New England 2021-2022 Northeast Ski Resorts/Conditions/Meetups

[bbbradley]

Is that a helipad? I thought at first it was a trampoline. Wouldn't that make for some intense heli landing video!

I walked on it...metal deck with no bounce I could feel. I don't know what else it could be, but I am baffled as to why the need...and how useful it is during the winter. It was very nice, flat and smooth after the hike up.

 

[Tony S]

Did y'all see the news about Sunday River putting in a Big Sky-style 8-pack?

You can't make a mountain out of a molehill, but you can make an anthill out of a molehill.

 

[bbbradley]

I did...I always feel SR has 5 or so good trails spread all over the place. Either you ski all day on 2 of them or you traverse all day and ski on 5 of them.

 

[ScottB]

SR has some nice glades, but you have to know where they are. At SR, there a lot of decent trails, and its about quantity, not quality. Just keep moving around and you won't get bored.

I haven't figured out if the new 8 pack is replacing the Jordan lift, or it going up another peak and will open up new terrain?? Anyone know?

 

[Tony S]

SR has some nice glades, but you have to know where they are. At SR, there a lot of decent trails, and its about quantity, not quality. Just keep moving around and you won't get bored.

I haven't figured out if the new 8 pack is replacing the Jordan lift, or it going up another peak and will open up new terrain?? Anyone know?

It's replacing Jordan, and the Jordan lift is replacing the Barker lift. Don't shoot the messenger.

 

[Scruffy]

An eight pack at SR, really?

 

[sparty]

An eight pack at SR, really?

On top of the future expansion possibilities, one of the big drivers in replacing Jordan is to reduce wind hold issues. They mentioned that each carrier weighs over 2,000 pounds, which I expect is a strong vote in favor of the eight rather than a six pack.

 

[MissySki]

I did...I always feel SR has 5 or so good trails spread all over the place. Either you ski all day on 2 of them or you traverse all day and ski on 5 of them.

I couldn’t disagree with this more lol.

 

[Scruffy]

On top of the future expansion possibilities, one of the big drivers in replacing Jordan is to reduce wind hold issues. They mentioned that each carrier weighs over 2,000 pounds, which I expect is a strong vote in favor of the eight rather than a six pack.

Yeah wind is a problem there.

 

[no edge]

I did...I always feel SR has 5 or so good trails spread all over the place. Either you ski all day on 2 of them or you traverse all day and ski on 5 of them.

I think Killington is even worse. Sometimes I feel like I am not really skiing but moving to a different part of the mountain too much of the time. You can waste a day moving around.

 

[Ogg]

I think Killington is even worse. Sometimes I feel like I am not really skiing but moving to a different part of the mountain too much of the time. You can waste a day moving around.

This is a complaint I hear regularly and why it can frustrating if you don't know the place pretty well. I think it actually used to be a bit easier but they've gotten rid of some of the shortcuts and made it harder to carry speed some places. I understand there were legitimate safety concerns for some of the changes but others seemed like they just piss off long time regulars and create other issues.

 

[ScottB]

Well less wind holds is always good. An 8-pack for Jordan seems like overkill, but future expansion sounds good. The top of Jordan is not that big an area, hope it doesn't get over crowded like barker base area does. The new lift has a bubble, wonder if they will add a pot shop at the bottom of the lift with all the open space. There is a snack bar truck there all ready. What's SR called, "The best ski product"

 

[Wannabeskibum]

This is a complaint I hear regularly and why it can frustrating if you don't know the place pretty well. I think it actually used to be a bit easier but they've gotten rid of some of the shortcuts and made it harder to carry speed some places. I understand there were legitimate safety concerns for some of the changes but others seemed like they just piss off long time regulars and create other issues.

Actually the changes they have made are for the better. Snowdon now has top to bottom skiing that minimizes the cross overs and intersecting trails. If you know the mountain, it is still easy to move around the mountain from any lift pod. Start at Snowshed - and it’s one lift to Skye peak in one direction, one lift to Killington Peak in the other direction. Base of Bear to base of Killington Peak is one lift, back over to Snowdon - you can easily ski the entire mountain working in either direction from Rams Head or Bear and get tons of vertical in on a weekend - it‘s all about timing the crowds. Not hard to get 25K of vertical on a weekend and >30K of vertical on a weekday is a no-brained.

