Best Eastern US ski resorts?

Question

I am planning a ski trip for mid-January 2009, and I have never been out East to ski. I am curious what the BEST places would be.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Sugarbush, Mad River Valley, Vermont

Answer 2

hard core is suicide six VT or mad river glen VT and jay peak VT  that only if ur a good skier

In NH loon mountain bretton woods waterville valley

In VT okemo jay peak mt snow stowe

in ME sunday river sugarloaf sugarbush

In Canada Tremblaunt

Answer 3

Maine- Shawnee Peak, Sunday River, Sugarloaf, Lost Valley. Just check some websites see where you wanna go. I also hear the Vermont has great skiing.

Answer 4

Best in NY: probably Gore.

Best in VT: well, I always feel the further north you go, the further you get away from the NYC and Boston crowds. Avoid Killington like the plague. Stowe is nice (but crowded). Jay Peak is great. Mad River Glen (skiers only) is a rather undeveloped place (which is a good thing for skiers). Don't forget Bolton Valley. Small, but fun.

I don't know much about NH or Maine. I skied Tuckerman's Ravine a few times, but that probably isn't something you will put on your itinerary.

Since there are so many resorts so close, I would suggest hitting several of them. The northeast can be cold at that time of year. Plan on bringing plenty of layers!

Answer 5

Willie D knows what he's talking about.  Killington is pretty much king of the east.  Best of all worlds.  Jay can get HUGE dumps when everywhere else is getting nothing or rain.

There are some classic New England ski areas not mentioned:  Wildcat (NH), Magic (VT) but they aren't destination resorts and Magic is only open weekends I think.

A nice plus about Whiteface is the Town of Lake Placid site of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics and still a winter olympics training facility.  Lots of stuff to do.

I recommend you leave your powder skis at home and make sure whatever boards you do bring are freshly tuned.  You're likely gonna need an edge.  You may want to consider taking your trip later in the season too.  More snow, better light.

Whatever you decide, I hope you have a great time!

Answer 6

It depends on what you are looking for.

If you are looking for party spots with good skiing, my suggestions would be Killington and Mt.Snow (both in VT). There is enough terrain at both places to occupy any level of skier, plus Pico is close to Killington so you can always hit that too. Both Big-K and Snow have plenty of condos and hotel rooms close by, shuttle service, and close-by nightlife. Backcountry stashes at Killington are usually pretty good, but you relly need to know the terrain. Getting lost off-trail could mean a 6 mile walk back to the highway.

Stratton VT and Stowe VT are OK places, but I feel they are more for the posh skier. Both are overpriced in my opinion and both tend to be places for people who like groomers. (Both places do have some mad stashes off-piste, but for fear of reprisal by the locals I won't give them up in this forum. Email me and I might give you some leads.)

Now...if you really want skiing...Jay Peak and Mad River Glen are where it is really at. There's not much in the way of nightlife and hotel/condo selection has less variety, but both places have excellent terrain, leaning more towards the expert level. Mad River does not make snow and doesn't groom much, so a late start to the ski season could mean it might not be at 100% by the time you get there. I ski MRG often and I'm always there the last week of January. Some years there are truckloads of snow, and some years (like 2007) it was icy and thin. MRG is also right down the road from Sugarbush...also very good. Jay has a lot of Quebec residents that ski there, so you'll hear a lot of French in the lift lines and at the lodge. That gives it a neat flair the other VT resorts don't have. Both Jay and MRG have excellent glades and some seriously sick steeps. But they also have some great cruisers that can be really fun too.

Skip the Poconos and Catskills. Gore Mountain in NY is good, but only for two days...not a week long trip. Whiteface in NY is also another place that is good for two days, but after that can get boring.

Answer 7

stowe (vt) is pretty nice, so is bretton woods (nh) and sunday river (me)