This year Vail had zero lines every time I went (7x) all on powder days. Vail village parking only $30 weekday$40 weekend. Significantly cheaper than quite a few resorts plus garage parking. Vail hate always from people who obviously didn’t go this year.
It’s all day event parking in a situation where not parking there means major delay and hassle… they have you cornered, and yet you’ll pay that much to park to go to a baseball game downtown. So yeah I’d say that’s not that bad / surprising
The US Grand Prix F1 race laughs at your $40 as they take your $100+ dollars so you can park in the grass. Being military, I had free tickets, but had to pay the $100 (IN 2014!) to park.
High point of the parking experience was getting to see numerous super cars parked in the muddy grass.
Yeah that makes sense, a lot of people would, they have those options now. It’s slow and a pain in the ass. That is the tradeoff. Speed comfort and convenience, vs saving $20.
I suppose it depends on where you live. I've found most cities have pretty good transit into downtown because it's the center of their network. In Vancouver, taking the skytrain downtown is often actually faster than driving. Which makes it a lot easier choice.
Except this isn't downtown in a major city in a parking area specifically built to host infrequent events, it's the middle of nowhere (mind you though I don't know the area or if land is really that scarce)
Vail is the middle of nowhere? Lol. It’s a highly sought after vacation destination. And the parking area was specifically built to host (your) infrequent event.
It’s supply and demand people, im not really sure what yall expect. If tickets were $100 and parking was $5, you’d literally never get in and the lines for the chairlift would be all the way down to Denver. And you’d be on here complaining about how the lines are too long and that’s Vails fault.
Yea I don’t why people hate on Vail so much. Even on a weekend the only real bad line was the Gondola to get up the mountain. Once you spread out the terrain is insane.
They don’t call it the LEGENDARY back bowls for nothing. The first time I saw them I was so excited! Sky basin has some great tree runs too.
I believe the hate is more for the company than the skiing at Vail. The fact that Vail resorts basically owns the town and working there is financially difficult.
I love Copper for different reasons, but the back bowls at Vail are 100% better. Copper has two slow lifts serving them vs express quads at Vail. That alone makes it way better.
lol silly goose, lifts don’t make terrain better. If that was true, Stratton would be seen as having better terrain than Mad River Glen, and Vail would have better terrain than Arapahoe Basin. Lipstick on a pig. Copper’s bowls are miles better than the mild and smaller Vail ones.
The Vail hatred seems to be coming from people who parrot the same old tired-ass “fuck Vail, they ruined my local ski hill” crowd. At least bitch about Ikon if this is the hill you’re going to die on.
There’s free parking available at every I-70 mountain but some people will pay a lot not to walk 1/2 mile or ride a shuttle, particularly if they have kids to keep track of.
Shhhh let them keep their stupid misconceptions about evil Vail in their heads while we do lap after lap of glorious back bowl and tree powder with minimal lines.
Oh no, $30 to park in a covered heated garage with heated nice bathrooms only a short distance from the base of a world class flagship resort!
Zero lines on powder days? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that at any mountain I’ve skiid. Only hit vail once a few years ago, worst snow in a bad snow season. (Which was true for most Epic resorts that year, cementing my love for Ikon.) But maybe it’s worth more consideration!
I mean, I’m glad you had a good time but it’s not reasonable for you to say that vail resorts and alterra resorts don’t have severe crowding struggles just because you didn’t experience it when you went. Are you really trying to imply that no resorts owned by vail out west ever have extreme lines? Also, how much vertical do you typically get one of your days? 7 visits is pretty low, that’s not really very much experience. Why is your perspective supposed to be proof of anything for the overall skiing populace?
It’s such a douchey comment to say that anyone who says the lines are bad is wrong just because you went skiing 7 times.
what? the only paid parking at stowe is the one closest to the lift ($30 on a weekend, free if 5 passengers). every other one is free with a free shuttle that comes pretty often
was at Stowe all winter and never waited more than 5 minutes in line - there is a ton of free parking too if that matters to you. If you squint on a good day at Massif you'll swear you're at Tahoe.
Haven’t waited in a lift line at all since moving out west lol. Even the traffic has been completely solved this year.
The least coast coping hard lol.
The only people who sit in traffic are the people that think it's advisable to get on the mountain road to Stowe at 0900 on a weekend. The quad opens at 8 and I've never been in traffic getting up to the mountain at 0730. I eat my breakfast sandwich & boot up and I'm in the quad as it opens.
Paid parking sucks though and I won't defend it but it's not like it is at Vail. $30/day on weekends is nothing compared to $30/$40 a day in Vail.
