Skiing Magazine's Top 10 Eastern Resorts

[skibum1321]

I would say the terrain at the Bush and MRG are far better if we are just talking about marked trails. It is a close call if you throw in all the woods too. I love all 3.

I feel Stowe(resort proper)and Stratton have pretty little in common. I don't know what you mean by "resort proper" in that Stowe is still basically a ski area with no,(for the moment)base lodging. To be honest, since Spruce is across the road from Mansfield I don't really consider the new developement to be a base village like Stratton, Okemo, the Loaf ect. Stowe is Mt Mansfield.

I think he means just the marked runs by resort proper. I agree that Stratton and Stowe have little in common besides overpriced lift tickets. If that is the criteria we may as well throw the Bush in there too though.

Thats what I never understood about stowe, why do people love the terrian? I only went there once and I skiied almost every double black on the mountain and didnt really think they were that great. The only one I really liked was hackets highway, runs like starr and goat would be nice but just see way to much traffic. All the locals at stowe like the mountain only because they can use the chairs to access, most of them never even touch an in bounds trail.

I don't think you can really comment on the terrain after only skiing the mountain once. Yeah, they made half of the Front Four pretty damn lame, but Goat and Starr are really good if you hit them right. Last season I was one of the locals that pretty much stayed in the trees all year, though.[/quote]

 

[deadheadskier]

deleted double post

 

[deadheadskier]

Stowe is great but does it always deserve a top spot despite the fact that it lacks any new (official) terrain? despite the fact that it has become unaffordable? It is far from its humble beginnings. Stowe is more of a myth at this point. Other resorts on this list (and not) have made lots of changes in recent years and should be recognized for their successes. Just because something is "classic" doesn't mean it is always "the best", especially on a yearly basis.

I think Stowe deserves the number 1 ranking year in and year out. Is it expensive? yes, but so are many other areas. It doesn't get this credit for being 'classic', it gets such credit for being the best overall skiing experience for everyone. There are mountains who offer more challenge in bounds (Jay, MRG), better Snow (Jay for powder; Sunday River or Okemo for groomed man made), variety of terrain (Sugarloaf, Killington), slopeside lodging (Okemo, Smuggs), service (Stratton, Tremblant) or value (Cannon, Wildcat), family programs (Smuggs, Ascutney), but no area combines all of these things at a higher level than Stowe in my opion. That's not a myth, its a fact.

Some of things I enjoy about Stowe, in no particular order.

1. Snow - outside of Jay, there's no place in the east that arguably receives more of the fresh stuff. They have very good snowmaking as well that's only getting better. They don't get as much natural as Jay nor do they make as much as Sunday River or Okemo, but no one has a better combination of man made and natural than Stowe in my experience.

2. Long runs, both in length and vertical - I like the fact that whether I'm riding the Quad or the Gondola, I have 2000 vert below me for every run. Most areas in the Northeast require a couple of lifts to reach the summit - not all, but most. Eight minute lift rides up and LONG runs down.

3. Named Trails - have the Front Four lost their bite? Yes, Liftline and National are no longer all that hairy, but Starr and Goat remain unchanged and don't receive as much traffic as people think they do. More often than not, the top portions of these trails are closed and the access points a hundred yards down on Starr and a few hundred down on Goat are not clearly marked, so often times when you think the trail is closed, it's really for the most part open and offering great snow. Look Out hardly gets any traffic at all and is equally as fun. On the Gondola side, Chin Clip is perhaps the longest bump run on the East Coast. You want a good race trail? As far as a fast race trails are concerned, the only one better than Hayride on the East Coast in my opinion is Narrow Guage at Loaf. Then you have Lord (9000 feet in length), Nosedive (7500 in length), Gondolier (8850 feet in length) and Perry Merril (8850 feet in length) - all some of the longest, most consistently pitched, best cruising trails on the east coast

4. In between the trails. Once there's a three foot base, you can ski literally anywhere on this mountain. HUNDREDS of acres of gladed terrain.

5. Back Country. Stowe has the Chin and the Notch all easily accessable from the lift system and short hikes. Hell Brook, Tusk, Ephiphan Bowl, Triangle Trail, Profanity, North Face, Hour Glass, Tusk, Birthday Bowls - all some of the most challenging terrain on the East Coast that require minimal effort to get to and back from for maximum reward. Jay has Big Jay, Sugarbush has Slidebrook, Cannon has Mittersil, but none of these areas have even close to the 'lift serviced' back country options that Stowe has.

