Okemo, Stratton, or Mount Snow?

[skizoo]

My wife is starting her second year of skiing.. I would call her an advanced novice, she skied a few intermediate runs at the end of last year and did pretty well

This season I'd like to get her on a mountain with a good variety of advanced novice and some easier blues to help her progress..

I've looked at Okemo, Stratton, and Mount Snow, all look to have a good variety of some fairly easy terrain.. When I ski in the east I mostly ski Stowe or Wildcat.. and they don't have the variety for someone at her ability level that I'd like.. I've never skied any of these 3 areas so any advice appreciated..

Also, any opinions on Okemo's Solitude Village vs Jackson Gore for lodging?

 

[BeanoNYC]

I'm a big fan of Mount Snow, but for your wife's ability I would go with okemo. I've fell that their green trails are a bit more difficult than those at Mount Snow. Okemo has a real nice vibe to it. I did stay at Jackson Gore. It's nice, but I think a bit over the top. I prefer a nice lived in lodge to stay in. The pool is really cool there. Just take note that these guys will call you every 6 months to see if you want to buy a Jackson Gore share. It's starting to get annoying.

 

[Zand]

I stayed at Jackson Gore last year. It was a small, but nice room. However, there were way too many damned little kids screaming and banging all night. It was hell.

I've skied at Okemo and Mount Snow. Okemo is a perfect place for an intermediate and advenaced beginner. Just about everything is groomed nicely and most of the trails are pretty easy. I taight myself how to do the bumps there as well. I took a few runs down Sel's Choice (which has a groomed strip if you want to bail. It isn't steep at all and is a good learner's trail) and then moved onto Plunge (all bumped and steeper). Jackson Gore has plenty of nice trails. Tuckered Out is a great beginner trail and only requires poling for the first 200 feet or so. The area at the bottom is great too.

Mount Snow is tougher than Okemo. It is also harder to get around. North Face has some great steeps, but gets very icy. Same goes for the Main Face. The Canyon is a good area for intermediates, but can be a zoo on crowded days. The Heavy Metal area has a few good trails.

For what you want, I'd say Okemo, definitely. Try not to go on a weekend or holiday (and if you do, DO NOT GO NEAR OKEMO BASE. It's avoidable so don't go there unless you want to be trampled). Weekdays are fine usually.

 

[riverc0il]

black mountain new hampshire! yes! you already ski wildcat so it sounds like you enjoy that area. black mountain is dirt cheap and will keep you entertained while still presenting excellent advanced novice runs for your wife. best of all, black's trails have character and are a lot of fun. cheap and never crowded, i highly recommend black. lots of lodging options in jackson, nh and there is always north conway if she gets tired and wants to do something else in the afternoon.

sorry this isn't related to okemo, stratton, or mount snow as i have never skied those areas. but i think based on what you're looking for, black is a highly recommended area unless you are looking for an expensive and crowded resort with slopeside.

 

[RISkier]

Don't know Black and I don't know where you are travelling from, but Okemo, Stratton, and Mt. Snow all have reps as being very busy. I think somewplace like a Black might be a better option. I've only skied 3 years; my wife and I spent one weekend day at Okemo last year and will likely never go back. EXTREMELY busy. The main greens going back to the main lodge are feeder runs and get lots of traffic. We found little diversity in the terrain -- the greens were relatively steep for Greens, the Blues just a tad steeper. We spent most of the day on the Blacks avoiding crowds. The groomed blacks are just a little steeper than the blues and would easily be blues at many other areas. I might suggest taking a look at Bretton Woods. Like Okemo it's a pretty mellow mountain but doesn't seem to suffer from the over crowding that plagues many of the places further South. Lots of nice green trails that have consistent pitch. Most of the blues are just a little steeper. Great views of Mt. Washington and the presidentials. A novice/lower intermediate can ski all over the mountain. Just think Bretton absolutely trumps a place like Okemo.

 

[awf170]

Mount Washington Valley, black mountain(I never been there but heard very good things) Bretton woods would also be another awsome mountain for her. Also if she wants a day off to shop in North Conway you go up to wildcat by yourself for a day

 

[teachski]

I'd tend to agree with those who advise to go to the North Conway, Jackson area. Cranmore has some great Green/Blue trails for her and the Black are more like blue too. The atmosphere there is friendly. It is not real crowded. Like others have added, you can go to Wildcat and she can take a day to shop. You also have Black and Attitash/Bear Peak (do they still use Bear Peak name) there. There is a lot of variety, a lot of apre' ski and you will not be bored.

The other areas you mentioned tend to get too crowded due to their proximity to New York and Conn. Go where you will enjoy it more.

For a nice quiet area that has something for each of you, consider Burke Mountain, VT. The lower mountain is for the novices and the upper is intermediate and above...the road and another trail can be handle by stronger beginners...there are 1 or 2 drops that approach intermediate.

 

[riverc0il]

i don't think burke is a good option for what he is looking for. burke only has four beginner trails. it is a GREAT area and i love burke very much, but if he is looking for a variety of upper beginner trails, they won't find that at burke. the four greens at burke are very gentle.

 

[teachski]

Carriage Road and Deer Run from the summit are also lower intermediate, upper level novice trails. The do dump out on other trails, but if I remember right, they are not that difficult either as they are the bottom run out of the trail.

If she is truly at the level that her husband says, the lower trails would be enough for her. Remember, you are judging with Double Black Diamond eyes.