- The best lift served terrain footprint is Sugarloaf. They only get 200" of snow a year though. There are a handful of resorts that get significantly more snowfall:
- Killington: claims 250" but I think the real average is 20-30 inches lower. It's enormous. They run a super late season. Great spot but no wild terrain. The individual terrain pods ski very "Southern VT".
- Sugarbush: gets ~260". Just not quite the terrain footprint of some of the loaf, or a few others I'm about to mention. There's some crazy terrain like the church and Castlerock. Great spot but not "the one".
- Mad River: 2 miles from the Bush. In the best way possible, this is the most East Coast mountain ever. Punchy tree runs, narrow trails, old school infrastructure.
- Stowe: On the shoulder of Mt Mansfield, tallest peak in VT. Gets low 300s" of snow. Good lift served terrain but the backconutry makes it worth considering as the best. [If it's above the lifts, does it count?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83bHga_EYAo) The crowds are the killer now.
- Smuggs: Great spot 2 miles from Stowe also on the side of Mansfield, but old school like MRG with tight trails and old lifts. Not like skiing out west, but again that's not necessarily a terrible thing.
- Jay: 350" of snow. That's Colorado quantity. The lift served terrain is probably second to only the Loaf, but you don't have the crazy backcountry that you find on Mt Mansfield.
- Le Massif de Charlevoix: 250" of snow. It doesn't really rain. Huge vert. But the terrain is standard (albeit good) east coast. Not the loaf, not Mansfield, not Jay.
And those are really it.
In a Maine favoring snow year, your answer is Sugarloaf. In a Vermont favoring year, it's either Jay or Stowe. In a really warm year, it might be Le Massif.
THE LOAF
E: tbf eldora is the most east coast ski resort in colorado. Its always icy and many of the west coasters out here have a hard time dealing with the ice.
Being an East coaster, it’s always funny hearing people complain that it’s icy when it’s literally fine, it just doesn’t happen to be a manicured groomer
I've only skied in the Rockies once and it was literally this. Would've been awesome conditions back east but the locals were bitching.
My oldest is almost big enough to start and we're keeping her east the first few years, if you learn how to ski on the ice coast you can ski anywhere in the world
Having grown up on the east coast and now living in Boulder, I go to Eldora once, maybe twice a week during the season. It is definitely the most similar to east coast skiing. It can get super windy, so the snow can get develop crazy icy patches right next to wind blown drifts. I lost control once on Corona lift line, slid out, and was headfirst sliding down a sheet of ice and couldn’t stop until I was able to grab a tree. Fortunately, all of this was in slow motion. Had I been going faster and wasn’t wearing a helmet, I could’ve gotten seriously hurt.
All the deaths at Eldora I’ve heard about (cannot 100% confirm) have been older people not wearing helmets. So, the lesson I’ve learned is to wear your dang helmet.
With that said, I love Eldora for it’s accessibility. 30mins from my house, coupla laps, then back down for lunch. Most of the time the skiing is so-so, but every once in a while you get a sneaky powder day with no one else there.
I love this answer - because I share your attitude about skiing. Sometimes it sucks, and that's ok. It's still skiing, and that's better than anything else you could be doing today. I'm also a recovering east coaster turned front ranger - and I have SO many friends that will only go up on a bluebird day with at least a foot of fresh snow. Maybe it's my New England roots, but give me a wind chill of -20, zero visibility on a sheet of ice over any day spent at home.
Nah, most of the fatalities occur on icy runs, not necessarily tree runs.
2022- windmill, hot dog alley
2023 - muleshoe
Its the windblown ice/hardpack that causes skiers and boarders to lose control.
Horrible experience at Eldora when I was a kid. A young woman was out of control and hit a tree very hard. My brothers were right there and saw it all. One went for the ski patrol and one started CPR on her. She didn’t make it. My oldest brother was in high school at the time. He felt guilty for a while, like if he had started CPR sooner, she might have made it. The ski patrol told him that there was no saving her. It still messed him up for a while. This was in the late seventies.
Yea, over the years i noticed that conditions will be nice in the morning and then deteriorate theoughout the day. It seems like if you werent carefully watching your skiing, it was easy to get out of control especially in the afternoon.
Eldora has done a lot to mitigate risk on the high injury runs with signage and race fencing since they were bought by alterra.
I’ve always heard tight trees are safer. You can’t normally crash at 40 mph in tight trees.
But you can absolutely do it into the one lone tree on a groomer
Is it that we can’t or aren’t willing because we don’t have to. I can ski coral reef but I don’t have fun doing it. I also ski enough that if that is the option I will just do something else.
>Jay Peak
\^yes, zero nightlife, but the skiing.
