What early-mid December skiing?

[hardline]

Let's put this into some perspective....

Leaving Europe to ski the Northeast US doesn't make sense...

the amount of brits at stowe last year was crazy. stowe was doing some serrious advertising in the UK last year.

 

[dmc]

the amount of brits at stowe last year was crazy. stowe was doing some serrious advertising in the UK last year.

Killington gets a lot too..

 

[Dr Skimeister]

Let's put this into some perspective....

Leaving Europe to ski the Northeast US doesn't make sense...

A frightfully weak dollar and the resulting exchange rate changes one's sense (or is it cents?.....)

 

[kingslug]

1.43 Euro to the dollar
1.83 pound to the dollar

Starting to make sense.

 

[threep]

Hi guys, thanks for all the replies.

It does sound a bit mad going all the way from the UK to the Northeast to go skiing, but there's method in my madness. I've been saving air-miles for years and never ever used them. But I've got enough for a return trip from the UK to the east coast of the US for £0, so I'm going to take advantage of it.

Also it's not just a ski trip, it will be to visit a friend who's moving out there soon. He was going to be heading out there next month, but I found out on the weekend that his company are now sending him to Vancouver for 6 weeks, he'll miss his visa interview at the US Embassy and his move to Boston has therefore been pushed back 2 or 3 months. As a result I'm postponing the trip until mid/late February when hopefully there'll be no problem finding natural snow !

Thanks again, I've got a bit more time now to do some research and decide where to head in February.

 

[deadheadskier]

Hi guys, thanks for all the replies.

It does sound a bit mad going all the way from the UK to the Northeast to go skiing, but there's method in my madness. I've been saving air-miles for years and never ever used them. But I've got enough for a return trip from the UK to the east coast of the US for £0, so I'm going to take advantage of it.

Also it's not just a ski trip, it will be to visit a friend who's moving out there soon. He was going to be heading out there next month, but I found out on the weekend that his company are now sending him to Vancouver for 6 weeks, he'll miss his visa interview at the US Embassy and his move to Boston has therefore been pushed back 2 or 3 months. As a result I'm postponing the trip until mid/late February when hopefully there'll be no problem finding natural snow !

Thanks again, I've got a bit more time now to do some research and decide where to head in February.

Give a shout back as the season gets going.....you'll get good responses regarding how the season is going. Still won't be able to predict weather, but mountain management trends will be well established

 

[hardline]

Hi guys, thanks for all the replies.

It does sound a bit mad going all the way from the UK to the Northeast to go skiing, but there's method in my madness. I've been saving air-miles for years and never ever used them. But I've got enough for a return trip from the UK to the east coast of the US for £0, so I'm going to take advantage of it.

Also it's not just a ski trip, it will be to visit a friend who's moving out there soon. He was going to be heading out there next month, but I found out on the weekend that his company are now sending him to Vancouver for 6 weeks, he'll miss his visa interview at the US Embassy and his move to Boston has therefore been pushed back 2 or 3 months. As a result I'm postponing the trip until mid/late February when hopefully there'll be no problem finding natural snow !

Thanks again, I've got a bit more time now to do some research and decide where to head in February.

in feb you are going to have so many more options and much more snow.

 

[riverc0il]

Why not...? Whats the problem...?

The problem is that he is flying into Boston, not NYC.

You'll find the mountains of New England offer a slightly different flavor of "off piste" skiing than Europe. Off the map around here means tree skiing as we don't really have any lift serviced above tree line skiing excepting Stowe (for a small hike and definitely not reliable in December) and Sugarloaf (whose snowfields may or may not open during any given year and usually only do so towards the end of the season). That said, you probably won't find much tree skiing or off piste available during December unless we get lucky like last year. To increase your odds, look towards northern Vermont ski areas such as Jay or Stowe or maybe even Bolton. Jay has lots of low angle glades that fill in during December even during lean years and is one of the best bets for December tree skiing.

If trees are not your thing, then look towards ski areas that blow a HUGE amount of man made snow. Sunday River, Killington, Okemo, and Mount Snow are all players in this department. Sugarbush, Stowe, and Sugarloaf will probably hold their own with Stowe having a distinct advantage in being the furthest north of all the mountains that will likely offer decent terrain during the early season (though at a distinct disadvantage of needing to blow snow top to bottom across 2000+ vertical feet). Snow making is one area in which expansive terrain horizontally at elevation favors expansive vertical.

Geoff makes an excellent suggestion to hold off on even bringing the skis until a day or two before your flight. You can check conditions and the expected weather for your visit just before taking the plane ride over the pond. If things are really bad, it may not even be worth bringing the skis. I skied 52 days last season but stayed home quite a few days in December last year... and last year was an extremely above average December. All depends what recent weather, temperatures, and conditions look like then as nothing can be predicted at this point.