The Online Influence

[Buckeye Skier 1330]

Killington. Just sounds like too big of a madhouse. Like others have said, Sugarbush and Stowe are not that far away, and those are two special places.

 

[Mildcat]

I've been more influenced by the good pub resorts get on here. I've skied a few places for the first time because of the love they get on here and there are a few more I still want to check out.

 

[riverc0il]

I would love to ski every open New England area. I had that goal years ago but have since gotten realistic. I am not going to drive to great lengths to ski small areas with limited vertical and no challenging terrain. I can not say that online has had much effected on the areas I would not ski. If Okemo and Stratton were within an hour's drive and I could get cheap tickets, I would probably try them out just once to gain some experience. Hard to speak with authority on lots of areas if you have not paid them a visit at least once. Relying on hearsay and general consensus is not my preferred method of providing personal opinion. But suffice to say I probably will not get to any ski areas south of Killington that I have not yet skied and I doubt I will ski any new areas in Maine as I have already skied their big three. But that is all due to location and value, not perceived internet opinion.

 

[ccskier]

Never been to and won't ever go to:
Killington
Stratton
Mount Snow

Probably will never go back to:
Waterville
Attitash

Hopefully never go back to Loon, but as Deadhead said, for nostalgia (grew up skiing there)

I lived in MA my entire life, except 5+ years in VT and I have never skied in MA, RI, and CT. Probably never will. I have never skied in ME, may make the trip sometime to Sugarloaf. Kind of stuck in my ways and never leave skiing in VT unless I have to get on a plane.

 

[MikeTrainor]

I don't think I will ever go to Stratton. If I didn't try it with a free ticket last year I don't think I ever will

 

[polski]

Funny, I always looked down my nose at Bretton Woods, not because of anything I read online but just a general sense that its terrain is so tame. Then last year I got a lodging/lift ticket deal that was too good to pass up: $158 for one night including lift tickets for TWO days for my family of four, PLUS free nordic skiing and lessons for whoever wanted it (my wife, and one of my sons did xc one morning and downhill in the afternoon). We checked it out and had a fine time. In part this was because I was skiing with my kids and conditions were good -- in fact we returned there for a powder day on Good Friday. There also was some challenge in the black diamonds up top like Bode's Run. Nice views of Mt Washington too and the vibe was fine, very family-oriented.

Would I go back there on my own? Probably not unless it was a powder day when other places are affected by wind holds (which tend not to be a problem at BW). With the kids, definitely. It all depends on your situation and the conditions.

 

[kingslug]

I wish I knew about Stratton before I ever went there. Only place where I didn't have a good time at all. And of course all the bus trips...go there every week.

 

[powderman]

Don't have an interest in visiting the following places:

• WaWa - 2 1/2 hours away and there's only four trails from the summit. Berkshire East is slightly closer and is way better than WaWa
• Mountain Creek - just as far as Hunter from me and seems like a terrible ski area.
• Sunday River - 6 hours drive and the average snowfall is only 150'.
• Loon - 4 1/2 hours away and overall, doesn't look interesting. Whiteface, Stowe and Sugarbush are just as far, yet are way better than Loon. If I want to ski in NH, why not just drive 10 minutes further to Cannon?
• Waterville Valley - same reason as above
• Bretton Woods - very flat, looks boring, and seems too resorty for my tastes.
• Attitash - just as far as Wildcat and I haven't heard many good things about Attitash
• Killington - seems to me this is a bowling alley and a cross country ski area as opposed to a downhill ski area.

 

[Geoff]

As a Killington season pass holder, I'm really glad that most of the world refuses to go there. Yep. It's crowded as hell. You'll get run down like a dog on the trails. The trails are nothing but flat crossovers. It's nothing but manmade groomers. No decent tree skiing to be had.

 

[Beetlenut]

I wouldn't say any on line influence would keep me from visiting any ski area, except for condition reports. I'm amazed at how many people will never visit someplace based on someone else's opinion! Stratton really got beat-on in this thread, but people would ski Okemo again. IMO Stratton is a more interesting mountain than Okemo, with lots more glades. The trick to Stratton is to park around back at the Sun Bowl lodge, and ski out of there. I rarely ski down to the crappy telephone booth gondola. You can make a day out of just skiing the high speed six pack mid mountain chairs. Mountains I will never ski again based on my own experiences are Waterville, and Wa-Wa.

 

[PA Ridge Racer]

Mountain Creek

 

[Mapnut]

I've been more influenced by the good pub resorts

But I thought Killington was a good pub resort.

Sorry.

 

[Philpug]

Bear Creek PA...the same distance as Blue mountain for me but half the vert and slow lifts..

Blue..bleech. Went back there because of an on line bet. I will be checking all loopholes before I bet again.

 

[abc]

There're some resort I'm not in a hurry to visit and the online report may reenforce that reluctence. But I wouldn't say never until I at least visit it once or twice.

Resorts in that list: Gore, Bromley, Waterville.

There're so many other resorts around those I doubt I would bother with them, given what I heard from others.

On the other hand, there're some resort I wouldn't have bother trying that I tried and enjoyed because of online influence. Plattekill, Belleyrea, MRG.

 

[Grassi21]

Interestingly enough, after [thread="23829"]Pat's visit[/thread], I'm very interested in hitting up Okemo. I haven't been there in 10+ years.

OKEMOGULS

Its where I logged my first two days on skis. Lacrosse warm up pants and a thin a&^ Columbia jacket I bought at TJ Maxs. I'd go back. But at least I dress a whole lot snazzier these days... houndstooth.

 

[Sky]

Funny...Stratton got the beat-down in this thread as mentioned above. I had a great time. I didn't experience the "Flatton" vibe, The village is a bit forced...but the food I had in that one pub was great.

I like Stratton better than Okemo, but I like Okemo (both mid-week in March please).

Someone said they wouldn't drive 2-1/2 hrs to hit Wachusett....don't blame them. If it weren't 45 minutes away (and I was closer to something else..Crotched, Pat's, Sundown, etc) I wouldn't either.

To me...it's about who I'm skiing with more than where. Stratton was with a race-team member I've skied with for years. Okemo is usually with my adult sons and their friends.

Also...it's bang for the buck (commuting vs skiing that is). As I said, I wouldn't drive 2-1/2 hrs to ski Wa. And I'd rather ski Cannon or Wildcat than go to Burke for he day...nothing against Burke and I hope to get there someday.

 

[2knees]

Lacrosse warm up pants and a thin a&^ Columbia jacket I bought at TJ Maxs. I'd go back. But at least I dress a whole lot snazzier these days... houndstooth.

hey wtf is wrong with warm up pants? Its all i ski in. I like the Southie look on the hill.

Next year, adidas jacket and adidas pants with a big ass gold watch around my neck.

 

[Grassi21]

hey wtf is wrong with warm up pants? Its all i ski in. I like the Southie look on the hill.

Next year, adidas jacket and adidas pants with a big ass gold watch around my neck.

you'd be the dopest bumper out there. what what!

 

[ERJ-145CA]

I'll try any ski area even if it has a bad online reputation. The online influence for me is positive, I will more than likely try an area because of its online reputation.

 

[Beetlenut]

hey wtf is wrong with warm up pants? Its all i ski in. I like the Southie look on the hill.

Next year, adidas jacket and adidas pants with a big ass gold watch around my neck.

Why not go the Flavor Flav route, and bump with a big gold clock around your neck?