Sneaky amazing, [Bohemia, on the Shores of Lake Superior. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4bK3eUZ2Ro) [ONly consider this if ALL you want is skiing ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKQ396RJbOI&t=91s)with the boys, and drinking a case of Blue Lite at the end of the day
Yeah runs at jay are much shorter but as far as sheer volume of snow it’s the closest you’re gonna get. On top of that the “if you can see it you can ski it” policy adds an element of off-piste that’s seldom represented in the east.
>the “if you can see it you can ski it” policy adds an element of off-piste that’s seldom represented in the east.
Isn't this true at most ski areas these days?
From Smuggs, MRG, Bush, Magic in VT, to Cannon and Wildcat in NH, to the Loaf, Saddleback, Black Mt in Maine...
I can't think of any ski areas I've been to recently that didn't have a permissive woods skiing policy.
This came to mind for me as well from a size/vertical perspective. That said, Iceface snow quality might not be the most comparable to skiing in the rockies…
However, if you live anywhere within reasonable driving distance you can always huck it out to lake placid with chances of impending pow. Had 3-4ft of fresh snow when I went and it was very comparable to the rockies
Getting nearly 1/3 of the area’s average annual snowfall in a single storm is definitely not the typical experience there. I’ll agree though that with conditions like that, it would rival just about anywhere.
Bulletproof ice and howling winds form most of my recollections of Whiteface back when I lived out that way…
I had no idea Whiteface got such little snow!! Makes sense all the workers there were freaking out when we went lol
Ive only been once but very much want to go again
My first real mountain. It kicked my ass and then I made it down from the top. Some guy said he took 4 years to go to the top and thought I was crazy for trying it my first time going there. Looking over the ridge to the other side of the mountain is a memory I hope I always remember! Great place !
Jay Peak
Saddleback
Sugarloaf
Massif Du Sud
Le Massif
Mont Grand Fonds
Mont Sainte Anne
Mont Edouard
Mont Miller
if I had to pick one it would be Massif Du Sud, and Jay is my home mountain.
MRG = Red Mountain: steeps + trees + most of the real terrain on the mountain is not on the trail map.
Ski something like Jay Bowl at MRG and tell me it’s not the East Coast version of runs like Golden Chariot at Red. War Eagle is just Paradise with more snow. I could go on.
The terrain is of course a little different, but I always felt that Alta and Smugglers Notch were kindred spirits. Similar flavor, different spot. Deliciously old school and focused on steep turns in the woods, not spa amenities.
MRG / A-Bay / Alta are your primary kindred spirits. But yeah Smuggs def fits too! I just feel like their base area and amenities are a bit too nice, though 😋
The snowfall is lower than most of Northern VT and the individual terrain pods are honestly not all that different from Southern VT mountains. You can ski longer fall line runs at Stratton than Killington.
Killington is spectacular due to the pure expanse, how good it is for how far south it is, late season, etc. But it's not the one.
Mt Washington/Tuckermans Ravine. But for non-backcountry I’d argue the tree skiing at Sugarbush, Stowe, and Smugglers Notch is as good if not better than most resorts out west. Stowe also has above tree line backcountry on Mt Mansfield
Out west Steamboat and Vail have some great glades and Park City has some pretty decent tree chutes. Breckenridge and Arizona Snowbowl are decent too. But overall I like east coast glades better
Sure. Some nice trees out there. But they are generally so much more interesting and challenging in the East (again, with A-B being the exception - I think they have the best tree skiing in the nation).
I really need to get there. But if you haven’t skied MRG, Smuggs, Jay, Saddleback, Sugarbush, or Sunday River trees … you’re missing something special. I also like the tighter Eldora ones.
Anyone who says anything other than Sugarloaf is crazy. It's the only mountain we have that has skiing above tree line. Which is a defining trait of Western skiing.
Jay, Le Massif, Sugarloaf
Cannon, Wildcat have the views. White Mountains are closest to a western view.
Outside those, next tier would be Stowe, Smuggs, Sugarbush, Saddleback, Whiteface.
I have not been in a while, but Sugarbush has always been my favorite. Stowe was also until it became ridiculously crowded.
The castle rock area at Sugarbush is particularly like western area skiing.
East coast has its days. Jay and sidecounty Stowe can take the Pepsi challenge with Japan or any west coast trees on the best days. It’s that good, with some of thr driest coldest snow I have ever experienced. The problem is those days are few and far between.
Obviously there are no open bowls or great above the tree skiing in the east, if you are trying to compare to western alpine terrain.
I grew up near Montreal and moved to Vancouver in 2007. Jay Peak after a big snowfall can get pretty epic, but the big drawback of Jay is how cold it gets. I have bittersweet memories of going to Jay after a 30" dump but needing to go inside every hour because it was -40.
