Top 10 East Coast Ski Resorts Under 1100

[ScottySkis]

^ Mount Peter Vertical is probably 400 st best .

 

[Not Sure]

Platty great to see they made the list. If peoplebthink PA areas are better that their opinion.

There not. Never been there but simple goegraphy. Elk should be at the top of Pa. areas.....

 

[BMac]

Hickory Ski Center in Warrensburg is the biggest, rowdiest 1000 feet of skiing I have ever experienced. Zero snowmaking though so there needs to be a couple feet down to even open. No chairlifts but two of the gnarliest high speed Poma lifts you will ever ride.

 

[joshua segal]

It seems like we have two (maybe three) separate categories in the sub-1100' vertical crowd.

I'll speak to the areas where 90+% of their business is day-trippers, less than 2-hours from a major metropolitan area. These IMO are the viable candidates for this category:
- NH: Crotched, Pat's Peak
- VT: Nothing
- ME: Nothing
- RI: Nothing
- MA: Wachusett, (maybe Berkshire East and Blandford, if you consider Hartford/Springfield as a major metropolitan area)
- CT: Most of their areas
If you add PA, MD, NY and NJ, there are a lot more candidates

Some of the other categories:
- Small destination resorts such as Ski Butternut (#1 on original list in this thread)
- Hotels that offer skiing as an amenity, such as the Woodstock Inn (#9 on original list in this thread)

 

[jack97]

Most of these lists, especially is Snow East, ignore New Hampshire and Maine. These publications cater to the hordes in the Mid-Atlantic who make a few trips a year to southern Vermont.

Wachusetts is on the list. just before Vermont, they have to make a sharp right turn and stop in the middle of Mass.

 

[jack97]

Some of the other categories:
- Small destination resorts such as Ski Butternut (#1 on original list in this thread)
- Hotels that offer skiing as an amenity, such as the Woodstock Inn (#9 on original list in this thread)

First time this year I skied Butternut, went there twice in the same week for spring bumps. I still think about the great time I had there.....the place and the town has a nice vibe.

I think this is the second year where I spent most of my trips skiing areas with vertical of 1100 or less.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Hickory Ski Center in Warrensburg is the biggest, rowdiest 1000 feet of skiing I have ever experienced.

Is that that the place you see when you get on the highway in Queensbury?

 

[Hawkshot99]

Is that that the place you see when you get on the highway in Queensbury?

I belive you are talking about West Mtn. Hickory is up in Warrensburg.

 

[joshua segal]

Is that that the place you see when you get on the highway in Queensbury?

I think you're looking at West Mt. But Hickory doesn't qualify: Depending on where you look, Hickory Hill is between 1200' and 1300' vertical.

 

[ss20]

First time this year I skied Butternut, went there twice in the same week for spring bumps. I still think about the great time I had there.....the place and the town has a nice vibe.

Definitely try Catamount next year. A bigger, steeper, more diverse mountain than Butternut with good discounts, less people, and more of a "skiing" vibe than a "family" vibe.

I like Buttered Nuts too, but only early and late season when they have the most snow around. 25$ late season tix are a steal. I couldn't go to the place any more than 4 times a season. Everything skis the same. No variety at all. Never understood how they got to the number one spot on EVERY small mountain list.

 

[joshua segal]

Interesting how the character of an area can change with a slight change in management. When I used to ski Butternut, everything was groomed flat and I didn't care for it at all. I suspect that for an advanced skier, the moguls completely change the way the mountain skis.

I agree with ss20 on Catamount.

 

[deadheadskier]

Hickory Ski Center in Warrensburg is the biggest, rowdiest 1000 feet of skiing I have ever experienced. Zero snowmaking though so there needs to be a couple feet down to even open. No chairlifts but two of the gnarliest high speed Poma lifts you will ever ride.

I visited a friend in Lake George once and he pointed Hickory out to me. Place looks really bad ass. Does it get tracked out quick on a powder day or is it totally off the radar for Albany area skiers?

 

[4aprice]

I enjoy smaller mountain skiing so lists like this entertain me. Wonder why Camelback is so high? Because they distribute the magazine through out the lodge all season. Never filled out the survey (did the ski mag one once) so don't know what the criteria is. It may ask many questions that hardcore skiers never give much thought. For instance we all agree that say Elk is better skiing then CBK, but if you ask me to rank such things as base lodges for instance (or Bar, parking etc.) Camelback wins IMO. Its all subjective.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[ScottySkis]

I like Elk a lot. i havent been to other PA hills since i was a twen.. Platty when their is snow you know that my fav small hill.

 

[jimk]

I had a small window of opportunity to ski Hickory this past March, but I was only free for a Wed or Thurs and it wasn't open midweek. Too bad, it sounds very cool.
I should add that even though I did not rate Suicide Six highly (because it's small), it has a very decent little headwall that featured a mogul run when I was there that was two or three hundred yards length. Good little workout. Some of the other headwall slopes looked to be used by racers running gates. Suicide Six has a great, long history and that steepish front face must have been "suicidal" to tackle in vintage 1930s ski gear.

By the way, this topic was discussed on Snowjournal last year, by some of you same guys:razz: : http://www.snowjournal.com/page.php?cid=topic19647

 

[Tin]

- MA: Wachusett, (maybe Berkshire East and Blandford, if you consider Hartford/Springfield as a major metropolitan area)

B-East is listed at 1,180'. Legit 980' though.

 

[yeggous]

Wachusetts is on the list. just before Vermont, they have to make a sharp right turn and stop in the middle of Mass.

WaWa is not entirely locals either. It pulls a lot from RI and CT, which I've never understood. The extra drive time to Crotched is made up in lift time very quickly. More directly to the point, the average WaWa skier is not generating the kind of per visit revenue this magazine caters to. They don't stay in hotels, eat out, etc.

My point was this list is largely driven by a mid-Atlantic mindset and crowd. There is no Crotched, Shawnee, etc. NH and ME have plenty of qualifying hills. The only reason Suicide Six made the list is that occasionally a mid-Atlantic skier will stop there as a diversion from the other southern VT areas.


Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone mobile app

 

[BenedictGomez]

Wonder why Camelback is so high?

Because they distribute the magazine through out the lodge all season.

Funny.

Similar to social media ski surveys that simply shake out to which mountain invests the most time in developing their social media numbers, and repeatedly pounds our "VOTE FOR US" reminders on Twitter and FB.

 

[x10003q]

I visited a friend in Lake George once and he pointed Hickory out to me. Place looks really bad ass. Does it get tracked out quick on a powder day or is it totally off the radar for Albany area skiers?

Hickory is off the radar. It is a great advanced area with decent sustained steeps. The lack of snowmaking puts a real damper on when they can open. The base is around 700 ft in elevation and the yearly snow estimates range from 75 to 90 inches. It is worth the ride.

Here is a NYSki Blog visit from March, 2014:
http://nyskiblog.com/another-hickory-believer/#more-26583

 

[marcski]

I think you're looking at West Mt. But Hickory doesn't qualify: Depending on where you look, Hickory Hill is between 1200' and 1300' vertical.

1120' here:

http://www.nelsap.org/ny/hickory1.html

But, I also do find a bunch of 1200' references.