WHY is your favorite mountain your favorite?

[tirolerpeter]

Favorite Mt.

I'm with Chuck...Snowbasin is beautiful. You can ski groomed, ungroomed, bumps, steeps, and trees all in one run. And, you and a friend with lesser or greater ability can still stay together simply by following different lines down to the same lift. And, the lodge is just the most beautiful facility I have ever seen at any of the over 50 areas that I have visited. You actually might want to go there just to eat lunch and not even ski. Just one problem, because of the lower elevation relative to L&B Cotton Wood Canyons the snow is a little later in coming, and leaves sooner. That is why I also LOVE Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, and Solitude. Did I mention Utah Powder. You won't believe it until you experience it. Oh heck, that's why I am moving to Utah next summer as soon as I sell my house here on LI.

 

[sledhaulingmedic]

Magic, MRG and Saddleback for the terrain and general atmosphere. Great old school terrain, glades, trees, trails.

Of the larger resorsts: Sugarloaf and Jay. Again, terrain and overall size, with minimal "McSki" experience.

In the West, Taos and Alta. Great terrain. (Maybe that will change when I've skied more than a dozen resorts out there.)

Perhaps you see a pattern here?

 

[skibum1321]

Sugarbush There is so much sick terrain that is off the beaten path. Many of the best runs of my life have been in the trees here. They also have the best trails that I've experienced in the east (besides maybe MRG) - Castlerock, Paradise, The Mall, Morningstar (great soft bumps on a sunny day). They get good snow, not too crowded and the terrain is unbeatable.

MRG Mad River just has some of the best terrain in the east. If it weren't for the length of the season, I would most definitely have my one and only pass here (since the Bush is so damn expensive)[/b]

 

[Greg]

I never responded to this thread. I still have a tough time picking between Sugarloaf or Sugarbush. If I take proximity (compared to the Loaf), snow conditions and its neighbor into consideration, I have to give the slight nod to Sugarbush.

 

[Zand]

Sugarbush: Incredible variety and plenty of different places to go. I'm not very fond of north, so I'm mainly talking about south. One more word can sum it up: Castlerock.

Mad River Glen: It's all natural, nobody on the slopes, and it has Antelope.

The best part about the 2: They're right next to each other.

 

[kingslug]

I'm with Chuck...Snowbasin is beautiful. You can ski groomed, ungroomed, bumps, steeps, and trees all in one run. And, you and a friend with lesser or greater ability can still stay together simply by following different lines down to the same lift. And, the lodge is just the most beautiful facility I have ever seen at any of the over 50 areas that I have visited. You actually might want to go there just to eat lunch and not even ski. Just one problem, because of the lower elevation relative to L&B Cotton Wood Canyons the snow is a little later in coming, and leaves sooner. That is why I also LOVE Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, and Solitude. Did I mention Utah Powder. You won't believe it until you experience it. Oh heck, that's why I am moving to Utah next summer as soon as I sell my house here on LI.

I couldn't have said it better. And yes I'm jelouse...because the wife won't let me sell our house on LI and move. So I just drag her to Utah as much as possible.
As far as favorite in the east, Hunter on a nice quiet day when conditions are good. I could stay on the west side all day.

 

[SnowRider]

Jay peak is my favorite mountain. It has terrain. So much snow and the glades are always open. The atmoshere is awsome. That really sums it up. Terrain, and atmoshere.

SnowRider

 

[riverc0il]

i never responded to this thread either. most likely because i could never pick one favorite. i don't know if i could even pick a top three. lemme give it a go, in no particular order:

cannon: best and most challenging in bounds terrain in new hampshire (when it is all open at least) and the mountain i really came into my own as a skier. i love the lack of slopeside and resort-less feel of the place, few crowds, lots of history, tons of great trails... overall one of the most exciting mountains around when the snow is good. but when the snow isn't good, cannon isn't the best to be frank and it might not make a top three if not for the off the map options which are mind boggling, often intense, and liberating. no other mountain has put as many smiles on my face and done so as consistantly.

jay peak: powder and trees. that is all that need be said about that.

burke, saddleback, and mad river: old school classics with lots of narrow trails, charm, character, and (at least at this point for burke) no resort atmosphere... just pure skiing, plain and simple. all have outrageous tree runs. mad river is exceptionally challenging in any condition, one of the few true tests for new england skiers that aim to be proficient skiers in any condition on any terrain.

mount washington: two classic CCC trails, above tree line skiing, backcountry mecca, steep pitches... the proving ground for skill and/or guts, not always both at the same time. i actually shy away from tuckerman due to the crowd factor, but tuckerman ravine is one of my favorite locations in all of new england, especially on an uncrowded fair weather day. so many options from expert to extreme, push yourself as far as you want, something will always challenge. plus still being able to ski in june/july, w00t!