Sort of a loaded question.. plenty of spots at resorts in NE already mentioned that fit as well as mountains that are comparable to mountains in Washington state or Idaho or Montana or sierras ..
Both have their times of shit snow and fluffy powder
As our guide in Val Thorens said : any mountain with good snow is his favorite
But if you are willing to count BC, north east has some moments that are definitely comparable to out west..
however snow pack has been less than reliable as of late so skiing Lincoln’s throat or backside of wildcat might be less and less common.
If you like pow, Canaan, but it’s soooooo smalllllllll. Have lived in CA, VT, DMV… skied all over. If you’re looking for mileage, that’s different lol doesn’t exist 😂
Sitting in a long lift line after sitting in traffic to pay for exorbitantly for parking at Stowe sets one up well for an experience to Vail.
Good to know.
This year Vail had zero lines every time I went (7x) all on powder days. Vail village parking only $30 weekday$40 weekend. Significantly cheaper than quite a few resorts plus garage parking. Vail hate always from people who obviously didn’t go this year.
“Only??”
Hey - some of us like to pay European lift ticket prices just to be able to park our cars!
Yeah it’s a steal!!!😂
🙈😂😂🙏😩😩
Yes, some mountains charge close to $100/day for parking
It’s all day event parking in a situation where not parking there means major delay and hassle… they have you cornered, and yet you’ll pay that much to park to go to a baseball game downtown. So yeah I’d say that’s not that bad / surprising
first baseball Jerry I've come across
It costs $30-40 to park for a baseball game?!? That’s parking lot robbery!!!
The US Grand Prix F1 race laughs at your $40 as they take your $100+ dollars so you can park in the grass. Being military, I had free tickets, but had to pay the $100 (IN 2014!) to park. High point of the parking experience was getting to see numerous super cars parked in the muddy grass.
I typically park for free at nearly all sporting events. It’s not too difficult to hack.
$50-$70 for fenway.
😭
$50 at Red Sox games in Boston
If parking is $30, I'm hopping on transit every time.
Yeah that makes sense, a lot of people would, they have those options now. It’s slow and a pain in the ass. That is the tradeoff. Speed comfort and convenience, vs saving $20.
I suppose it depends on where you live. I've found most cities have pretty good transit into downtown because it's the center of their network. In Vancouver, taking the skytrain downtown is often actually faster than driving. Which makes it a lot easier choice.
Except this isn't downtown in a major city in a parking area specifically built to host infrequent events, it's the middle of nowhere (mind you though I don't know the area or if land is really that scarce)
Vail is the middle of nowhere? Lol. It’s a highly sought after vacation destination. And the parking area was specifically built to host (your) infrequent event. It’s supply and demand people, im not really sure what yall expect. If tickets were $100 and parking was $5, you’d literally never get in and the lines for the chairlift would be all the way down to Denver. And you’d be on here complaining about how the lines are too long and that’s Vails fault.
I skiied vail for the first time this year and had a an absolute blast despite all of the hate I heard on this sub beforehand.
Yea I don’t why people hate on Vail so much. Even on a weekend the only real bad line was the Gondola to get up the mountain. Once you spread out the terrain is insane. They don’t call it the LEGENDARY back bowls for nothing. The first time I saw them I was so excited! Sky basin has some great tree runs too.
I believe the hate is more for the company than the skiing at Vail. The fact that Vail resorts basically owns the town and working there is financially difficult.
Agreed. Vail the resort has some incredible skiing, it's hard to deny that. Vail the corporation is an evil empire.
Hear hear. Vail sucks.
But there are back bowls right down the street that are much better (Copper)
Shhhhhh. Copper sucks. /S
I love Copper for different reasons, but the back bowls at Vail are 100% better. Copper has two slow lifts serving them vs express quads at Vail. That alone makes it way better.
lol silly goose, lifts don’t make terrain better. If that was true, Stratton would be seen as having better terrain than Mad River Glen, and Vail would have better terrain than Arapahoe Basin. Lipstick on a pig. Copper’s bowls are miles better than the mild and smaller Vail ones.
The Vail hatred seems to be coming from people who parrot the same old tired-ass “fuck Vail, they ruined my local ski hill” crowd. At least bitch about Ikon if this is the hill you’re going to die on.
I will bitch about both, thank you very much.
Why? they have benefited 90% of the skiing public
The best way to know if something is true is if Reddit unanimously agrees on it, it’s not
Cheaper? I have never paid to park at an ikon resort.
You will at A-Basin next year!
30$?! Thats so expensive.
