New England 2022-2023 Northeast Ski Resorts/Conditions/Meetups

[James]

Pets allowed in the gondola?

 

[ilovepugs]

Pets allowed in the gondola?

At Stowe?

In the summer, yes, but this was on the Spruce side after walking up the notch and Sterling Pond trail. Not lift served, unless they build the interconnect :/

Incidentally, can’t really do that from the Stowe side anymore because parking for the Long Trail, which is adjacent to the paid resort lots, is restricted to 90 minutes and it’s a minimum 3 hour journey.

Not to turn this into another dog pic thread but here’s Baxter in the Stowe gondola in the summer:



Hehehe. No way the dang pug could have made it up by foot. He’s too lazy to walk up the hill leading to my house.

 

[4aprice]

This will probably be an unpopular post but it's just an opinion and with my future cemented out in the Rockies I have no skin in the game. I grew up skiing Smugglers back in the day when it was called Madonna Mountain Ski Area. When the village was just being built we rented seasonally for several years. In the 70's it was pretty decent and a great place to learn skiing, however,, not that much has changed there over the years. Not sure exactly what was the last year I visited but much of the infrastructure was the same, places like the mid Madonna Lodge had very little done to it. It seemed to me that time had really past the resort by and to be honest, besides some good skiing, it is no longer a place I want to take my wife. I'm sure there are many that prefer it that way, question is are there enough to keep it afloat?

Not going to get into the Vail question as that has been discussed to death in other threads, but the connection has always been there and when open presented a skiing experience unique in New England. The idea of these transfer lifts is something that has really come about recently and I don't believe they are that awful an idea. You see it at places like Whistler, Park City and Telluride. Loon works it with a chair between the main mountain and South Peak. I could see a gondola starting at Toll House (as a side helping the Stowe parking situation) with stations at Mansfield, Spruce, Mid Madonna and ending at the Smugglers Village. Maybe there would even be a way to route it so it does not encroach on Sterling Pond. As far as skiing, think it would be pretty cool to start at the village ski your way over to Toll House have lunch and ski your way back , very European in Vermont no less. I could see Killington doing something similar when they build their village giving guests access to the top of Pico.

Smuggs itself is ripe for lift upgrades among other things. For years I've heard off plans to replace the Sterling chair with a high speed lift. That would be a good start. Madonna 1 is another question. Back in the seventies when I first skied there the last rise on the chair had the cable above the tree tops. They subsequently lowered it at some point in the late 70's early, 80's to try and reduce wind holds. There is no way I see to put a high speed detachable up there, however, I could see a possible remedy to this. My idea (for those of you who know Smuggs follow me here) would be to pull Madonna 2 and replace with a high speed detachable maybe up to the shoulder of the mountain where Chilcoot makes its turn back toward the base. At that point cut a trail that runs parallel to Cat Walk (which is further up the mt) across the mountain to a spot near where there is a mid station on the current Madonna 1 lift. I would then cut the lift length and have the Madonna 1 lift start there and go to the summit (ie eliminate the bottom half of Madonna 1. The result would be access to more of Madonna even when the summit was on wind hold. Morse would probably benefit from a hs lift as well. There was talk of a lift from the Village to the top of Morse Mountain but I doubt they would ever do that now.

Just my $.02

 

[mdf]

starting at Toll House (as a side helping the Stowe parking situation)

total side-thought....
Does the Toll House double ever run? Is there parking down there? I imagine getting snow all the way down is not reliable. Many, many years ago I stayed in the inn at the bottom and used that lift for access.

 

[KevinF]

total side-thought....
Does the Toll House double ever run? Is there parking down there? I imagine getting snow all the way down is not reliable. Many, many years ago I stayed in the inn at the bottom and used that lift for access.

Yes, that chair runs. It’s glacially slow and you might die of old age before it reaches the top, but it does run.

Parking at Toll House is now the free lots on the weekends.

 

[ilovepugs]

Yes, that chair runs. It’s glacially slow and you might die of old age before it reaches the top, but it does run.

Parking at Toll House is now the free lots on the weekends.

a really motivated person could maybe skin up faster, lol.

The parking there is actually pretty good. when there isn’t coverage, the shuttle back from the Mansfield lodge is convenient.

 

[Wilhelmson]

I have wanted to ski Smuglers but haven’t yet.
So who here has skies it more than 5 times a year? What makes the slowness (including the wait) and charm of mrg or Castlerock so much more appealing?

