Tell me about Burke

[hudsonhacker]

Okay, my first ski trip is planned for Sugarbush, now looking for a second trip one to set up. Yes, I know it is Saturday and I should be out skiing, but my 5 year old really does not like it when the thermometer drops below -20C, so I am going to spend some time dreaming about skiing instead.

I have never been to Burke, and am thinking about spending 3 days down there in March mid week.

My questions:
1) The website states a vertical of 2011 feet. If I look at the trail map, it looks like they include the bottom beginner portion in this total, which is understandable. However, what is the vertical on the main mountain, excluding the beginner run out?

2) How varied is the terrain? I would like to spend half my time on my Telemark set up, so intermediate cruisers are required for that (Okay, I just started Telemarking and need easy runs!). How are the glades?

3) What is with the high speed poma I have heard about?

4) Restaurants/bars for evening. Is there anything at the mountain that would be open midweek or should I make sure i bring groceries with me?

5) I just checked out the trail map and noticed on East Bowl it says "Not snowboarder friendly". ANy idea why? I am not a boarder, but just curious.

6) Overall experiences: Is the hill too small for a vacation, is there enough Varied terrain, etc..

I haven't checked into condo pricing yet, but just a quick look through their website and lodging section shows that it can be very reasonable during the week.

Thanks

Paul

 

[soulseller]

I've only been there one time and that was about a month ago but I am sold and look forward to returning. I'll try to answer your questions as best I can.

I would guess the Sherbourne (painfully slow) quad covers about 2/3'rds of Burke's 2k vert, it felt to me to be about equivalent of Sunapee which I think is 1400 feet.

I did not ride the Poma as i'm a border and have a fear of surface lifts after an incident at Sugarloaf a couple years back. Next time I go back I will try my best to get over it appears to move at about twice the speed of the quad and covers almost the same amount of vert.

I'm not familiar with the area but we did pass through Lyndonville on the way in, I believe it is a college town and looked like it should be able to provide with a good pub and/or restaurant.

Terrain is varied enough that I think you will have no problem finding cruisers that you feel comfortable with your tele gear, and no doubt there is some terrain that will give you a run for you money on your alpine setup as well e.g. Jungle. I found it to have the best inbounds tree runs that i've seen in the east, granted i've never been to Jay.

East bowl is not snowboarder friendly. There is a long traverse to get to it which was not fun but then turns into a good run until about the point that cave man feeds into it at which point it flattens out again and required me to unbuckle and skate out a good distance. I only did east bowl once but did the handful of tree runs off powderhorn a good half dozen times, they were worth the work at the end.

Overall Burke is easily top 5 for me in NE. Crowds were non-existent the day I went and conditions were A+ which undoubtably influenced my opinion.

I'm very excited to go back, I don't think I would want to stay there for more then a night or two because there is not much around there but I oould easily see myself riding it for 2 maybe 3 days in a row if the snow was good.


OH and I do not begrudge you for staying in today, it is COLD! I've been trying to get the nerve up to hit Wachusett today but motivation is tough to come by. Not going anywhere that costs money this weekend to save my pennies for next weekend at Mammoth.

 

[riverc0il]

1) The website states a vertical of 2011 feet. If I look at the trail map, it looks like they include the bottom beginner portion in this total, which is understandable. However, what is the vertical on the main mountain, excluding the beginner run out?

I don't know the specific vert but I would estimate the summit quad services more than 3/4 of the mountain's vert... gotta be at least 1600 I would imagine.

2) How varied is the terrain? I would like to spend half my time on my Telemark set up, so intermediate cruisers are required for that (Okay, I just started Telemarking and need easy runs!). How are the glades?

You are in luck as Burke has some of the best upper intermediate terrain in Vermont! The blues are steeper than average and due to low traffic have good conditions throughout the day. Lots of character. Trees are great. Burke does not get the quantity of snow that the spine of the greens gets but it makes up for it in quality. Burke has some of Vermont's best on map glades, IMO.

3) What is with the high speed poma I have heard about?

Great option for quickly accessing most of the mountain's vertical without the slow speed of the quad. Also, great margin of safety on a windy day though Burke's quad rarely goes down. Usually more used by racers than the GP.

4) Restaurants/bars for evening. Is there anything at the mountain that would be open midweek or should I make sure i bring groceries with me?

Taramack Grill is right on the mountain. Pricey but good. Elements in StJ is incredible for a moderate price. For bars, I would stick with the Tamarck Grill on the mountain, you won't find much "in town" for bars that are worth driving away from Burke for.

5) I just checked out the trail map and noticed on East Bowl it says "Not snowboarder friendly". ANy idea why? I am not a boarder, but just curious.