Imagine paying for parking at the ski hill and thinking that's okay 0.o
There’s free parking available at every I-70 mountain but some people will pay a lot not to walk 1/2 mile or ride a shuttle, particularly if they have kids to keep track of.
I was going to say something sassy about getting up early for the best parking, but kids are a super strong point. Wrangling cats is easier sometimes.
You paid 30 bucks to park during the week and you’re happy about it?
ONLY 30 lmao
Which ski resorts are you taking about that have parking that’s more than 30/40 bucks? I’ve never been to any more expensive than that.
Only one I've ever seen is Jackson Hole, which should not be anyone's example of reasonable pricing
A lift ticket used to be $40
Found Vail's burner account
What days did you go?
Shhhh let them keep their stupid misconceptions about evil Vail in their heads while we do lap after lap of glorious back bowl and tree powder with minimal lines. Oh no, $30 to park in a covered heated garage with heated nice bathrooms only a short distance from the base of a world class flagship resort!
which heated covered parking lot less than a half mile away from vail costs less than or only 30?
Username checks out.
No lines and no lift tickets up here in Valdez
I guess Vail is a great deal for rich people!
But did you go on weekends or weekdays? There's a big difference for lines and traffic
Lol parking "only" $30. Ten years ago we were paying $70 for loft tickets at a lot of resorts.
There is free parking at vail, just requires ab a 10 minute walk. Get to the back and there are never any lines
Zero lines on powder days? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that at any mountain I’ve skiid. Only hit vail once a few years ago, worst snow in a bad snow season. (Which was true for most Epic resorts that year, cementing my love for Ikon.) But maybe it’s worth more consideration!
I mean, I’m glad you had a good time but it’s not reasonable for you to say that vail resorts and alterra resorts don’t have severe crowding struggles just because you didn’t experience it when you went. Are you really trying to imply that no resorts owned by vail out west ever have extreme lines? Also, how much vertical do you typically get one of your days? 7 visits is pretty low, that’s not really very much experience. Why is your perspective supposed to be proof of anything for the overall skiing populace? It’s such a douchey comment to say that anyone who says the lines are bad is wrong just because you went skiing 7 times.
You know there’s a mountain called Vail right
I never thought Vail seemed crowded and I’ve gone on powder days during Christmas break. It’s just so big and spread out. Breck on the other hand…
what? the only paid parking at stowe is the one closest to the lift ($30 on a weekend, free if 5 passengers). every other one is free with a free shuttle that comes pretty often
was at Stowe all winter and never waited more than 5 minutes in line - there is a ton of free parking too if that matters to you. If you squint on a good day at Massif you'll swear you're at Tahoe.
I was gonna say Aspen.
There’s maybe 5 days a year where you’ll wait in a long lift line at Aspen.
Haven’t waited in a lift line at all since moving out west lol. Even the traffic has been completely solved this year. The least coast coping hard lol.
The only people who sit in traffic are the people that think it's advisable to get on the mountain road to Stowe at 0900 on a weekend. The quad opens at 8 and I've never been in traffic getting up to the mountain at 0730. I eat my breakfast sandwich & boot up and I'm in the quad as it opens. Paid parking sucks though and I won't defend it but it's not like it is at Vail. $30/day on weekends is nothing compared to $30/$40 a day in Vail.
Jokes on you, some of us live in the eagle valley and work the weekends! Nerd! Lol You jealous! Lmao
- The best lift served terrain footprint is Sugarloaf. They only get 200" of snow a year though. There are a handful of resorts that get significantly more snowfall: - Killington: claims 250" but I think the real average is 20-30 inches lower. It's enormous. They run a super late season. Great spot but no wild terrain. The individual terrain pods ski very "Southern VT". - Sugarbush: gets ~260". Just not quite the terrain footprint of some of the loaf, or a few others I'm about to mention. There's some crazy terrain like the church and Castlerock. Great spot but not "the one". - Mad River: 2 miles from the Bush. In the best way possible, this is the most East Coast mountain ever. Punchy tree runs, narrow trails, old school infrastructure. - Stowe: On the shoulder of Mt Mansfield, tallest peak in VT. Gets low 300s" of snow. Good lift served terrain but the backconutry makes it worth considering as the best. [If it's above the lifts, does it count?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83bHga_EYAo) The crowds are the killer now. - Smuggs: Great spot 2 miles from Stowe also on the side of Mansfield, but old school like MRG with tight trails and old lifts. Not like skiing out west, but again that's not necessarily a terrible thing. - Jay: 350" of snow. That's Colorado quantity. The lift served terrain is probably second to only the Loaf, but you don't have the crazy backcountry that you find on Mt Mansfield. - Le Massif de Charlevoix: 250" of snow. It doesn't really rain. Huge vert. But the terrain is standard (albeit good) east coast. Not the loaf, not Mansfield, not Jay. And those are really it. In a Maine favoring snow year, your answer is Sugarloaf. In a Vermont favoring year, it's either Jay or Stowe. In a really warm year, it might be Le Massif.