 

[newboots]

If you know the mountain, it is still easy to move around the mountain from any lift pod.

Well, sure. But I think the complaints come from people who don’t “know the mountain,” or who don’t know it that well. I skied there for 2+[covid] years and still have to think hard to get around efficiently.

The recent changes tripped me up last year during that big April storm. Foggy goggles, tons of snow everywhere, and an intersection had seemingly disappeared. At least there was all that snow!

 

[Marker]

Actually the changes they have made are for the better. Snowdon now has top to bottom skiing that minimizes the cross overs and intersecting trails. If you know the mountain, it is still easy to move around the mountain from any lift pod. Start at Snowshed - and it’s one lift to Skye peak in one direction, one lift to Killington Peak in the other direction. Base of Bear to base of Killington Peak is one lift, back over to Snowdon - you can easily ski the entire mountain working in either direction from Rams Head or Bear and get tons of vertical in on a weekend - it‘s all about timing the crowds. Not hard to get 25K of vertical on a weekend and >30K of vertical on a weekday is a no-brained.

If the new South Ridge lift (old Snowdon triple) was a faster model, getting around all of Killington would be a dream. That lift seems unusually slow and doesn't run midweek.

 

[PinnacleJim]

With about a thousand days logged at Kiliington, I can move about pretty efficiently. But my advice to those that don't know the mountain as well is don't try to sample all the areas in just a morning or afternoon. If you do, you will spend most of your time getting places.

 

[no edge]

Actually the changes they have made are for the better. Snowdon now has top to bottom skiing that minimizes the cross overs and intersecting trails. If you know the mountain, it is still easy to move around the mountain from any lift pod. Start at Snowshed - and it’s one lift to Skye peak in one direction, one lift to Killington Peak in the other direction. Base of Bear to base of Killington Peak is one lift, back over to Snowdon - you can easily ski the entire mountain working in either direction from Rams Head or Bear and get tons of vertical in on a weekend - it‘s all about timing the crowds. Not hard to get 25K of vertical on a weekend and >30K of vertical on a weekday is a no-brained.

I know they have made some improvements but It's still a drag moving around. Also Skye peak to Killington peak - almost ok. But it's a semi-wasted run. I do like making a trip to Stitch line and lots of the woods. Stitch Line is my favorite runs at Killington. Going over to Bear is another waste of a run.

Now it is possible that my knowledge of the mountain is weak, but I have skied there since '64. But don't get me wrong I do like skiing there for the most part. The vertical that K utilizes is not great, the woods are very good. snowmaking really good and their dedication to the sport is notable. It's just that if I had my choice Sugarbush and Mad River are more fall line oriented.

 

[no edge]

If the new South Ridge lift (old Snowdon triple) was a faster model, getting around all of Killington would be a dream. That lift seems unusually slow and doesn't run midweek.

Isn't it Just going to be another flat zone? Remember the left turn the old lift made. That was cool.

 

[ScottB]

I skied Kton on my Ikon last year for 5 or 6 days. The only real complaint I have is the trail map is not drawn as realistic as it needs to be. Certain intersections are hidden from view by other intersections and that is not detectable on the map. I have looked often for a certain trail and couldn't find it because I had to go around some trees or a corner which the map shows as one wide open area. I guess I should complain to Kton management about that, or get better at deciphering the map. Its a big place and you have to expect some complexity getting around until you know it better. My comparable is Sunday River, which is easier to navigate because its mostly along a ridge, but its got its confusing spots too.

 

[Marker]

I skied Kton on my Ikon last year for 5 or 6 days. The only real complaint I have is the trail map is not drawn as realistic as it needs to be. Certain intersections are hidden from view by other intersections and that is not detectable on the map. I have looked often for a certain trail and couldn't find it because I had to go around some trees or a corner which the map shows as one wide open area. I guess I should complain to Kton management about that, or get better at deciphering the map. Its a big place and you have to expect some complexity getting around until you know it better. My comparable is Sunday River, which is easier to navigate because its mostly along a ridge, but its got its confusing spots too.

My impression of SR from two trips is that it would take half-day skiing to get from one hotel to the other at the different ends of the resorts. And I mean skiing down decent runs from lift to lift, not using the traverses. We stayed at the older hotel by White Heat. The same is not true for Killington even though it is spread out in a similar fashion from Sunrise to Ramshead peaks.