OK besides the obvious (Jay/Stowe/Western US) where to ski Thurs-Sat?

[gores95]

Hey guys. Just decided I might be taking my 8 year old daughter out of school Thursday and Friday for a last minute ski trip North. We did Stowe and Jay last year at this same time so I'd rather try somewhere else. We also did Sugarbush and Killington earlier in the season so again rather go somewhere else.

Am I eliminating all the best ski mountains right now? I know right now the further north the better and Jay and Stowe are fantastic. How are conditions at:

Smuggs (seems so out of the way)
Whiteface (is it "Iceface" at this point of the season?)
Gore
Stratton/Mt. Snow (yeah I know, but its a shorter drive!)

I hear the New Hampshire mountains are iffy at this point if anyone can verify. Maine & the Quebec mountains are just too far.

So should I just bite the bullet and hit Stowe, Jay, Bush or K again or is one of the other choices doable at this point? What is the immediate forecast for VT this week...any snow in the future?

Thanks.

 

[RISkier]

Well, the Northern Greens seem to be about the only place that's been getting significant snow of late, so that's probably the direction I'd head if I were going on a weekend ski trip.

 

[nelsapbm]

No brainer...come north my friend.
http://list.uvm.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0603c&L=skivt-l&D=1&O=D&P=26748

 

[loafer89]

Bolton had good conditions, and would be a good choice if skiing with an 8 year old. With all the new snow the glades are in decent shape. For anyone looking for a good place to stay, I would recommend the Best Western Waterbury Inn. We stayed there last weekend and it was clean, quiet and had a good rate for the weekend at $109.00 per night (99.00 per night this weekend) which seems to be a good deal for the area.

 

[Vortex]

Gores95. Stratton is free for NJ residents on Friday I think. A little south, but a little free.

 

[wintersyndrome]

Take your daughter to the mountain day

Try Sugarbush, about an hour north of the big K, and very good terrain...slow lifts on the upper mountain though...

 

[Zand]

Smuggs was excellent last weekend. Yes, it's far out of the way (and you have to pass Stowe to get to it), but it's worth it for the glades alone. Stowe, Jay, and Bolton were just about the only other resorts that got pounded over the weekend.

 

[gores95]

Smuggs was excellent last weekend. Yes, it's far out of the way (and you have to pass Stowe to get to it), but it's worth it for the glades alone. Stowe, Jay, and Bolton were just about the only other resorts that got pounded over the weekend.

The only issue I have with Smuggs is that they are so friggin' expensive!!!! They package everything so the three night lodging/three day lift ticket is $972! I can stay at Stowe for $90-100 a night and then buy lift tickets separately and it would be MUCH cheaper. Any cheap Smuggs ideas???

 

[loafer89]

The only issue I have with Smuggs is that they are so friggin' expensive!!!! They package everything so the three night lodging/three day lift ticket is $972! I can stay at Stowe for $90-100 a night and then buy lift tickets separately and it would be MUCH cheaper. Any cheap Smuggs ideas???

Thats the issue that we had with Smugglers when we first started looking for a vacation destination in 2003. That is why we started skiing at Sugarloaf which WAS cheaper and now is not, plus Sugarloaf has gotten jack squatt for snowfall the last few winters.

We are considering staying at the above mentioned Best Western next winter and using it as a base for day trips to Stowe, Bolton, Smugglers and Jay if Sugarloaf stays on the meager side of the snowfall scale.

 

[riverc0il]

Am I eliminating all the best ski mountains right now?

yes. try bolton for something different. they're snowfall is similar to stowe. both mountains have gotten a lot of snow lately.

 

[nelsapbm]

Burlington?

You could stay in one of the plethora of chain hotels and do Smuggs one day (40ish minutes) and Bolton the next (30 minutes). The Hawthorne Suites in South Burlington is really nice. The Doubletree and the Holiday Inn are good bets as well. Just off the interstate.

 

[JD]

Sutton. Just over the border in canada. Not far from J. Devoted to tree and glade skiing. American dollars=cheap diggs.
http://www.montsutton.com/en/3_3.aspx

 

[thetrailboss]

Yes, Bolton and Sutton are worthy choices. Both will be empty.

 

[gores95]

Just booked a room at the Golden Eagle Resort (again) in Stowe. $78 a night very reasonable and a nice clean place.

Unless Jay gets walloped the next couple of days I think we will ski Stowe and Bolton. Never been to the latter mountain but it looks great! Other option is to get adventurous and take the long way around to Smuggs which I have never been to either.

Thanks for all the help!

 

[skibum1321]

You should definitely do a day at Smuggs. It will be about 45 minutes from Stowe. The lift tix will be cheaper too.

 

[gores95]

You should definitely do a day at Smuggs. It will be about 45 minutes from Stowe. The lift tix will be cheaper too.

Smuggs over Stowe?

 

[JD]

No. Windy side. And shaded side.

 

[skibum1321]

Smuggs over Stowe?

I'd do a day at both. Both mountains are good in their own right. Both have really good trees. Plus Smuggs is cheaper. All of the double diamonds are closed and always very windblown at Smuggs but the woods are great. The other trails are pretty boring, but I think that any trail without bumps or trees is boring.

 

[JD]

Base.

Terrain at Smuggs is Gnar. Defintely lots of great stuff there, but right now it seems like things can be quite variable as far as base goes. Mansfiled gets loadded with the W/NW winds, and our side of the notch is shaded, so we kept alot of base down low in the Jan. Feb. The spruce side of the notch does not have a ton of snow on it. I've heard it's been good in some places, but I've also heard some crazy stories about skiing steep dirt, rock, and leaves for many vertical feet to get out.
Bolton also does well with the high base elevation. If I went there, I'd do a little research and plan on one day of exploring off the Bolton Trapp Traverse. Def. worth it, and there is more power in there then you could ski in a week right now. Com'n gitit!
Have fun.
It's looking like snow outside right now...