scootertig
New member
After last year's trip to Burlington around New Year's Eve (Bolton Valley and Stowe, and then New Year's Eve in Boston), we've decided to try again, change it up a bit. We're planning to take Amtrak to Essex Junction, and then find a good place to get back on it headed back to DC.
What we need now, is suggestions on where to ski. We've got three people skiing, and ideally, each person will get "priority" on a day (meaning if there's some place that appeals more to them than to the others, they get their way), so we're going to determine the itinerary democratically. The plan is to start in Burlington (free lodging) on the night of the 31st, then ski on Thursday the 1st, Friday the 2nd, and Saturday the 3rd, staying in hotels as needed to minimize early morning drives to the hill.
On the short list of contenders based on what I've read here and the impression I get from their websites:
Sugarbush
Smuggler's Notch
Burke
Cannon
Wildcat
Attitash
(Maybe Mad River Glen - I'm not sure if we're ready to tackle that in a way that would make it worthwhile or not)
Previous New England skiing experiences include Bolton Valley (loved it, but definitely need a little more challenge this time around), Stowe (not so keen on it - overpriced, and not a good experience due to the difficulties of trying to ski "together" on different level trails), Sugarloaf (great, but freezing), and Saddleback (cold again, but one of my favorites).
Our group is "capable intermediate" on average (meaning blues are generally a great starting point, sometimes we'll step it up to blacks, sometimes not). My girlfriend prefers wider runs where she can "do her turns," the other 2 of us are less particular about that and actually like the narrow runs). We do all like to be able to ski around various parts of the mountain, so a hill where all of the blue terrain is lumped together would be a little dull.
The ideal mountain(s) for us would have a mixture of wider cruisers and classic twisty/turny trails at the intermediate level, with an opportunity to duck in and out of black terrain if conditions and confidence are favorable. Also some real intermediate tree skiing would be fantastic, but is as much at the mercy of the conditions as anything else. As far as the vibe goes, think Saddleback or Loveland. Low-key, low-cost, low-crowd is what we're interested in.
Have I missed any mountains that would be a good fit? What about Waterville Valley? Black Mountain?
If you were trying to fill 3 days and end up near an Amtrak Station (preferably with train service on the Vermonter line, not the bus connection kind of service) where would you go? Which mountain would be best to save for Saturday to avoid crowds and liftlines?
Also, I checked the Skiing on the Cheap thread a few days ago, and didn't really see anything that applied to these areas (except that zimsport link). Are there any secrets to doing this trip more cheaply? Most of the lift tickets seem to be in the $60 neighborhood, but spending less would be nice!
aaron
What we need now, is suggestions on where to ski. We've got three people skiing, and ideally, each person will get "priority" on a day (meaning if there's some place that appeals more to them than to the others, they get their way), so we're going to determine the itinerary democratically. The plan is to start in Burlington (free lodging) on the night of the 31st, then ski on Thursday the 1st, Friday the 2nd, and Saturday the 3rd, staying in hotels as needed to minimize early morning drives to the hill.
On the short list of contenders based on what I've read here and the impression I get from their websites:
Sugarbush
Smuggler's Notch
Burke
Cannon
Wildcat
Attitash
(Maybe Mad River Glen - I'm not sure if we're ready to tackle that in a way that would make it worthwhile or not)
Previous New England skiing experiences include Bolton Valley (loved it, but definitely need a little more challenge this time around), Stowe (not so keen on it - overpriced, and not a good experience due to the difficulties of trying to ski "together" on different level trails), Sugarloaf (great, but freezing), and Saddleback (cold again, but one of my favorites).
Our group is "capable intermediate" on average (meaning blues are generally a great starting point, sometimes we'll step it up to blacks, sometimes not). My girlfriend prefers wider runs where she can "do her turns," the other 2 of us are less particular about that and actually like the narrow runs). We do all like to be able to ski around various parts of the mountain, so a hill where all of the blue terrain is lumped together would be a little dull.
The ideal mountain(s) for us would have a mixture of wider cruisers and classic twisty/turny trails at the intermediate level, with an opportunity to duck in and out of black terrain if conditions and confidence are favorable. Also some real intermediate tree skiing would be fantastic, but is as much at the mercy of the conditions as anything else. As far as the vibe goes, think Saddleback or Loveland. Low-key, low-cost, low-crowd is what we're interested in.
Have I missed any mountains that would be a good fit? What about Waterville Valley? Black Mountain?
If you were trying to fill 3 days and end up near an Amtrak Station (preferably with train service on the Vermonter line, not the bus connection kind of service) where would you go? Which mountain would be best to save for Saturday to avoid crowds and liftlines?
Also, I checked the Skiing on the Cheap thread a few days ago, and didn't really see anything that applied to these areas (except that zimsport link). Are there any secrets to doing this trip more cheaply? Most of the lift tickets seem to be in the $60 neighborhood, but spending less would be nice!
aaron