6. Crowds - even during Holiday weeks, Stowe never feels as crowded as some of the other large resorts in New England. I've never waited longer than 15 minutes in the sinlges line at the Quad or Gondola and have an easy time of avoiding traffic on the trails by ducking into the aforementioned bountiful in between trail and back country terrain. During peak times, the Lookout double is open and rarely has a wait time longer than 15 minutes as well.

6. Apres ski. You can be a 'hardcore' skier and still also have a passion for good food and drink after the lifts stop turning. There are over 50 restaurants and bars serving any kind of food you could ever want. Stowe has far and away the best restaurants and bars out of any ski resort in Vermont. The only places on the East Coast that arguably have better are Lake Placid and Tremblant. In addition to that, many of these establishments have been around for decades and have that aged character that can't be built from scratch.

7. Service - the people who live and work at the various establishments in Stowe have a tremendous passion for what they do and sharing it with the guests who visit the area - even pushy rich folk from Manhattan and Montreal.

8. Affordability (for locals and Vermonters). Stowe is expensive for the out of state day tripper and vacationer, but there are ways to experience Stowe on the cheap. Locals who work for a business that belongs to the local chamber of commerce can get a mid-week pass for about $300. Not bad considering most locals are too busy working on the weekend to actually have the time to ski. Last winter there were three Vermonter days - $25 lift tickets for state residents, One food drive day - $20 lift ticket with a donation of a canned good, and 5 industry days - free skiing if you work at a restaurant or hotel within Vermont. I'm not sure what this season's deals will be, but if they are the same as last year, I'll be able to ski Stowe 9 times for $95.00 if my schedule allows.


Looking towards the future/current development -


The Spruce Hamlet will change Stowe, but only in one aspect. It will attract wealthy families looking for slopeside lodging. That will increase skier visits on the weekends, but the mid-week experience will remain unchanged. I'm not all that concerned about the Big Pig changing much(not powder pig rivercoil ) The trails on Spruce are primarily intermediate cruising terrain. There's not a lot of unmarked gladed terrain on that side of the mountain outside of a few shots between Sterling and Main Street. The upper parts of Main Street and Smugglers are great fun on powder days and will remain as such because the new lift is configured lower down the hill than the old one, so you'll have to hike ten minutes to earn those turns.



In Conclusion - its a no brainer why Stowe consistenly gets such high rankings with Skiing Magazine. It has its deciencies in many areas, but so do all ski areas. When looking at the total experience though, Stowe is clearly number 1 in my opinion.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

Deadhead, nice job persenting your case for Stowe. How long did you work on that post? It's a dosey.

 

[deadheadskier]

Deadhead, nice job persenting your case for Stowe. How long did you work on that post? It's a dosey.

for about a quarter of the Patriots game tonight. Once we were down 28 to 3 shortly after halftime, I decided to listen to the mysery instead of watch it and logged onto the zone and saw this thread and began typing.

When I hit submit and went back to watching the game, we had climbed back to 28 - 20, which ended up being the final score in an exciting, but failed comeback bid. Perhaps I should've kept on writing about Stowe til the end of the game - being the superstitious Pats fan that I am, they very well might have won had I chose to do so :lol:

 

[andyzee]

deadheadskier, liked your argument for Stowe. I considered writing some of the same stuff, but no way I could have done a better job then you. :lol:

 

[Geoff]

The Stowe rebuttal:

My Stowe years were back in the late-1970's when I was attending UVM. Back then, access up Mansfield was a single chair and a double chair. There was no snowmaking at all. The front four never saw grooming since Stowe didn't have any winch cats. The skiing surface was often superb since there was so little traffic on the more challenging terrain. In my opinion, they've ruined the place with far too much uphill capacity for the number of acres.

I've been a Killington regular for 25 years. I'm no stranger to the Stowe apres ski scene and Killington smokes it. If you're staying at Stowe and you want to hear a good band, you drive to Burlington. Killington also sports far more dining alternatives though 80% of them are to be avoided.

Stowe is the closest thing to a functional ski town in New England though the town is stupidly far from the ski area. Smuggs and Jay are in the boonies. Sugarbush & MRG are fine ski areas but there's almost nothing going on there. Killington is butt-ugly. Bethel, ME? Hahahahaha! Sugarloaf is off in the boonies. North Conway is a cool town where I learned to ski in the 60's that's now outlet hell. I watched Intrawest destroy Whistler with that disney-esque overbuilt village. They did the same thing to Tremblant and Tremblant doesn't have the terrain to justify all that development.

