Where to Ski This Friday

[EPB]

I'm looking to day trip to a place I've never been before within ~2.5 hours of the Mount Washington Valley. I've narrowed my sights on the following areas:

Mad River Glen
Smuggler's Notch
Owls Head
Saddleback

Out of this list, which ones are skiing the best / should hold up the best between now and Friday? Thanks.

 

[Puck it]

Good Friday is a demo day for a Ski Haus at Cannon.

 

[nanjil]

I want to add jay peak to the list. Anybody know how much powder is left in the glades there

 

[billski]

Any of them. the snow is well-preserved, if Burke is any indicator. check the trail counts. Burke is at 100%. It's starting to feel like spring is coming. LGR is starting to show.

 

[nanjil]

guys:
planning to do jay peak for the first time. I ski sugarloaf, sunday river and saddleback with glades as my first priority. any recommendations on jay trails. I will have a maximum of 4 hrs to ski . thanx

 

[reefer]

I'm looking to day trip to a place I've never been before within ~2.5 hours of the Mount Washington Valley. I've narrowed my sights on the following areas:

Mad River Glen
Smuggler's Notch
Owls Head
Saddleback

Out of this list, which ones are skiing the best / should hold up the best between now and Friday? Thanks.

Since Mt. Ellen isn't on the list I assume you've skied it. If not, consider it..................

 

[C-Rex]

guys:
planning to do jay peak for the first time. I ski sugarloaf, sunday river and saddleback with glades as my first priority. any recommendations on jay trails. I will have a maximum of 4 hrs to ski . thanx

Canyonland, Kitz Woods, Hell's Woods, Timbuktu, Valhalla, Beaver Pond/Andre's Paradise. In no particular order. If conditions are good try some of the Face Chutes and Green Beret. There's also a narrow glade between The Jet and U.N. that's pretty fun.

 

[Puck it]

FYI. NOAA has the forecast calling for damaging winds for the Whites at the moment for Fri into Sat.

 

[St. Bear]

FYI. NOAA has the forecast calling for damaging winds for the Whites at the moment for Fri into Sat.

I saw that. I'm not happy.

 

[riverc0il]

I'm looking to day trip to a place I've never been before within ~2.5 hours of the Mount Washington Valley. I've narrowed my sights on the following areas:

Mad River Glen
Smuggler's Notch
Owls Head
Saddleback

Out of this list, which ones are skiing the best / should hold up the best between now and Friday? Thanks.

Just my opinion here but Mad River Glen and Smuggs are significantly better areas than Saddleback and Owl's Head and I would take Saddleback over Owl's Head easily (unless you want to rip groomers, then reverse my list). Mad River has the Single chair and offers that old school vibe where nothing has changed in a long time, very little grooming. Smuggs is very similar to Mad River except with a double instead of a Single Chair. Smuggs Liftline, I would argue, is the most challenging on map trail in New England. Both have excellent out of bounds and off map woods. Both probably have similar snow conditions, Smuggs might have a slight edge due to generally receiving more snow. But at this point, it is pretty moot. All of NoVT is incredible PP right now. Mad River Glen will be cheaper.

Saddleback has nice trees and nice steep groomers, some really fun natural snow trails. But it doesn't have the vertical or expansive off tree options of Smuggs or Mad River, both have significantly more ungroomed terrain and trees. At Smuggs or Mad River, you can pretty much ski in between almost any on map trail with a few exceptions.

Owl's Head has very good pitch, really great place to rip groomers. Some trees, no where near as much. Not as much snow as the other three. Cheapest ticket out of the four, though.