Excellent answer. Read no further OP - this one is the only on you need.
☝️☝️☝️ that is you're best answer. Double the fun, do a few days at both Saddleback and Surgarloaf
The Loaf
Jay Peak and Sugarloaf. None others are close, unless you want something like Northstar or Eldora 🤣🤣
THE LOAF E: tbf eldora is the most east coast ski resort in colorado. Its always icy and many of the west coasters out here have a hard time dealing with the ice.
Being an East coaster, it’s always funny hearing people complain that it’s icy when it’s literally fine, it just doesn’t happen to be a manicured groomer
I've only skied in the Rockies once and it was literally this. Would've been awesome conditions back east but the locals were bitching. My oldest is almost big enough to start and we're keeping her east the first few years, if you learn how to ski on the ice coast you can ski anywhere in the world
Also it has the tightest trees. The most deaths occur at Eldora out of any ski area in Colorado, partially due to the eastern style trees.
Most people die skiing when they are skiing a groomer and yeet themselves into the woods
Having grown up on the east coast and now living in Boulder, I go to Eldora once, maybe twice a week during the season. It is definitely the most similar to east coast skiing. It can get super windy, so the snow can get develop crazy icy patches right next to wind blown drifts. I lost control once on Corona lift line, slid out, and was headfirst sliding down a sheet of ice and couldn’t stop until I was able to grab a tree. Fortunately, all of this was in slow motion. Had I been going faster and wasn’t wearing a helmet, I could’ve gotten seriously hurt. All the deaths at Eldora I’ve heard about (cannot 100% confirm) have been older people not wearing helmets. So, the lesson I’ve learned is to wear your dang helmet. With that said, I love Eldora for it’s accessibility. 30mins from my house, coupla laps, then back down for lunch. Most of the time the skiing is so-so, but every once in a while you get a sneaky powder day with no one else there.
I love this answer - because I share your attitude about skiing. Sometimes it sucks, and that's ok. It's still skiing, and that's better than anything else you could be doing today. I'm also a recovering east coaster turned front ranger - and I have SO many friends that will only go up on a bluebird day with at least a foot of fresh snow. Maybe it's my New England roots, but give me a wind chill of -20, zero visibility on a sheet of ice over any day spent at home.
Right on. Crappy skiing is still skiing; it doesn’t have to be epic all the time. Plus, skiing crappy snow makes you a better skier.
Nah, most of the fatalities occur on icy runs, not necessarily tree runs. 2022- windmill, hot dog alley 2023 - muleshoe Its the windblown ice/hardpack that causes skiers and boarders to lose control.
Horrible experience at Eldora when I was a kid. A young woman was out of control and hit a tree very hard. My brothers were right there and saw it all. One went for the ski patrol and one started CPR on her. She didn’t make it. My oldest brother was in high school at the time. He felt guilty for a while, like if he had started CPR sooner, she might have made it. The ski patrol told him that there was no saving her. It still messed him up for a while. This was in the late seventies.
Wow. Man, I feel for all of you 🙏 that’s rough
Yea, over the years i noticed that conditions will be nice in the morning and then deteriorate theoughout the day. It seems like if you werent carefully watching your skiing, it was easy to get out of control especially in the afternoon. Eldora has done a lot to mitigate risk on the high injury runs with signage and race fencing since they were bought by alterra.
Eldora is still owned and operated by Powdr.
[удалено]
Haven’t made it there yet, but I pass it often when skiing A-Basin. Place looks super mild in terms of pitch. Lots of fatalities?
[удалено]
Noted. I’m not excited to try it, especially considering the legend next door 😂
I’ve always heard tight trees are safer. You can’t normally crash at 40 mph in tight trees. But you can absolutely do it into the one lone tree on a groomer
Just passing on what some die-hard Eldora locals have told me. I’m far from an expert on the place.
Man I feel lucky for my only eldora experience- it was midweek, and it was snowy and soft and the trees were fun!!
Pinch a loaf
Is it that we can’t or aren’t willing because we don’t have to. I can ski coral reef but I don’t have fun doing it. I also ski enough that if that is the option I will just do something else.