The problem with Northeast skiing is it's a weekend business. There's very little destination business so you don't get the off-mountain attractions found west of the Mississippi. That makes the ski towns marginal at best.

My ranking?
#1: Quebec City with Mt St Anne and Le Massif. Great skiing. Superb small city. The only place in the east where I'd consider spending a vacation week.

#2: Mad River Valley. MRG and Castlerock are some of the last unspoiled skiing in the east. I do the hour drive up from Kmart quite a few times per year.

#3: Kmart/Pico. The current incarnation is pretty terrible since the ASC financial debacle has caused them to drop October to June skiing. They've also pretty much given up on the "if we can drag a hose to it, we blow snow" even though ASC finally fixed their notorious snowmaking water supply problem. If you're going to settle at one mountain, you want the one with the most terrain and the longest season. Killington also gets the same 250" of Mad River Valley and Stowe/Smuggs. It doesn't linger on the trails very long but there is tree skiing between every trail. There are always uncrowded parts of the mountain even on the busiest days. Eventually, the interconnect with Pico will just make it better. Pico is a great spot and we spend quite a few Saturdays there midwinter. Great skiing surface and almost no competition for the better terrain. I can't wait for this ASC nightmare to end.

#4: Sugarloaf. A great ski area with the worst lift layout in the east. Lots of classic cut trails where you can't see the bottom from the top. The lack of a town at the bottom and the number of days things are on wind hold are big drawbacks.

#5: Stowe.

#6: Jay Peak. I like the skiing but the lack of a town and the stupidly cold weather has always prevented me from taking the place seriously.

#7: Smuggs. It needs to be interconnected with Stowe. That would create the #1 ski experience in the east. Smuggs is just too far to consider as a weekend spot for me.

#8: Burke. An undiscovered gem.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

Quebec City is an amazing place although I would not classify it as a ski town. The wife and I spent a week there on our honeymoon, itching to go back for another visit.

We spent last weekend staying on the killington access road while working the Arts Festival down in Rutland. We were not impressed with the dining options there. My wife who grew up in Rutland and worked at several of the restaurants was surprised at the small amount of new eateries since the 70's.When we last stayed in Stowe there seemed to be so many options it was hard picking one to go to.
www.gostowe.com/dining/map.php

Also, great music at the Rusty Nail and Shed Brewery.

 

[deadheadskier]

The Stowe rebuttal:

My Stowe years were back in the late-1970's when I was attending UVM. Back then, access up Mansfield was a single chair and a double chair. There was no snowmaking at all. The front four never saw grooming since Stowe didn't have any winch cats. The skiing surface was often superb since there was so little traffic on the more challenging terrain. In my opinion, they've ruined the place with far too much uphill capacity for the number of acres.

Outside of a few areas, every ski area in the Northeast has increased uphill capacity significanlty over the past two decades, but few have extended their boundary to boundary acres like Stowe has through unmarked glade expansion. The difference between Stowe and most others is that this acreage expansion has occurred because of the enthusiasm of the skiers/pruners, not the mountian companies looking to fluff out their stats. Stowe has officially added Tres Amigos Glades and Nose Dive woods - nothing else between boundaries in the past twenty years, yet if they wanted, they could add several hundered acreas of marked terrain to their maps. It seems that almost every other ski area in the Northeast (I know there are exceptions - Cannon/Sugarbush) has put its goods on the map, where as at Stowe, you still have to learn and earn to enjoy 95% of it.

I've been a Killington regular for 25 years. I'm no stranger to the Stowe apres ski scene and Killington smokes it. If you're staying at Stowe and you want to hear a good band, you drive to Burlington. Killington also sports far more dining alternatives though 80% of them are to be avoided.

As a foody (someone who works in the industry) and someone who's passionate about the music industry (hence deadheadskier), I'm going to have to call bs on this comment. Stowe has the most restaurants with Wine Spectator Magazine awards of excellence out of any town in New England outside of Boston and Providence - that's a fact (as recently as six years ago). From my expertise - world class wine offerings = world class food offerings. Outside of Hemingways, Killington doesn't have a single eatery worth mentioning on the main strip. Mind you, Hemingways isn't even on the main strip, its 10 miles away from the resort. As for bars and live entertainment, the Matterhorn and Rusty Nail are light years ahead of the Picklebarrel and Wobbly Barn. They host nationaly prominent acts year round, where as Killington's offerings serve up second rate cover bands on the weekends during ski season only.