East Bowl is accessed by a short and flat traverse and ends on a longer sometimes flat traverse. Great trail and well worth the effort.

6) Overall experiences: Is the hill too small for a vacation, is there enough Varied terrain, etc..

Burke is a great mountain. Not as much quantity as Sugarbush but the quality is still there. It all depends what you like but I wouldn't get bored at Burke skiing there for a weekend.

 

[darent]

what rivercoil said, i have skied there a dozen times and found it a great place for a weekend ski destination, lydonville has a brew pub and several other small resturants that are nice, a McDonalds for the kids

 

[swampwiz]

I went to Burke last Sunday. It is a neat little resort with some nice runs. The biggest drawback is the slow lift that goes to the top (although not as slow as Magic Mountain.)

You are correct in that there are basically 2 sections - the 1600' or so of the top, with good intermediate cruisers, and the bottom 400' of greens. Because the base of the upper lift is so flat, you can only ski both in one long run by taking the farthest right run on the top. Yes the bottom part can be a bit boring, but it's not too bad. Fortunately, the lower and upper lift are fairly well connected, if you would so choose to do both. When I went, I only did both the upper and bottom together when I had to go back all the way down to take a leak, or at the end of the day.

 

[Masskier]

If you plan your trip for March 14 +15 you will be able to watch the NorAm finals

 

[from_the_NEK]

You are correct in that there are basically 2 sections - the 1600' or so of the top, with good intermediate cruisers, and the bottom 400' of greens. Because the base of the upper lift is so flat, you can only ski both in one long run by taking the farthest right run on the top. Yes the bottom part can be a bit boring, but it's not too bad. Fortunately, the lower and upper lift are fairly well connected, if you would so choose to do both. When I went, I only did both the upper and bottom together when I had to go back all the way down to take a leak, or at the end of the day.

The top section is about 1700' of vert. The beginner area at the bottom is about 400. I know this adds up to more than 2011 feet but the two lifts overlap about 80 feet of vertical.

You can actually ski back to the Base lodge from the "East" half (skier's right) side of the mountain by taking the "High Meadow's Pass" trail that drops down to the left of the Mid Lodge. It is a rather boring trail but it will get you all the way back down without having to go back to the top.

FYI the Mid Lodge has restroom facilities if you don't want to go to the base lodge (although I would head to the base lodge if #2 is in order ).

Area Restaurants: Miss Lyndonville Diner (good breakfasts), Juniper's (at the Wildflower Inn), Hoagie's (Not fancy Italian), Valley View (standard American fare), Tamarack (in the Base lodge), Freight House (serves a lot of organic local foods), Trout River Brewery (excellent pizza and beer only open for pizza a couple nights a week), Lyndonville House of Pizza, Pizza Man, China Moon Buffett, Asia Restaurant (pretty good).

The rest of your questions have been answered pretty well already.

 

[thetrailboss]

1) The website states a vertical of 2011 feet. If I look at the trail map, it looks like they include the bottom beginner portion in this total, which is understandable. However, what is the vertical on the main mountain, excluding the beginner run out?

As stated, a sustained 1600-1700 vert.

2) How varied is the terrain? I would like to spend half my time on my Telemark set up, so intermediate cruisers are required for that (Okay, I just started Telemarking and need easy runs!). How are the glades?

Assuming good cover and everything open, terrain variety is a strength. Glades are very good. Some tight and technical ones and some that aren't as demanding. Longest glades are in the East Bowl.

3) What is with the high speed poma I have heard about?

It is on the left in the above picture. It is a surface lift--a disc shaped pole that you put in between your legs pulls you up the mountain.

Not for beginners...

4) Restaurants/bars for evening. Is there anything at the mountain that would be open midweek or should I make sure i bring groceries with me?

Bring groceries. Some local spots in East Burke (River Garden and Pub Outback) and many more in Lyndonville, but don't expect a lot of choices.

5) I just checked out the trail map and noticed on East Bowl it says "Not snowboarder friendly". ANy idea why? I am not a boarder, but just curious.

Hiking involved at the top; run out at the bottom.

6) Overall experiences: Is the hill too small for a vacation, is there enough Varied terrain, etc..

I haven't checked into condo pricing yet, but just a quick look through their website and lodging section shows that it can be very reasonable during the week.

Thanks

Paul

Yes, quite reasonable. Feel free to PM me for more specifics. Like from_the_nek, I grew up at Burke.

 

[Masskier]

There is also a new restaurant in East Burke (between the post office and the Village Inn) that is very good "Willy's"

 

[Masskier]

Check out the article in the Boston Herald yesterday (Wednesday)

 

[bosrocker51]

I have not skied Burke in ages, but I really liked it. The Burke Mtn Academy kids are cool to watch...