship Base is legitimate. Great Eastern isn’t just a traverse or a connector trail.

I can understand excluding: A) Non-lift-serviced territory; B) Connections that are truly impossible; C) Flat traverses that literally have no other function except to connect two otherwise separate mountains. But I don’t think you should exclude runs that really do go downhill, just because you think some skiers would find them too easy.

Alternatively, perhaps you could go with several columns:

1) Highest lift-serviced point to lowest lift-serviced point, even if you could never do the whole thing in one run

2) Longest possible continuous lift-serviced vertical, even if it includes traverses or connecting paths

3) Longest possible continuous run by difficulty (black, blue, green)

 

[skiadikt]

For what it’s worth, if you are trying to keep the ski resorts honest, you should include anything that’s a “real ski run,” and by that definition Killington Peak down to Skyeship Base is legitimate. Great Eastern isn’t just a traverse or a connector trail.

I can understand excluding: A) Non-lift-serviced territory; B) Connections that are truly impossible; C) Flat traverses that literally have no other function except to connect two otherwise separate mountains. But I don’t think you should exclude runs that really do go downhill, just because you think some skiers would find them too easy.

Alternatively, perhaps you could go with several columns:

1) Highest lift-serviced point to lowest lift-serviced point, even if you could never do the whole thing in one run

2) Longest possible continuous lift-serviced vertical, even if it includes traverses or connecting paths

3) Longest possible continuous run by difficulty (black, blue, green)

agreed, great eastern is nothing to sneeze at. remember back in '75 or so, when i was a newbie skier, we came to k just to ski the 5-mile great eastern run that we'd heard about and it's sister trail, the blue square 4-mile trail. it's certainly real vertical to a young kid, novice or low intermediate skier.

 

[Highway Star]

This website is pretty absurd, and I'm going to take a wild guess that the guy who runs it isn't a very serious skier.

Killington's full vert is continuously skiable. If you don't like it, tough cookies.

Very rarely are you going to ski full vert at most areas anyway. Certainly not at Sugarbush. Not at any mountain that has upper and lower mountain trail pods. There only a few places I can think of where you would ski full vert on a regular basis: MRG and Stowe.

Vertical drop as a statistic combined with the acreage, it gives a very good idea of the scope of the ski area.

 

[tjf67]

This website is pretty absurd, and I'm going to take a wild guess that the guy who runs it isn't a very serious skier.

Killington's full vert is continuously skiable. If you don't like it, tough cookies.

Very rarely are you going to ski full vert at most areas anyway. Certainly not at Sugarbush. Not at any mountain that has upper and lower mountain trail pods. There only a few places I can think of where you would ski full vert on a regular basis: MRG and Stowe.

Vertical drop as a statistic combined with the acreage, it gives a very good idea of the scope of the ski area.

Dont forget whitface the giant. I ski full vert runs a couple times a day.

 

[jaywbigred]

Dont forget whitface the giant. I ski full vert runs a couple times a day.

The whole day at Mount Snow too. Don't know how the Vert of the Main Face vs. the North Face compares though.

I love how insulted the Killington lovers get! Hilarious!

It's like George talking about shrinkage with Jerry

"Yes! I mean, if she thinks that's me she's under a complete

misapprehension. That was not me, Jerry. That was not me"

 

[tjf67]

The whole day at Mount Snow too. Don't know how the Vert of the Main Face vs. the North Face compares though.

I love how insulted the Killington lovers get! Hilarious!

It's like George talking about shrinkage with Jerry

"Yes! I mean, if she thinks that's me she's under a complete

misapprehension. That was not me, Jerry. That was not me"

the water was COLD. HAHA

 

[UVSHTSTRM]

Dont forget whitface the giant. I ski full vert runs a couple times a day.

Jeez, we get it. Man you got a woody for Whiteface.


Me personally I would take very good/great snow over huge vertical anyday.

 

[Smellytele]

Quality of Quantity is what all the ones say with short verts!

And if he thinks only MRG and Stowe are the ones with continous vert he is incorrect. Where as rarely does anyone ski Stowe all the way down the Toll road to Toll House. Cannon and Wildcat as stated before. Let's kick that horse one more time.

 

[AdironRider]

Jeez, we get it. Man you got a woody for Whiteface.


Me personally I would take very good/great snow over huge vertical anyday.

Have you been to Whiteface?

 

[UVSHTSTRM]

Have you been to Whiteface?

Nope, why?

 

[tjf67]

Jeez, we get it. Man you got a woody for Whiteface.


Me personally I would take very good/great snow over huge vertical anyday.

I sure do. Big Vert=Big Wood.

You have never been here so how do you know. I love you guys that have only gone to a few big hills in the North East and start thowing shit out as if you can really compare.