As for the Burlington comment - that's a benefit for Stowe actually. Killington could only wish that Rutland offered it the same amenities that Burlington offers Stowe in terms of Airport access, shopping and entertainment within a forty five minute drive from the ski area.

Stowe is the closest thing to a functional ski town in New England though the town is stupidly far from the ski area. Smuggs and Jay are in the boonies. Sugarbush & MRG are fine ski areas but there's almost nothing going on there. Killington is butt-ugly. Bethel, ME? Hahahahaha! Sugarloaf is off in the boonies. North Conway is a cool town where I learned to ski in the 60's that's now outlet hell. I watched Intrawest destroy Whistler with that disney-esque overbuilt village. They did the same thing to Tremblant and Tremblant doesn't have the terrain to justify all that development.

Very true, Stowe is the closest thing to a functional
ski town in New England. Actually its very functional as a town in general, always ranking in the top percentile for schooling and numerous other categories compared to other towns in Vermont. The town existed and thrived far before skiing was even a recreational pursuit. If you can give me good evidence that Whistler and other communities out west or Tremblant in the East were functional towns to begin with prior to tourism and ski development, I'd love to hear about it. I'm anti Intraest myself (former employee) and agree that their corporate culture personifies the attitude of'if you build it, they will come', where as classic New England ski towns such as Stowe and North Conway have been around forever.

The problem with Northeast skiing is it's a weekend business. There's very little destination business so you don't get the off-mountain attractions found west of the Mississippi. That makes the ski towns marginal at best.

My living experience at western ski towns is limited to Silverton in Summit County. However, I do work in the Hospitality Industry and from the plethora of Indsutry Mags that come across my desk everyday, I'm fairly certian that Vail, Aspen, Jackson, Whistler et al suffer equally as hard as Stowe, North Conway, Manchester, Woodstock et al during the off seasons as well as have their own challenges in atttacting mid week non-holiday period clientele. Do Western areas attract more mid-week traffic than their mid-eastern counterparts during the ski season? Sure they do, I won't deny that. Their sheer size and consistency of snow makes them a much safer gamble for international and domestic travelers who are looking to have a one week vacation. New England resorts have a different customer base though. There are 60 million people within a days drive of most NE resorts who are pretty darn happy to find a weekend reprieve year round so close to home.



and by the way - last I checked this was a forum for New England skiing enthusiasts. If your so dissappointed with the recreational/entertainment/cultural offerings our ski areas have to offer, perhaps there is a Rocky Mountain Ski Forum that is better suited for you. I don't mean for that comment to sound so snide, but I have a great degree of pride in New England skiing and I do take a bit of offense to your comment that areas I consider my home are 'marginal at best'.

I love skiing and have chosen a profession that will awlays provide me the opprotunity to have a job near the mountains, so I can indulge in my passion. That being said, I choose the east coast. For me, its where its at.

 

[skibum1321]

It seems that almost every other ski area in the Northeast (I know there are exceptions - Cannon/Sugarbush) has put its goods on the map, where as at Stowe, you still have to learn and earn to enjoy 95% of it.

Unfortunately, that statement about Sugarbush isn't totally true anymore since they put all those glades at North on the map last year like the E woods. Granted, there still is quite a bit that isn't on the map and will hopefully stay that way.

By the way, great post, I agree wholeheartedly. Stowe is a really cool place. I have East coast pride and I love the skiing here. I think I'm one of the few people around that wouldn't trade my Eastern mountains for the chance to make my home base out west.

 

[Geoff]

As a foody (someone who works in the industry) and someone who's passionate about the music industry (hence deadheadskier), I'm going to have to call bs on this comment. Stowe has the most restaurants with Wine Spectator Magazine awards of excellence out of any town in New England outside of Boston and Providence - that's a fact (as recently as six years ago). From my expertise - world class wine offerings = world class food offerings.

Then I presume you know that all it takes to make the Wine Spectator list is to submit your wine list. An overpriced wine list and overpriced pretentious food are something to be avoided. Anybody who is serious about wine also takes anything published in the Wine Spectator with a grain of salt. If you're serious about wine, you subscribe to Parker's Wine Advocate, not a glossy magazine that makes their living selling advertising space to wineries, restaurants, and resorts.