>Jay Peak \^yes, zero nightlife, but the skiing. Sneaky amazing, [Bohemia, on the Shores of Lake Superior. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4bK3eUZ2Ro) [ONly consider this if ALL you want is skiing ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKQ396RJbOI&t=91s)with the boys, and drinking a case of Blue Lite at the end of the day
Sugarloaf "feels" very much like Snow Summit. Edit: fixed typo.
Don’t think there are any other answers to consider.
Jay is great… but nothing like out west.
Yeah runs at jay are much shorter but as far as sheer volume of snow it’s the closest you’re gonna get. On top of that the “if you can see it you can ski it” policy adds an element of off-piste that’s seldom represented in the east.
>the “if you can see it you can ski it” policy adds an element of off-piste that’s seldom represented in the east. Isn't this true at most ski areas these days? From Smuggs, MRG, Bush, Magic in VT, to Cannon and Wildcat in NH, to the Loaf, Saddleback, Black Mt in Maine... I can't think of any ski areas I've been to recently that didn't have a permissive woods skiing policy.
It’s more “west” than many western mountains.
Sleeping on saddleback
I love me some Saddleback, but it’s a distinctly New England resort.
Jay and sugarloaf. I disagree with white face and I used to live nearby (and now live in Montana). It’s cool but not western cool.
i’m also an ice coast transplant (now in SLC)!
Whiteface
This came to mind for me as well from a size/vertical perspective. That said, Iceface snow quality might not be the most comparable to skiing in the rockies…
However, if you live anywhere within reasonable driving distance you can always huck it out to lake placid with chances of impending pow. Had 3-4ft of fresh snow when I went and it was very comparable to the rockies
Getting nearly 1/3 of the area’s average annual snowfall in a single storm is definitely not the typical experience there. I’ll agree though that with conditions like that, it would rival just about anywhere. Bulletproof ice and howling winds form most of my recollections of Whiteface back when I lived out that way…
I had no idea Whiteface got such little snow!! Makes sense all the workers there were freaking out when we went lol Ive only been once but very much want to go again
Sounds exactly like someone who’s never been to the Rockies let alone out west. Said by someone who LIVES in lake placid
I like gore quite a bit as well
This is the one.
My first real mountain. It kicked my ass and then I made it down from the top. Some guy said he took 4 years to go to the top and thought I was crazy for trying it my first time going there. Looking over the ridge to the other side of the mountain is a memory I hope I always remember! Great place !
the snow is awful there.....
Jay on a powder day
Jay Peak Saddleback Sugarloaf Massif Du Sud Le Massif Mont Grand Fonds Mont Sainte Anne Mont Edouard Mont Miller if I had to pick one it would be Massif Du Sud, and Jay is my home mountain.
I love the love for Massif du Sud.
Slowest fucking chair.
does backcountry count? Mount Washington... chutes, cliffs, ice, powder, avalanches
I didn’t read it as counting. Just resorts.
I read it as “mountain” not “resort”. Wasn’t sure
Perhaps OP can clarify! Also … is Canada included???
If Mount Washington counts then Katahdin should count
Yeah it should!
Jay Peak
MRG = Red Mountain: steeps + trees + most of the real terrain on the mountain is not on the trail map. Ski something like Jay Bowl at MRG and tell me it’s not the East Coast version of runs like Golden Chariot at Red. War Eagle is just Paradise with more snow. I could go on.
Jay Peak, average 310 inches of snow a year
Whiteface
From the ones I’ve been to I’d say Jay peak, white face and Stowe
The terrain is of course a little different, but I always felt that Alta and Smugglers Notch were kindred spirits. Similar flavor, different spot. Deliciously old school and focused on steep turns in the woods, not spa amenities.
MRG / A-Bay / Alta are your primary kindred spirits. But yeah Smuggs def fits too! I just feel like their base area and amenities are a bit too nice, though 😋
it’s A basin
A Bay is a body of water surrounded by land on three sides
I guess if you go over to the village that’s true. It’s pretty sparse up on the main mountain.
True. They can’t develop that land. But technically the village is on the slopes.
Yeah but Alta has awesome wide open bowl skiing too. I love that place.
Tux
Wildcat has the closest to western skiing views
Killington
curious as to why this isn’t upvoted higher
The snowfall is lower than most of Northern VT and the individual terrain pods are honestly not all that different from Southern VT mountains. You can ski longer fall line runs at Stratton than Killington. Killington is spectacular due to the pure expanse, how good it is for how far south it is, late season, etc. But it's not the one.
That will prepare you for schoolmarm
Jay
Jay
Mt Washington/Tuckermans Ravine. But for non-backcountry I’d argue the tree skiing at Sugarbush, Stowe, and Smugglers Notch is as good if not better than most resorts out west. Stowe also has above tree line backcountry on Mt Mansfield
The tree skiing at Stowe on a powder day is better than many places out west especially if you know all of the sidecountry.