 

[4aprice]

I have wanted to ski Smuglers but haven’t yet.
So who here has skies it more than 5 times a year? What makes the slowness (including the wait) and charm of mrg or Castlerock so much more appealing?

I would say for some there probably is that "charm". I'm just not that nostalgic and feel time has past the resort by. I skied in the 70's and feel todays sport is much better in all aspects from equipment to lifts to grooming. I have skied MRG (and enjoyed) in the past as well and am not that inclined to go back there either. Sugarbush has been modernized in many ways

 

[no edge]

I went to UVM back in the mid 70s. I skied Madonna for my first two years and then spent a day at Mad River - I never went back.

Smuggs has incredible terrain with a blend of skiing mixed in to the entire mountain. If you like challenging trails Madonna has them. Screamer cruisers are so fast and varied, sometimes like having your own DH. The steeps are insane -trails that have many different lines with rock ledges included.

Plenty of the harder steeper trails are more difficult than Mad River's. I don't recall the woods, but all of the Vermont ski areas have more now than back in the 70s. It's an old school mountain.

It's been a long time and I would like to back. It's true about the lifts. They are slow. It was a cold mountain, icy too.

It's get in line for me too. Jay Peak, Stowe, Sugarbush, Pico plus Burke - I want to ski them too.

 

[Wilhelmson]

I would say for some there probably is that "charm". I'm just not that nostalgic and feel time has past the resort by. I skied in the 70's and feel todays sport is much better in all aspects from equipment to lifts to grooming. I have skied MRG (and enjoyed) in the past as well and am not that inclined to go back there either. Sugarbush has been modernized in many ways

That’s what I am getting at. Apparently the regular Smugs skiers do not frequent this site. Some form of partnership with Epic is probably about survival.

Otoh cutting a new gondola line across the forest is great for skiers, not so great for nature. I am not that familiar with the terrain but that could be an epic lift served mountainbike trail.

 

[raisingarizona]

That’s what I am getting at. Apparently the regular Smugs skiers do not frequent this site. Some form of partnership with Epic is probably about survival.

Otoh cutting a new gondola line across the forest is great for skiers, not so great for nature. I am not that familiar with the terrain but that could be an epic lift served mountainbike trail.

What impact would that gondola have on nature?

I'm genuinely curious what you're basing that statement on.

 

[ilovepugs]

I have wanted to ski Smuglers but haven’t yet.
So who here has skies it more than 5 times a year? What makes the slowness (including the wait) and charm of mrg or Castlerock so much more appealing?

First off, Mad River Glen rarely has waits. The most significant lines happen on weekend powder days, but I think that’s true almost everywhere in New England.

The appeal and charm is the lack of crowding force limited by the slow lifts and the preservation of natural snow. Stuff does not get skied off into man-made boiler plate within the first hour of lift service. Not so off the detachable quads at Sugarbush. I went on a weekday powder day and it was skied off by my second run.

Finally, only speaking about Mad River Glen, the terrain is cut in a very ingenious manner and really dances down the mountain. It also encourages progression because commitment to challenging terrain is limited, accessible and optional. With the lack of crowding, people feel a lot more comfortable stretching their skills. It’s for people who care more about the quality of their runs than racking up the most vertical possible.


I think Castlerock has a different appeal because it is very challenging terrain and 100% natural snow, and it’s also open infrequently.

 

[ilovepugs]

What impact would that gondola have on nature?

I'm genuinely curious what you're basing that statement on.

It cuts across an area of the mountain that is used by hikers, snowshoers, backcountry, skiers, etc. By increasing congestion on both sides of the Notch It makes it significantly more challenging for non-resort users to access terrain off of Vermont’s most iconic mountain pass.

 

[sparty]

All-natural snow generally skis better than man-made and far better than crappy man-made. Resorts with the equipment, skill and budget to do so can make snow that skis rather nicely, but man-made snow is more often higher density with more aggressive crystal structure. It will often compact and get slick relatively quickly, but man-made snow will also hold up to a lot more traffic before you get through to rocks and dirt below.

When you don't have man-made snow in the mix, the surface conditions are usually much more pleasant for general use; even when things firm up, the surface will usually have more grip, especially if your skis aren't super sharp. Obviously, if you've got two feet of fresh, that's not of particular concern, but the way things ski two days after everything is packed out is quite different when there is no man-made snow involved.