 

[Tin Woodsman]

The Stowe rebuttal:

My Stowe years were back in the late-1970's when I was attending UVM. Back then, access up Mansfield was a single chair and a double chair. There was no snowmaking at all. The front four never saw grooming since Stowe didn't have any winch cats. The skiing surface was often superb since there was so little traffic on the more challenging terrain. In my opinion, they've ruined the place with far too much uphill capacity for the number of acres.

The same could be said for the vast majority of serious ski areas in the Northeast, with the exception of a handful of holdouts and undercapitalized gems. This is especially true for everywhere south of Granville Gulf.

I've been a Killington regular for 25 years. I'm no stranger to the Stowe apres ski scene and Killington smokes it. If you're staying at Stowe and you want to hear a good band, you drive to Burlington. Killington also sports far more dining alternatives though 80% of them are to be avoided.

Definitely have to disagree there. The schedule at the Wobbly is filled with no-talent retreads like Eddie Money playing for the clueless NY crowds. The bands in Stowe come year round and offer a far better variety (and IMHO, quality) of musical experience. I was up in Stowe last weekend and saw three fantastic bands - K-Mart has no alternative.

Stowe is the closest thing to a functional ski town in New England though the town is stupidly far from the ski area. Smuggs and Jay are in the boonies. Sugarbush & MRG are fine ski areas but there's almost nothing going on there. Killington is butt-ugly. Bethel, ME? Hahahahaha! Sugarloaf is off in the boonies. North Conway is a cool town where I learned to ski in the 60's that's now outlet hell. I watched Intrawest destroy Whistler with that disney-esque overbuilt village. They did the same thing to Tremblant and Tremblant doesn't have the terrain to justify all that development.

You should have stopped after your first statement. Stowe is miles ahead of anywhere else in the NE in terms of being a functional ski town. Stupidly far from the mountain? It's like 8 miles. Beats the 30 from St. Anne to Quebec by a damn sight.

#3: Kmart/Pico. The current incarnation is pretty terrible since the ASC financial debacle has caused them to drop October to June skiing. They've also pretty much given up on the "if we can drag a hose to it, we blow snow" even though ASC finally fixed their notorious snowmaking water supply problem. If you're going to settle at one mountain, you want the one with the most terrain and the longest season. Killington also gets the same 250" of Mad River Valley and Stowe/Smuggs. It doesn't linger on the trails very long but there is tree skiing between every trail. There are always uncrowded parts of the mountain even on the busiest days. Eventually, the interconnect with Pico will just make it better. Pico is a great spot and we spend quite a few Saturdays there midwinter. Great skiing surface and almost no competition for the better terrain. I can't wait for this ASC nightmare to end.

I'm sorry, but it's difficult to defnd this position from a skiing, apres, or any other perspective. I've skied extensively at K-Mart, the MRV, and Stowe/Smuggs. Forget the statistics, the snow is simply deeper north of I-89 than South, and north of Granville Gulf vs. South. K-Mart does well for where it is situated, and I know that the Canyon, with its generally NE exposure and high surrounding peaks, does quite well. But the snow isn't nearly as deep over the ridge on the Bear side and there simply isn't as much snow in general vs. further north. Moreover, K-Mart seems to get a much higher % of its snow in the large coastal dumps whereas SB northward get it from upslope, wrap-around, and clippers - ergo it's much more consistent and reliable. And need I mention the fact that any and all snow at K-Mart, be it on the trails or deep in the woods, gets chewed up very quickly on a powder day. The same simply cannot be said for further north due to the higher frequency of snow and, more importantly, the much lower skier density.

As for terrain variety, if we are talking about what's on the map, K-mart doesn't do that well. There are precious few trails with any semblance of character there, save perhaps for West Glade, Northstar, and maybe Escapade. The vast majority are wide, straight, and painfully boring. Stowe and SB/MRG have there problem children (Ripcord, Upper FIS, Nosedive, Liftline), but there is a heterogeneneity that K-mart simply can't match. Were the interconnect o Pico actually completed, and the job done well, that might change things somewhat. Pico is a great, uncrowded mountain (with a lot of windhold issues), but it's inclusion in the K-Mart trail count is joke. That said, I have little fiath in ASC's ability to complete the interconnect, let alone do a decent job with it. That terrain is potentially fantastic, and I have every expectation that we'll end up seeing a series of boring, wide, homogenous cruisers and faux glades.

