New England 8hrs to killington or 9.5hrs to stowe

[chilehed]

I like the Gore Mtn suggestion, only 6.5 hrs drive and it's as big as most of the other mtns mentioned. Go sometime in Feb for best conditions.

PS: I've only skied Gore once and it was 35 years ago. I'm not sure how extensive their intermediate terrain is?

There's a TON of good intermediate terrain at Gore. Seriously, I love the place, would much rather be there than Killington.

 

[chilehed]

A strong intermediatE can ski the front four now that they blew it up to make its smooth.

WHAAAT?? Please tell me it ain't so!

 

[chilehed]

Killing me. I just quit drinking

It gets better with time! 34 years for me, and I so much don't miss the technicolor yawn!

 

[no edge]

WHAAAT?? Please tell me it ain't so!

Well, this claim has come under scrutiny. I say it was, but that would have been a while ago. But seriously, an intermediate could easily get down everthing except for Goat. Snow boarders maybe they would struggle too.

 

[no edge]

Stowe does claim a vertical drop of 2,360 feet and it can be skied continuously... but the only way to do it is to ski Toll Road (a green) from the top of the Fourrunner Quad to the base of the Toll House chair. It's not exactly exciting skiing. As @Laurel Hill Crazie stated, the "fun" vertical of Stowe is in the (still very respectable) 2,100 vertical foot range.

Well I never knew that

 

[no edge]

Well, this claim about Stowe's front four, has come under scrutiny. I say it was, but that would have been a while ago. But seriously, an intermediate could easily get down everthing except for Goat. Snow boarders maybe they would struggle too.

 

[Wendy]

Stowe is the Aspen of the East and should be avoided at all costs. It's infested with G-Wagon driving lodge moms, walking around in their faux-mink jackets with a YETI mug filled with Irish Coffee claiming making believe they are on some sort of 'Real Housewives of Stowe' reality show.

Well, this provides loads of people-watching opportunities during aprés! Like Aspen.

TBH, I would scrap both of your choices and highly consider Sugarbush or Smuggs as they are right there as well. Hit Sugarbush mid-week and you'll have Lincoln and Ellen Peaks to yourself. Its one of my favorite mountains in the East (other than Sugar Loaf). Smuggs is also another great option and doesn't see 1/4 of the crowds that Killington and Stowe see. They are still living in the 80's/90's and its a really cool old school vibe.

Sugarbush is quintessential Vermont in character. And I agree with you about Sugarloaf. Awesome place.

Don't sleep on Whiteface either. It has the most vertical in the East (3,400) and a great variety of terrain and not to mention some of the most spectacular scenery in the east overlooking Lake Placid and the Adirondack Region..

Agreed! God, it’s beautiful up there. The Adirondacks are indeed something special. And, unlike Stowe, one can ski from top to bottom on runs that aren’t beginner ones.

 

[S.H.]

And, unlike Stowe, one can ski from top to bottom on runs that aren’t beginner ones.

Well, like Stowe, you can't get from bottom to top on any single lift, and you're not skiing from the summit, though it is *almost* possible to make it from the top of the summit quad all the way to the base lodge without skiing on green terrain, but that does require skiing through a terrain park (and even then, a runout on a slow skiing green trail).

I've had more days at whiteface than stowe where (1) conditions were good and (2) it wasn't mobbed.

Current prices for a midweek January lift ticket at Stowe is $114 (online; $154 walk-up) vs. $69 (online) at Whiteface.

Gore/Whiteface is a great way to spend a week (assuming there's snow).

That said, Whiteface is the only place (I remember) skiing in April and temps not rising above 0F.

 

[James]

The [Mad River] single is quick and so cool.

Compared to skinning up?
Supposedly, it is the fastest fixed grip in North America. It can by code run up to 600ft/min. I guess it ends up 8 1/2 to 10 minutes? Just enough to rest from the tiring mogul run down.


“And don’t throw the past away
You might need it some snowy day
Dreams can come true again
When evr’y thing old is new again”

Paper on restoring the Mad River chair in 2007 by the engineer in charge for Dooplemayr, Jan Leonard

https://mountainscholar.org/bitstream/handle/11124/70520/n4-Leonard_Jan-Final.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

 

[James]

it's an absolute an utter joke when compared to the MUCH better choices of mountains in that area.

You mean like Bolton?
Aspen is probably less crowded than Stowe. Though Ikon may have changed thst.

 

[Smitty244]

As it gets closer it seems like this winter is sucking so far. I’m really hoping they get some snow soon so I don’t drive all that way for half the terrain to be closed

 

[Erik Timmerman]

It's coming along.

 

[cantunamunch]

It's coming along.

Sign it up for adaptive, quick.