Prez weekend crowds

[Highway Star]

I haven't skied there in years. What about the trail conditions? Don't they get pounded out pretty quickly?

Killington's problem is that 80% of the people are on 30% of the trails. If you know where to ski, good conditions are easy to find.

 

[deadheadskier]

If you want to avoid Pres. Week crowds and PRICES and don't mind some extra drive time - check into Quebec. We stayed at Ste. Anne and skied there and Le Massif last year. No crowds. No holiday bump in rates. Lodging was extremely reasonable. ( 2 floor, 2 bdr condo with wood burning fireplace, pool, jacuzzi, sauna 1KM from hill with shuttle bus service for about $110 per night.) Skiing is awesome at both areas. And it was a great adventure. It was me , my 15 -year old son and 17-year old nephew. We stopped for a night and a day at Jay on the way back home.

We went to Saddleback and SL a couple of Pres. weeks back. SB was the most crowded it ever gets which meant about a 3 minute lift line max and a somewhat crowded lodge. SL was pretty crowded.

I've been wanting to check out Le Massif and Ste. Anne for years. I might just pull the trigger this year. It's a six hour ride for me, but I have a hook up through Marriott and can get a room in downtown Quebec for $50 a night in early March.

Might head up a Thursday night and ski Friday & Saturday.

The $59 Canadian lift ticket price is quite attractive

 

[x10003q]

I've been wanting to check out Le Massif and Ste. Anne for years. I might just pull the trigger this year. It's a six hour ride for me, but I have a hook up through Marriott and can get a room in downtown Quebec for $50 a night in early March.

Might head up a Thursday night and ski Friday & Saturday.

The $59 Canadian lift ticket price is quite attractive

We skied these 2 plus Burke (on the ride up) a few years ago. Burke was excellent with the exception of the quad on the upper mountain which did not have a footrest. In Quebec City we stayed in the castle like Chateau Frontenac. The food was excellent everywhere we ate including at MSA (30 min from QC)and Le Massif (50 min from QC). Both places have great sking and great views of the St L Seaway but it can get cold. At the end of March it was a high temp of 10F one day and mostly hitting about 20F during the day. I guess it would be colder in early Mar. The trails were mostly empty midweek. The US$ was stronger which made the vacation cheaper and I think the same is true now. It is well worth the drive. If I was only 6 hours from QC I would go more often. It took me about 8 hours to get back to NYC.

 

[tjf67]

I've been wanting to check out Le Massif and Ste. Anne for years. I might just pull the trigger this year. It's a six hour ride for me, but I have a hook up through Marriott and can get a room in downtown Quebec for $50 a night in early March.

Might head up a Thursday night and ski Friday & Saturday.

The $59 Canadian lift ticket price is quite attractive

Lake Placid has a marriot and there are a few people on here that could probably comp you a ticket or two just for the heck of it. Just saying. Oh and BTW Lake Placid is the closest to jersey and look at skier numbers. We think it a good week if we get 15k skiers. Burke may have less crowds but there uphill capability is rather limited.

 

[thetrailboss]

Whiteface is another option, but his concern is crowds and certainly on the President's Week holiday WF must be very busy.

And I'd only recommend Burke if you are really interested in the skiing experience, not the resort experience. If you want shopping, activities, lots of dining options, etc., then Burke (or even Jay) are not good options. If you want to ski good terrain, crash at a hotel, have some decent dining, and no fake-towns, then Burke is a good option.

That said, I have NOT been to Whiteface and need some good advice when the time comes. I live 90 minutes away and have yet to ski there!

 

[deadheadskier]

Lake Placid has a marriot and there are a few people on here that could probably comp you a ticket or two just for the heck of it. Just saying. Oh and BTW Lake Placid is the closest to jersey and look at skier numbers. We think it a good week if we get 15k skiers. Burke may have less crowds but there uphill capability is rather limited.

This certainly sounds like a nice option. I would be inclined to do the Quebec trip first for one reason. I will have a non-skiing wife with me and she loves Quebec. LP does have a fair amount of off hill stuff for her to enjoy while I'm skiing, but not as much.