No thanks.



#4: Sugarloaf. A great ski area with the worst lift layout in the east. Lots of classic cut trails where you can't see the bottom from the top. The lack of a town at the bottom and the number of days things are on wind hold are big drawbacks.

#5: Stowe.

#6: Jay Peak. I like the skiing but the lack of a town and the stupidly cold weather has always prevented me from taking the place seriously.

#7: Smuggs. It needs to be interconnected with Stowe. That would create the #1 ski experience in the east. Smuggs is just too far to consider as a weekend spot for me.

#8: Burke. An undiscovered gem.[/quote]

 

[Tin Woodsman]

The Stowe rebuttal:

My Stowe years were back in the late-1970's when I was attending UVM. Back then, access up Mansfield was a single chair and a double chair. There was no snowmaking at all. The front four never saw grooming since Stowe didn't have any winch cats. The skiing surface was often superb since there was so little traffic on the more challenging terrain. In my opinion, they've ruined the place with far too much uphill capacity for the number of acres.

The same could be said for the vast majority of serious ski areas in the Northeast, with the exception of a handful of holdouts and undercapitalized gems. This is especially true for everywhere south of Granville Gulf.

I've been a Killington regular for 25 years. I'm no stranger to the Stowe apres ski scene and Killington smokes it. If you're staying at Stowe and you want to hear a good band, you drive to Burlington. Killington also sports far more dining alternatives though 80% of them are to be avoided.

Definitely have to disagree there. The schedule at the Wobbly is filled with no-talent retreads like Eddie Money playing for the clueless NY crowds. The bands in Stowe come year round and offer a far better variety (and IMHO, quality) of musical experience. I was up in Stowe last weekend and saw three fantastic bands - K-Mart has no alternative.

Stowe is the closest thing to a functional ski town in New England though the town is stupidly far from the ski area. Smuggs and Jay are in the boonies. Sugarbush & MRG are fine ski areas but there's almost nothing going on there. Killington is butt-ugly. Bethel, ME? Hahahahaha! Sugarloaf is off in the boonies. North Conway is a cool town where I learned to ski in the 60's that's now outlet hell. I watched Intrawest destroy Whistler with that disney-esque overbuilt village. They did the same thing to Tremblant and Tremblant doesn't have the terrain to justify all that development.

You should have stopped after your first statement. Stowe is miles ahead of anywhere else in the NE in terms of being a functional ski town. Stupidly far from the mountain? It's like 8 miles. Beats the 30 from St. Anne to Quebec by a damn sight.

#3: Kmart/Pico. The current incarnation is pretty terrible since the ASC financial debacle has caused them to drop October to June skiing. They've also pretty much given up on the "if we can drag a hose to it, we blow snow" even though ASC finally fixed their notorious snowmaking water supply problem. If you're going to settle at one mountain, you want the one with the most terrain and the longest season. Killington also gets the same 250" of Mad River Valley and Stowe/Smuggs. It doesn't linger on the trails very long but there is tree skiing between every trail. There are always uncrowded parts of the mountain even on the busiest days. Eventually, the interconnect with Pico will just make it better. Pico is a great spot and we spend quite a few Saturdays there midwinter. Great skiing surface and almost no competition for the better terrain. I can't wait for this ASC nightmare to end.

I'm sorry, but it's difficult to defnd this position from a skiing, apres, or any other perspective. I've skied extensively at K-Mart, the MRV, and Stowe/Smuggs. Forget the statistics, the snow is simply deeper north of I-89 than South, and north of Granville Gulf vs. South. K-Mart does well for where it is situated, and I know that the Canyon, with its generally NE exposure and high surrounding peaks, does quite well. But the snow isn't nearly as deep over the ridge on the Bear side and there simply isn't as much snow in general vs. further north. Moreover, K-Mart seems to get a much higher % of its snow in the large coastal dumps whereas SB northward get it from upslope, wrap-around, and clippers - ergo it's much more consistent and reliable. And need I mention the fact that any and all snow at K-Mart, be it on the trails or deep in the woods, gets chewed up very quickly on a powder day. The same simply cannot be said for further north due to the higher frequency of snow and, more importantly, the much lower skier density.