 

[deadheadskier]

I'll stick with the East as I haven't spent enough time out west. I've skied 60% of the areas in Colorado, but no other state's unfortunately. Thus far there, my choice is A-Basin getting a slight edge over Aspen Highlands (love Imperial Bowl)


As for the East, Stowe hands down. Unfortunately as I am no longer a local, I can't really afford to ski there anymore all that often. That's the tale of two Stowe's though. If you live and work there locally you get to see a different side of the scene which is much more affordable and organic than as a tourist just visiting.

First and foremost it gets top grades for snow. Outside of Jay, I believe that they get the most in the east even though Sugarbush and Smuggs claim more. 250 inches is a solid average, but most years including this one where it was poor everywhere else, Stowe still hit close to 300.

Lifts - Stowe has three unique trail pods between the Forerunner Quad, Gondola and Spruce Quad, all of which go up to the top of their respective areas quickly. I like skiing top to bottom and Stowe skis top to bottom more efficiently for longer verticle than any other area in the east.

In Bounds Terrain - From mile and half fall line cruisers to the infamous Front Four, Stowe has excellent inbounds terrain. Gondolier, Hayride and Lord might be the three longest most consistent to the fall line groomers in the east. When the natural cover trails are in rough shape, all are capable of providing uninterupted high speed thrills exceeding a mile in length. Goat, Starr and Lookout offer great narrow double fall line steep NE skiing with fantastic natural terrain features. Chin Clip is one of the most underated bump runs in the east - never all that steep, but it keeps going and going and going

Off Piste - inbetween the cut trails at Stowe lies double the acreage of the actual mountain acreage in fantastic glade skiing - some tight and steep with defined chutes, some more wide open that you can let em fly and carve GS turns through the trees and powder. Going beyond the boundaries, what other area offers and experience like the Chin? 500 vert of bad ass above tree line skiing with multiple routes down. Then there's Hellbrook, Tusk and the Birthday Bowls all spilling into various areas of the Notch. If your into having a vehicle pick you up, there's also the Bruce, Steeple, Tear Drop and numerous other back country opportunities.

Finally, the town. As much as I love to ski hard, I do enjoy partying hard with other enthusiasts after the lifts are closed too. Stowe serves up some of the finest restaurants and bars in ski country.


It's unfortunate that more people can't experience Stowe as a local does as for them it is really quite affordable and probably explains why it has perhaps the most feverish ski bum population on the East Coast. Great friendly people who love to have a good time both on and off the mountain.

 

[Geoff]

My favorites to date are:
Wolf Creek, Monarch, Mt Baker. In good snow, add Ski Santa Fe.

Why? It's all about the skiing surface. None have lodging at the base and there are no beds to speak of within 20 minutes. They sport older fixed grip lifts (sadly, Mt Baker is "improving" the resort with high speed lifts) with limited uphill capacity. They're all too small to attract destination business or hordes of "experts" to track out the advance terrain. They have microclimates where they get significant amounts of snow. They have extensive lift-serviced backcountry terrain. They're all very laid back. If I had to pick one, I'd pick Monarch. If Ski Santa Fe had more snow, it'd be a no-brainer since Santa Fe is such a good town.

If you held me to glitzy resorts with high speed lifts and luxury hotels and condos at the base, I'd have to go with Deer Valley. The "experts" sneer at the place and the affluent Bogner people pretty much only ski the groomed trails. Plenty of entertaining advanced terrain that doesn't see much traffic.

 

[ga2ski]

Sunday River. I love the variety of terrain, and the fact that i know I will find the best possible product. Sure there are others mountains that i would like to be at on Pow day, but if I had to pick one resort to be my resort is is SR due to the consistency of the snow.

Oh yeah and teh fact that I know lots of people makes it feel like home as well.

Ripping the Rivah since 1994.

 

[AdironRider]

Whiteface, mainly for its sustained pitch. I like to ride steep stuff fast and Whiteface never dissapoints. The summit quad provides incredible access to the BEST in bounds terrain when the Slides are open. Glade skiing could be improved, but it sounds like they have large plans for this.

 

[Jonni]

Despite the fact that I haven't really skiied at that many ski areas, my favorite would be Sunapee. Mostly because this is my home mountain and I know so much about it. Between working there since I was 14, having parents that worked there ever since I can remember and being exposed to the people who make it all work, I've come to love the place.