It's all about building her up to take 'winter' vacations. My ultimate goal is to get her to come out west with me for a week :lol:

So perhaps Quebec this year, LP next year, Salt Lake City, the following :grin:

 

[deadheadskier]

We skied these 2 plus Burke (on the ride up) a few years ago. Burke was excellent with the exception of the quad on the upper mountain which did not have a footrest. In Quebec City we stayed in the castle like Chateau Frontenac. The food was excellent everywhere we ate including at MSA (30 min from QC)and Le Massif (50 min from QC). Both places have great sking and great views of the St L Seaway but it can get cold. At the end of March it was a high temp of 10F one day and mostly hitting about 20F during the day. I guess it would be colder in early Mar. The trails were mostly empty midweek. The US$ was stronger which made the vacation cheaper and I think the same is true now. It is well worth the drive. If I was only 6 hours from QC I would go more often. It took me about 8 hours to get back to NYC.

nice feed back, thanks.

I would have guessed the weather to be a bit warmer than that in late March. My reasoning for looking earlier in the month would be for a greater chance at drier snow. It might be a knee jerk reaction from last season getting very warm early in March. It was 60 degrees when I was skiing Smuggs/Stowe the first weekend in March last year.

can't every really count on weather around here though

 

[tarponhead]

I will have a non-skiing wife with me and she loves Quebec. LP does have a fair amount of off hill stuff for her to enjoy while I'm skiing, but not as much.

It's all about building her up to take 'winter' vacations. My ultimate goal is to get her to come out west with me for a week :lol:

My wife does not ski and SHE books our annual Christmas vacation up at Lake Placid. She loves it there. This place is a no-brainer for people with non-skiing spouses.

By the way, go over to the Whiteface forum on ADK and check out the "name this trail" thread. If that doesn't get your jones up you better check your pulse to see if its still there....

 

[deadheadskier]

My challenge is not so much the 'does not ski' it's the I HATE THE COLD. If she's taken vacation days from work, she wants me to take her to Florida. With my folks retired down there as well, I get guilt from that end too......

While I know LP is the best in the east for non-skiers, it's more a matter of finding indoor stuff for her to enjoy, which a city would have more of.

 

[tarponhead]

Whiteface is another option, but his concern is crowds and certainly on the President's Week holiday WF must be very busy.

And I'd only recommend Burke if you are really interested in the skiing experience, not the resort experience. If you want shopping, activities, lots of dining options, etc., then Burke (or even Jay) are not good options. If you want to ski good terrain, crash at a hotel, have some decent dining, and no fake-towns, then Burke is a good option.

I am 99.9% sure that is where we will be. I am toying with the idea of two days at Burke, (Sat and Sunday) then the 60 mile drive over to Stowe for Monday (1 1/2 hr drive on those roads???). We went there (Stowe) for the first time last April and I would really love to see what that place is like in mid-winter conditions. I can deal with one day of crowds (heck, I ski the poconos....).

Problem is finding lodging for one night in Stowe on Prez weekend. Is it available/offered? Otherwise, drive back to Burke. But then again, that may not be so bad because we can ride the J-bar for a few runs before heading back on Tuesday ($9 !!!!).

 

[thetrailboss]

I am 99.9% sure that is where we will be. I am toying with the idea of two days at Burke, (Sat and Sunday) then the 60 mile drive over to Stowe for Monday (1 1/2 hr drive on those roads???). We went there (Stowe) for the first time last April and I would really love to see what that place is like in mid-winter conditions. I can deal with one day of crowds (heck, I ski the poconos....).

Problem is finding lodging for one night in Stowe on Prez weekend. Is it available/offered? Otherwise, drive back to Burke. But then again, that may not be so bad because we can ride the J-bar for a few runs before heading back on Tuesday ($9 !!!!).

To Stowe from Burke is doable....go down 91 to St. Jay, then take Route 2 West to Danville, Route 15 about 25 miles to Morrisville, then south on 100. If I had to guess, 1:30 would do it. Not bad.

You could also get to Jay in about an hour or Cannon. Bretton Woods is about 1:15. Balsam's Wilderness: 1:30. Hell, Sunday River is about 1:45 from Burke.

If you stay in St. Jay at the Comfort Inn, they have Jay/Burke/Cannon Packages IIRC.

And the J-Bar is not really anything to write home about. Nothing at all actually:

That area on the far right...that is the entire J-Bar area.

But that makes the rest of the place so big and beautiful:

 

[tarponhead]

Awsome... thank you