As for terrain variety, if we are talking about what's on the map, K-mart doesn't do that well. There are precious few trails with any semblance of character there, save perhaps for West Glade, Northstar, and maybe Escapade. The vast majority are wide, straight, and painfully boring. Stowe and SB/MRG have there problem children (Ripcord, Upper FIS, Nosedive, Liftline), but there is a heterogeneneity that K-mart simply can't match. Were the interconnect o Pico actually completed, and the job done well, that might change things somewhat. Pico is a great, uncrowded mountain (with a lot of windhold issues), but it's inclusion in the K-Mart trail count is joke. That said, I have little fiath in ASC's ability to complete the interconnect, let alone do a decent job with it. That terrain is potentially fantastic, and I have every expectation that we'll end up seeing a series of boring, wide, homogenous cruisers and faux glades.

No thanks.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

The Stowe rebuttal:

#4: Sugarloaf. The lack of a town at the bottom and the number of days things are on wind hold are big drawbacks.

Actually the Loaf has one of the largest base villages in the country with over 10,000 beds. It's not really a town but I can't think of any major resort in New England and only a few out west that actually has a "town" at the base.

As far as windhold our own beloved Sugarbush has such a problem with windhold that I have heard some people refer to it as "Windhold Mountain". :blink:

 

[ski_resort_observer]

#4: Sugarloaf. The lack of a town at the bottom and the number of days things are on wind hold are big drawbacks.

Actually the Loaf has one of the largest base villages in the country with over 10,000 beds. It's not really a town but I can't think of any major resort in New England and only a few out west that actually has a "town" at the bottom.

As far as windhold our own beloved Sugarbush has such a problem with windhold that I have heard some people refer to it as "Windhold Mountain". :blink:[/quote]

 

[skibum1321]

#7: Smuggs. It needs to be interconnected with Stowe. That would create the #1 ski experience in the east. Smuggs is just too far to consider as a weekend spot for me.

Personally, I'm glad that Smuggs isn't connected to Stowe. There are less people because of this. Granted lift lines may get long but that's because of the slow lifts which keep people off the slopes. If Stowe got a hold of Smuggs they would probably have a high speed quad to the top of both peaks and would kill the mtn. I like Smuggs just the way it is and I like my cheap season's pass. I don't really care that there is no town because I'm there for the skiing. Believe it or not a mountain can still be good without a town at the base.

You can keep K-Mart and it's strip mall base area and homogenized trails, I'll ski at the real mountains, whether or not they have apres-ski. Killington at #3 is a joke.

 

[JimG.]

I've skiied at all but 3 of these resorts...all of them have alot of good things to offer.

Don't much care about putting them in any order...I don't remember ever thinking I would rather be at resort# 2 when I was skiing at resort# 7.

Not a big fan of top 10 lists when placement is probably due to the amount of ad revenue dollars spent.

 

[Tin Woodsman]

One thing I forgot to mention w/r/t comparing K-Mart to its neighbors to the north is how big they ski relative to one another. As Geoff well knows, K skis MUCH smaller than its 3000' vertical b/c of the topography of the mountain. Other than the Skyeship, which no one does laps on, there are only two lifts with a vertical drop of greater than 1500' - the Skye Peak quad and the K-1. Both lifts tend to get extremely crowded and much of the terrain you can lap off of the former is uninspiring and overcrowded itself.

The lifts on Mansfield are all top to bottom with little runout. Also, in my previous post I neglected to mention the copius backcountry that deadheadskier did a fine job of describing. It's all easily accessible and mostly spits you right back into the lift system, or onto 108. At K, the best backcountry spits you out onto Wheelerville Road. Hope you stashed your car there the night before.

 

[noski]

As far as windhold our own beloved Sugarbush has such a problem with windhold that I have heard some people refer to it as "Windhold Mountain". :blink:

aw shucks, and I always thought they were speaking of their beloved Winhold Mountain!

 

[Greg]

One thing I forgot to mention w/r/t comparing K-Mart to its neighbors to the north is how big they ski relative to one another. As Geoff well knows, K skis MUCH smaller than its 3000' vertical b/c of the topography of the mountain. Other than the Skyeship, which no one does laps on, there are only two lifts with a vertical drop of greater than 1500' - the Skye Peak quad and the K-1. Both lifts tend to get extremely crowded and much of the terrain you can lap off of the former is uninspiring and overcrowded itself.

This is probably the most well written post on Killington's "effective" vertical I've ever read.