I still think the North Conway/Jackson area is the best though.

 

[deadheadskier]

The thing that is good about Okemo is that from virtually every lift there is a novice way down. I think that's part of the appeal for families there.

I grew up skied there 30+ days a winter every year from age 9 to age 18. My mother was a novice skier, my father an intermediate and me an advanced skier. We would ski lower intermediate trails together as a family at a particular lift and then if my mom wanted a less demanding run, she could find a green to go down. My dad could stick to the blues and I could find a bump run.

Unless you are someone who desires tremendous challenge, Okemo has something for everyone and probably the best grooming in the East to boot.

 

[riverc0il]

If she is truly at the level that her husband says, the lower trails would be enough for her. Remember, you are judging with Double Black Diamond eyes.

actually, i was judging from the eyes of a upper beginner/lower intermediate. after having skied a few times last year and tried some blues, i would suspect the lower trails at burke would get pretty old quick with one day of skiing, let alone staying a few days. thinking back to my beginner days at gunstock and ski bradford, i remember longing for longer runs and bigger mountains once i pushed past a snow plow into a skidded turn. burke's green circle terrain is great for a new skier/novice/beginner, but is fairly flat (exactly flat and uphill in places even!) even for a skier with a year under their belt looking into lower intermediate terrain. unfortunately, that is one of burke's only short falls is their intermediate terrain skis harder than average and their beginner terrain is really tame more so than your average green circle at a big mountain (polecat, grand junction, etc. come to mind) leaving a big gap for someone looking for terrain in between those two ends.

just because i am an advanced skier does not mean i can't see the world from someone else's perspective.

DHS brings up a good point about a family skiing together off a lift servicing various types of terrain. without taking away DHS's endorsement for okemo based on that and great grooming, i would like to point out that black has a similar set up, with varying degrees of difficulty and many ways down from the triple or the double mid-station.

the nomination for BW is sound. having never skied there i can not offer first hand experience, but it's reputation is excellent for what skizoo is looking for with excellent nearby lodging options. heck, we could probably also throw balsams in here as well i would guess?

 

[thetrailboss]

As much as I love my home ski area, Burke may not fit the bill in this case esp. with the new Express Quad...she'd be doing like 10 min runs up and down...it would get old pretty fast. For intermediates, well, Loon is another choice.

 

[skizoo]

Thanks for the responses everyone.. just to expand a bit..

My wife has 16 days under her belt.. She's progressed beyond the true beginner areas.. but not quite ready for true blues.

She skied some big areas in her 16 days last year... Stowe, Wildcat, Beaver Creek, Keystone.

But other than Keystone there wasn't a good variety for her... I'm trying to find an eastern hill where the runs are a decent length and have some vertical.. and most importantly a place where she can ski multiple lifts and different parts of the mountain..

Keystone's front side was pretty good for this.. But at Stowe she was pretty much confined to the toll house area.. Toll road was too boring and flat for her, but Perry Merrell, etc. a bit much for her last year.. At Wildcat, Polecat is nice.. but again, it's one slope from the top.. and I don't think she's ready for Lynx just yet..

Okemo sounds like it would be a good choice if we stay away from the weekends.. which is not a problem for us..

I'm hoping by the end of this year she will be a decent low intermediate skier.. which means we can ski together a lot more.. as I ski mostly cruisers nowadays, (used to love moguls but the knees can't take the contsant pounding anymore) but blues vary greatly from mountain to mountain.. and I want to make sure she enjoys herself.

We're both in our late 40's, I've been skiing for 30+ years, but it's a lot more difficult starting in your late 40's

 

[sledhaulingmedic]

I'm surprised, that of the three Skizoo mentioned, no one mentioned Stratton.

I am going to assume that their ticket price will again be the highest of the three, but look at what the place offers: Great novice/intermediate variety, excellent amenities, excellent snowmaking and grooming, high speed lifts all over the place, top to bottom Gondola...the place has a lot going for it.

With all respect to the sugestions for Mt Washington Valley, he did ask about SoVT. For what he's looking for, it's hard to ignore Stratton. (I know more than a few of the old timers here are thinking I picked the wrong day to stop smoking crack, but really, give Stratton the credit that's due.)

 

[ChileMass]

Yeah - Stratton is a big hill in So VT, but beyond the fact that it has 2000' of vertical, there's almost nothing else to recommend it. It's the most nondescript ski hill in the East. The new Sun Bowl lodge is nice, but it's expensive, the on-hill lodging is sterile, and there's certainly nothing else to do in Bondville. Manchester is close by, but it's so crowded on weekends.

If I had to choose, I guess go with Okemo mid-week or Mt. Snow on the weekend. Or go to Jackson, NH (blows both OK and Snow away) and ski Attitash or Cranmore. You'll have a much better time.

 

[Tin Woodsman]

The answer is:

D) None of the above

 

[smootharc]

Been snoozing....

The answer is:

D) None of the above

and you beat me to that, Tin...

 

[bigbog]

......

If Wildcat is within your realm of driving-comfort, my $.02 would be for SundayRiver. A weekday-thing would be even better, but get there early Saturday/Sunday morning and you'll get 3 hrs of relatively trail-free skiing...there's safety in the number of trails....the saving grace for weekends. Once away from SouthRidge, everyone looks up on the mountains, but SR has some nice, easy blues too...and are always well groomed...but often do leave any powder ungroomed.