Windy in VT NEK

[billski]

Forecast is for gusts of 40mph in the NEK for Saturday. All things being equal, which area is most protected from the winds (i.e., chair holds)
Stowe, Sugarbush, Bolton or Smugglers?
Thanks.

 

[nelsapbm]

Errr...none of those ski areas are in the NEK. Burke & Jay yes.
That being said, I do know that Sugarbush is prone to wind holds...MRG is more protected. Is that out of the question? I also think Bolton would be a good bet.

 

[billski]

where iz it?

OK, what is NEK? I thought NorthEastKingdom. If so, where????

 

[nelsapbm]

The Northeast Kingdom is basically the 3 northeastern counties - Essex, Orleans, & Caledonia. Don't worry, there are many folks who don't really know the NEK boundaries. I had someone tell me Johnson was in the NEK LOL. Trailboss can shed some more light too. The 3 ski ares of the NEK are Jay, Burke & Lyndon OC.

 

[thetrailboss]

The Northeast Kingdom is basically the 3 northeastern counties - Essex, Orleans, & Caledonia. Don't worry, there are many folks who don't really know the NEK boundaries. I had someone tell me Johnson was in the NEK LOL. Trailboss can shed some more light too. The 3 ski ares of the NEK are Jay, Burke & Lyndon OC.

Not really much more to elaborate :wink: For more information, click HERE about the Kingdom. There are only three ski areas in our region:

Burke
Jay
Lyndon Outing Club

In terms of the resorts you list, all are prone to winds. The key piece of info that is not mentioned is where that wind will be blowing out of.

Jay is vulnerable to winds from the NW and W. They have LOTS of windholds. Sugarbush is next. Stowe--I don't know. Their lifts sit below the ridgeline of Mansfield and are somewhat protected. Bolton--they face NW but I don't know how vulnerable they are. And IIRC MRG is not too bad...but there is not much snow to ski on.

Best bet: wait until Sunday.

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

i know smuggs lowered their Madonna lift to below the tree tops to protect from the wind, guess it'd just matter from what direction it was blowing....I'll be up the Sat!!! Leaving tomorrow afternoon....

 

[from_the_NEK]

Burke is a very good bet to have access to the upper mountain even with high winds out of the Northwest. A northwest wind blows parallel the summit quad and not accross it so there are rarely wind holds on the lift since the chairs are not swinging side to side (just make sure you have a wind proof layer tucked into your pants ;-) ). If it is windy enough to shut the lift down there is always the POMA suface lift that is pretty well protect that accesses the majority of the mtn. Since they have been making snow on Upper Warrens Way all week the upper 1/2 of the POMA should be open this weekend. The Lower mountain HSQuad rarely shuts down from wind since it is well tucked into the surrounding tall trees.

Jay = high possibility of wind holds on Saturday (Flyer/Tram). However, this often makes for amazing hike-to-ski options from open lifts.

 

[from_the_NEK]

The green area is the NEK