When you take that difference in snow quality and add good fall line terrain (MRG, Castlerock, steeper stuff at Bolton, etc), you get an experience that is significantly different. Natural-snow trail pods at places like Killington or Sunday River don't get the same feel both because of higher levels of skier traffic and because you usually end up on man-made snow (or at least snow with a significant amount of man-made in the mix) for part of the run, IMO.

 

[Wilhelmson]

All-natural snow generally skis better than man-made and far better than crappy man-made. Resorts with the equipment, skill and budget to do so can make snow that skis rather nicely, but man-made snow is more often higher density with more aggressive crystal structure. It will often compact and get slick relatively quickly, but man-made snow will also hold up to a lot more traffic before you get through to rocks and dirt below.

When you don't have man-made snow in the mix, the surface conditions are usually much more pleasant for general use; even when things firm up, the surface will usually have more grip, especially if your skis aren't super sharp. Obviously, if you've got two feet of fresh, that's not of particular concern, but the way things ski two days after everything is packed out is quite different when there is no man-made snow involved.

When you take that difference in snow quality and add good fall line terrain (MRG, Castlerock, steeper stuff at Bolton, etc), you get an experience that is significantly different. Natural-snow trail pods at places like Killington or Sunday River don't get the same feel both because of higher levels of skier traffic and because you usually end up on man-made snow (or at least snow with a significant amount of man-made in the mix) for part of the run, IMO.

You don’t ski Sugaroaf?

 

[Wilhelmson]

What impact would that gondola have on nature?

I'm genuinely curious what you're basing that statement on.

That’s actually what I am not sure of. We only have so many mountain passes and each have special ecosystems. There is a part of me that wants to leave such places alone. Most of the mountains have been cut and had fires. It would be nice to let nature take its course and see what happens.

 

[no edge]

All-natural snow generally skis better than man-made and far better than crappy man-made. Resorts with the equipment, skill and budget to do so can make snow that skis rather nicely, but man-made snow is more often higher density with more aggressive crystal structure. It will often compact and get slick relatively quickly, but man-made snow will also hold up to a lot more traffic before you get through to rocks and dirt below.

When you don't have man-made snow in the mix, the surface conditions are usually much more pleasant for general use; even when things firm up, the surface will usually have more grip, especially if your skis aren't super sharp. Obviously, if you've got two feet of fresh, that's not of particular concern, but the way things ski two days after everything is packed out is quite different when there is no man-made snow involved.

When you take that difference in snow quality and add good fall line terrain (MRG, Castlerock, steeper stuff at Bolton, etc), you get an experience that is significantly different. Natural-snow trail pods at places like Killington or Sunday River don't get the same feel both because of higher levels of skier traffic and because you usually end up on man-made snow (or at least snow with a significant amount of man-made in the mix) for part of the run, IMO.

Well said, but man-made snow required lots of grooming. Difficult terrain cannot be groomed because cats cannot safely get around the rocks and variable terrain.

When Stowe buffed out the steeps it made it possible to groom trails that couldn't be earlier. There are trails at MRG that are groomed but they are cruisers which are fun too.

 

[James]

If we wait for natural snow, there wouldn’t be much skiing in the NE.

 

[raisingarizona]

It cuts across an area of the mountain that is used by hikers, snowshoers, backcountry, skiers, etc. By increasing congestion on both sides of the Notch It makes it significantly more challenging for non-resort users to access terrain off of Vermont’s most iconic mountain pass.

I’d bet ya that non resort human recreation in that area has much more of a negative impact on critter activity than a gondola will.

if your concern is more about losing access to public land I’d think that’s fair.

 

[raisingarizona]

It cuts across an area of the mountain that is used by hikers, snowshoers, backcountry, skiers, etc. By increasing congestion on both sides of the Notch It makes it significantly more challenging for non-resort users to access terrain off of Vermont’s most iconic mountain pass.

I’d bet ya human recreation in that area has much more of a negative impact on critter activity than a gondola will.

That’s actually what I am not sure of. We only have so many mountain passes and each have special ecosystems. There is a part of me that wants to leave such places alone. Most of the mountains have been cut and had fires. It would be nice to let nature take its course and see what happens.

I wouldn’t know either because I’m not a wildlife biologist. Luckily projects like this are required by NEPA to bring a wildlife biologist in to determine impacts. I get it though, I often have those same feelings as it’s getting harder and harder to find places that aren’t impacted by human encroachment.