Ski's top 10 East

[Birdman829]

1. Sugarloaf - One word: Snowfields. Gondi and Narrow Gauge too.

And the King Pine bowl in the spring or on a powder day. And Cuffer and Winter's. And the chutes around Cuffer, Winter's, and Gondi. I could go on forever. Everything about the Loaf is awesome.

 

[Greg]

And the King Pine bowl in the spring or on a powder day. And Cuffer and Winter's. And the chutes around Cuffer, Winter's, and Gondi. I could go on forever. Everything about the Loaf is awesome.

Yeah, the Loaf is okay....

Can't wait to hit the Loaf on a powder day someday. That may most likely have to just come down to timing and luck as trips to the Loaf are few and far between.

Big fan of Misery Whip, Birdman829? I love that run.

 

[tjf67]

My 2 cents

Top 5.

Stowe
Whiteface
Sugarloaf
Jay Peak
Suragbush
Gore

I base it on ski terrain. I am a fan of High speed quads and Gongdolas

 

[Birdman829]

Yeah, the Loaf is okay....

Can't wait to hit the Loaf on a powder day someday. That may most likely have to just come down to timing and luck as trips to the Loaf are few and far between.

Big fan of Misery Whip, Birdman829? I love that run.

I had one real pow day last year in February. 8 inches or so (depending on drifting). I was in line at the Superquad at 7:30 and was on the third chair going up (a little early at about 8:15 ). I cut over and had first tracks on Spillway, then took longside up and ripped down Gondi at about mach 3. I took a few more runs off longside (Wedge, Boomauger, Sluice) and headed over to King Pine area. I skied down Ramdown, took the quad up and did Misery Whip. It was amazing. A few people had been down it so there were nice, soft, cruddy, bumps. Best day of the year by far.

The only problem with Misery Whip is the lack of a bailout. Sometimes it looks like it's gonna be good so you hop in and quickly realize that it's NOT GOOD. Then you're stuck with it. Maybe if you go back to the Loaf this year we can make a few turns. Since I'm at UVM this year I won't be there as much, but I'm thinking of getting the college Sun-Fri pass and getting in maybe 10-12 days there between winter break and spring break. :beer:

 

[thebigo]

I was reading this thread and I had the following thought: many areas come up again and again in these threads, what do they have in common?

While the larger question may be beyond me, the fact is that certain areas are constantly discussed and are both attacked and defended against attack in this forum and others. I would say that these areas each have a specific quality or attribute that warrants their defense. I cant name the quality/attribute but I can develop a list of areas that are defensible:

sugarloaf, sugarbush, mrg, stowe, smuggs, kmart, pico, jay, sunday river, whitface, cannon, wildcat, burke, magic, attitash

The question to the rest of AZ is why are these hills the most discussed, I believe they are also the most 'challenged'. Which of the criterion is at play: Is it snow, terrain, price, apres ski, etc?

 

[FRITOLAYGUY]

I havent skied half of those but from that list it appears size/vertical is something all of them have in common..

 

[kcyanks1]

I was reading this thread and I had the following thought: many areas come up again and again in these threads, what do they have in common?

While the larger question may be beyond me, the fact is that certain areas are constantly discussed and are both attacked and defended against attack in this forum and others. I would say that these areas each have a specific quality or attribute that warrants their defense. I cant name the quality/attribute but I can develop a list of areas that are defensible:

sugarloaf, sugarbush, mrg, stowe, smuggs, kmart, pico, jay, sunday river, whitface, cannon, wildcat, burke, magic, attitash

The question to the rest of AZ is why are these hills the most discussed, I believe they are also the most 'challenged'. Which of the criterion is at play: Is it snow, terrain, price, apres ski, etc?

I think that challenge is a huge factor. For some of the areas, natural snow and glades are also a factor. "Classic" eastern trails (i.e., narrow, windy) also is a factor, I think. Of those you named, I've skied Sugarbush, MRG, Jay, Whiteface, Stowe, and Magic. I think all of those have at least some trails that meet some of the characteristics I named.

 

[riverc0il]

sugarloaf, sugarbush, mrg, stowe, smuggs, kmart, pico, jay, sunday river, whitface, cannon, wildcat, burke, magic, attitash

The question to the rest of AZ is why are these hills the most discussed, I believe they are also the most 'challenged'. Which of the criterion is at play: Is it snow, terrain, price, apres ski, etc?

some are challenged due to price, crowding, and hype. others are challenged due to variable weather conditions, lack of great snow, perception of small mountain, etc. i don't know if 'challenged' is quite the right word as i am a big believer in different strokes for different folks. if everyone that really enjoyed sunday river and attitash decided to ski my favorite mountains instead, i would be quited miffed at the crowds. so it all works out in my opinion. i only offer challenge when folks advocate something that i see quite differently about a particular mountain. you have basically named most of the top areas in new england (you forgot hunter ), so there are definitely going to be strong feelings going both ways.

 

[awf170]

I had one real pow day last year in February. 8 inches or so (depending on drifting). I was in line at the Superquad at 7:30 and was on the third chair going up (a little early at about 8:15 ). I cut over and had first tracks on Spillway, then took longside up and ripped down Gondi at about mach 3. I took a few more runs off longside (Wedge, Boomauger, Sluice) and headed over to King Pine area. I skied down Ramdown, took the quad up and did Misery Whip. It was amazing. A few people had been down it so there were nice, soft, cruddy, bumps. Best day of the year by far.

The only problem with Misery Whip is the lack of a bailout. Sometimes it looks like it's gonna be good so you hop in and quickly realize that it's NOT GOOD. Then you're stuck with it. Maybe if you go back to the Loaf this year we can make a few turns. Since I'm at UVM this year I won't be there as much, but I'm thinking of getting the college Sun-Fri pass and getting in maybe 10-12 days there between winter break and spring break. :beer:

You can't get there from here. I cannot even imagine the fun of driving from Burlington to Sugarloaf. It must be close to five hours, right? Though on a nice day in early april when the snowfields are fully open it would defiantly be worth it.

 

[riverc0il]

You can't get there from here. I cannot even imagine the fun of driving from Burlington to Sugarloaf. It must be close to five hours, right? Though on a nice day in early april when the snowfields are fully open it would defiantly be worth it.

st.j to saddleback is 2.5-3 hours and then add on another 1.5 from burlington to st.j and then whatever time it takes to get from saddleback to the loaf so i think five hours sounds about right and almost none of that is highway. five hours is a long drive, but it is even longer when it is not highway.

 

[Birdman829]

You can't get there from here. I cannot even imagine the fun of driving from Burlington to Sugarloaf. It must be close to five hours, right? Though on a nice day in early april when the snowfields are fully open it would defiantly be worth it.

My permanent residence isn't Burlington. I only go to school here. When I drive to the loaf I drive up from my house in Georgetown, MA which is a 3:10 to 3:30 drive depending on stops and how many friggin pokes I get stuck behind on 27. I have a place to stay there so it's not like im making day trips with a 7 hour drive time.

But yeah, like Riv said there is no good way to get from east to west in northern New England. Last year my dad and I were going from Syracuse to Sugarloaf and we went through Canada because the only other way to do it was to go back through Massachusetts and we figured driving through Canada would be more interesting. Down around Sherbrooke we were on dirt roads with 65 KMH speed limits (~40 mph). Pretty crazy.