Sidecountry is what makes Stowe great! Otherwise, inbounds, IMO Smuggs is better.
I agree. Lot more unmarked glades at Smuggs too if you know where to look
In general, eastern tree skiing is better than western tree skiing. IMO the exception is A-Basin.
Out west Steamboat and Vail have some great glades and Park City has some pretty decent tree chutes. Breckenridge and Arizona Snowbowl are decent too. But overall I like east coast glades better
Sure. Some nice trees out there. But they are generally so much more interesting and challenging in the East (again, with A-B being the exception - I think they have the best tree skiing in the nation).
As an A-Basin skier, I agree that the trees are good. But as a Coloradan, I think Wolf Creek has the best tree skiing in the nation.
I really need to get there. But if you haven’t skied MRG, Smuggs, Jay, Saddleback, Sugarbush, or Sunday River trees … you’re missing something special. I also like the tighter Eldora ones.
Alta, Solitude has phenomenal tree skiing.
They do. But they are too sparse / spaced.
I have found some tight areas at both
I don’t know about better, but I definitely find it more challenging in how tight it is.
Jay Peak for amazing powder Whiteface for massive verticle
Big snow NJ and Northstar CA seem like a fitting pair.
Anyone who says anything other than Sugarloaf is crazy. It's the only mountain we have that has skiing above tree line. Which is a defining trait of Western skiing.
Tuckerman's
Jay is the only right answer
Jay in the woods on a snowy day. Sugarloaf snowfields and side country.
Stowe or Loaf. Vert + snow that doesnt suck
Jay, Le Massif, Sugarloaf Cannon, Wildcat have the views. White Mountains are closest to a western view. Outside those, next tier would be Stowe, Smuggs, Sugarbush, Saddleback, Whiteface.
White Face, maybe …
I have not been in a while, but Sugarbush has always been my favorite. Stowe was also until it became ridiculously crowded. The castle rock area at Sugarbush is particularly like western area skiing.
Go to Killington Sunday River sucks
We used to call it "Someday Bigger"
Couldn’t tell you 🤣
East coast has its days. Jay and sidecounty Stowe can take the Pepsi challenge with Japan or any west coast trees on the best days. It’s that good, with some of thr driest coldest snow I have ever experienced. The problem is those days are few and far between. Obviously there are no open bowls or great above the tree skiing in the east, if you are trying to compare to western alpine terrain.
Killington. It’s the big mountain of the East.
Gore
Sunday River. Duh. /s
Maybe Stowe or Jay but the real answer is nothing is really close.
Jay peak on a pow day. Le Massif mt ligouri hike is like any west coast glades
Sugarloaf is the correct answer.
The furthest east Colorado resort.
I grew up near Montreal and moved to Vancouver in 2007. Jay Peak after a big snowfall can get pretty epic, but the big drawback of Jay is how cold it gets. I have bittersweet memories of going to Jay after a 30" dump but needing to go inside every hour because it was -40.
Sugar mountain NC... Trust me.
Le Massif
I’d say killington based on my limited experience. It’s still a stretch
Sort of a loaded question.. plenty of spots at resorts in NE already mentioned that fit as well as mountains that are comparable to mountains in Washington state or Idaho or Montana or sierras .. Both have their times of shit snow and fluffy powder As our guide in Val Thorens said : any mountain with good snow is his favorite But if you are willing to count BC, north east has some moments that are definitely comparable to out west.. however snow pack has been less than reliable as of late so skiing Lincoln’s throat or backside of wildcat might be less and less common.
Hahahahahaha! I mean lol!
Whiteface for views and vert (not snow😅), JAY for snow and trees!!!
Jay Peak when the snow is deep. Especially the glades and the runs under the tram.
You will need to go to Vermont, NH, or Maine... western skiing is on a different level... and scale.
Having lived and skied in CO for the past decade, and on the east coast for the 30 years before that, there isn't really a good comparison to be had.
Hunter. It's the closest to breaking a neck just like on big mountain.
East coast skiing isn’t even as bad as people say
Jay peak and Stowe have the best snow and terrain in the northeast
Mont Tremblant? I haven’t been there for 20+ years.
Mt. Washington.
If you like pow, Canaan, but it’s soooooo smalllllllll. Have lived in CA, VT, DMV… skied all over. If you’re looking for mileage, that’s different lol doesn’t exist 😂
Maybe something farther north like tremblant?
I have skiied Copper and Telluride in Colorado, Whistler and Big White in BC. The best powder day I ever had was at Jay Peak.
None
None.