 

[riverc0il]

I want to add jay peak to the list. Anybody know how much powder is left in the glades there

Packed powder everywhere. It hasn't snowed since Saturday so you won't find powder. The snow is still VERY good right now, but it is packed powder for sure. Trails? Eh. Just go and ski. There are so many trees here, you could ask ten people and get ten different answers for "must do" trails. With only four hours and a first time there, you might just want to pick one aspect and stick with it. In other words, stay Stateside or go Tramside, don't try to go end to end. It can be done easily if you know the mountain. If you don't know the mountain, you'll waste a lot of time trying to figure it out. If it is a nice day, go Tramside and ride the Flyer (HSQ). Don't waste your time on the tram if you only have four hours, you could burn up one hour just waiting for the damn thing. If the winds are honking, go Stateside and ski the Bonnie and the Jet. You find Stateside has more glades on map any ways if you want trees.

 

[EPB]

Just my opinion here but Mad River Glen and Smuggs are significantly better areas than Saddleback and Owl's Head and I would take Saddleback over Owl's Head easily (unless you want to rip groomers, then reverse my list). Mad River has the Single chair and offers that old school vibe where nothing has changed in a long time, very little grooming. Smuggs is very similar to Mad River except with a double instead of a Single Chair. Smuggs Liftline, I would argue, is the most challenging on map trail in New England. Both have excellent out of bounds and off map woods. Both probably have similar snow conditions, Smuggs might have a slight edge due to generally receiving more snow. But at this point, it is pretty moot. All of NoVT is incredible PP right now. Mad River Glen will be cheaper.

Saddleback has nice trees and nice steep groomers, some really fun natural snow trails. But it doesn't have the vertical or expansive off tree options of Smuggs or Mad River, both have significantly more ungroomed terrain and trees. At Smuggs or Mad River, you can pretty much ski in between almost any on map trail with a few exceptions.

Owl's Head has very good pitch, really great place to rip groomers. Some trees, no where near as much. Not as much snow as the other three. Cheapest ticket out of the four, though.

I'll definitely hold off on Owl's Head. Should I look too much into the fact that all of the double black trails are closed at Smuggs? MRG and Saddleback appear to both be 100% for what its worth. Thanks for the input.

I've been to the other suggested areas including Ellen for the first time a couple weeks ago. Really loved it..... Hey Puck It, what's the deal with the demo deals at Cannon? I'm having trouble getting to the details.

 

[Puck it]

NOAA is the only one forecasting the winds on Thurs and Fri.

 

[St. Bear]

Now rain/snow pops up on the forecast for Fri. I guess I've had such good luck this year, I have to pay for it sometime.

 

[Puck it]

Now rain/snow pops up on the forecast for Fri. I guess I've had such good luck this year, I have to pay for it sometime.

That is the only site that I see that is calling for rain.

 

[St. Bear]

That is the only site that I see that is calling for rain.

Just like NOAA is the only place that calls for wind. 3 days out, and nobody knows what's going to happen.

 

[ScottySkis]

Roxbury NY hill.

 

[Puck it]

Just like NOAA is the only place that calls for wind. 3 days out, and nobody knows what's going to happen.

True dat

 

[riverc0il]

Should I look too much into the fact that all of the double black trails are closed at Smuggs? MRG and Saddleback appear to both be 100% for what its worth.

Robin's Run is the only double closed at Smuggs. That run is shit 95% of the time due to rocks and coverage (but it is really good when conditions are top notch as it is a steep winding rocky beast!). Liftline, FIS, Blackhole, and Free Fall are all open. Maybe just go with which ever one is closer. I dunno. I like Smuggs and MRG much better than Saddleback. Which is nothing against Saddleback, probably my favorite area east of I-93.

 

[EPB]

Robin's Run is the only double closed at Smuggs. That run is shit 95% of the time due to rocks and coverage (but it is really good when conditions are top notch as it is a steep winding rocky beast!). Liftline, FIS, Blackhole, and Free Fall are all open. Maybe just go with which ever one is closer. I dunno. I like Smuggs and MRG much better than Saddleback. Which is nothing against Saddleback, probably my favorite area east of I-93.

Believe it or not, they're all within 9 minutes of each other in the 2:40 area. I don't know why Smuggs had those double diamonds closed as of yesterday night, but I think that might be the place to go assuming they are going to be open. This will be a tough call. I was really thinking Saddleback, but I'm starting to lean Smuggs.