Best racing club in New England

[S.H.]

Anybody drive from Denver to Vail on a Friday night with a touch of weather? That's a great example. For we New Englanders it can seem almost unbelievable.

I don't hate myself

 

[Muleski]

I don't hate myself

HaHa. The last time we did it was a "never again" moment. We were in a good car with four studded snows. The traffic was really thick but moving, THEN we started to get some snow and as my daughter said "Watch for the red plates, and the Texas pickups, and the........" We stopped in Silverthorne for some gas and a snack. Like 15 minutes. 100 miles door to door. 4.5 hours.

It's 225 miles door to door to our house at Sugarloaf and it's a relaxing 3:45 or so. I was so exhausted and wound up on that Vail drive! Wow. I see the same thing, as you do, all over New England. Some drives can be brutally tiring, and beat the crap out of your car. I had to drive form Sugarloaf to Burke and back recently. OMG. Should have gone the longer more Southern route!

 

[SkiCanMom]

I'm very grateful for the time you spent answering my post. I'm just checking Waterville and it looks like a nice club offering all-around training, with dryland in the summer and options for training camps even for kids on weekend programs. They also have mountain biking trails which is a huge plus. Do you know any other resorts that have more or less the same criterias?

 

[S.H.]

I'm very grateful for the time you spent answering my post. I'm just checking Waterville and it looks like a nice club offering all-around training, with dryland in the summer and options for training camps even for kids on weekend programs. They also have mountain biking trails which is a huge plus. Do you know any other resorts that have more or less the same criterias?

Gunstock probably fits everything in the above. Mountain biking trails on the mountain, plus you're right by Winnipesauke in the summer, which can be pretty nice. IME, Gunstock is a bit more family- and volunteer-based than Waterville, but others may have a different impression.

I'll also add Franconia Ski Club (Cannon) and Loon (LRT) as possible opportunities from Boston that are within your radius. Both have great programs. Loon can also get really crowded on weekends, but they have a good program.

Most of the larger VT-based clubs will do all that (Okemo/Killington/Pico).

Most programs will have all-around training, and options for training camps (or relationships with early season camps).

I think the one item that Waterville has that many weekend programs won't is a week-long dryland camp in the middle of summer. That said, there are some good skiing-specific dryland camps in New England that aren't associated with any specific program (example: Eliteam). Peak Performance is NH-based and runs spring and summer camps that involve both on-snow and dryland training.

 

[James]

What’s up with the Black and Blue Trail Smashers? Is it a club, a school?

 

[AlpsSkidad]

What’s up with the Black and Blue Trail Smashers? Is it a club, a school?

I believe that is the Waterville Valley ski club/team.

 

[S.H.]

What’s up with the Black and Blue Trail Smashers? Is it a club, a school?

I believe that is the Waterville Valley ski club/team.

Correct, BBTS is the Waterville Valley (weekend) ski program. Waterville Valley Academy (WVA) is the academy at Waterville.

Both are operated by the Waterville Valley Black and Blue Trail Smashers Snowsports Educational Foundation (WVBBTS).

 

[Brian Finch]

Just to chime in on our experiences- we had fantastic time training over the years at various mountains (Sugarbush, Killington, Pico, West) yet ultimately moved on mountain at Stratton for 2 basic reasons. The Stratton Winter Sports Club has nearly 300 Alpine racers, so our kids could find their individual lanes & buddies. Secondly, there is a masters program @ Stratton with 70, yup SEVENTY adults racers - so culturally the mountain checks a lot of boxes. (There is also a tiny academy at the mtn - just saying.)

Professionally I work with a number of athletes along the pipeline & finding the best fit for the skiers always trumps camps/coaches/hill space/training issues.

Reach out if I may be of any further help.

 

[S.H.]

finding the best fit for the skiers always trumps camps/coaches/hill space/training issues.

This x 1000000

I'd recommend SWSC but it's 3+ hrs from Boston

 

[Burton]

I've coached at three of the programs mentioned in this thread, and have a U14 and U16 of my own in a program now.

Things that I think ski parents should think about that I don't see already well-covered in this thread: 1) do you want to ski while the kids are training and if so, is the mountain one you like? what about the town if you're getting a ski house nearby?; and, 2) as of late with the consolidation of ski area ownership, how is the mountain being managed?

With respect to point 1, there are some mountains that have great race programs but I'm not sure I'd want to spend a season, as a parent, skiing and living at that hill every weekend. As to point 2, some Vail-owned mountains really struggled this year in providing their affiliated race programs with hill space. Attitash couldn't set actual gates until January, if I recall correctly. Wildcat is woefully neglected. Rumors were swirling about Vail's plans for Crotched last season. Some of that was driven by the unique circumstances of COVID, so hopefully Vail buckles down, fixes their employee issues, and comes back strong.

Random thoughts on a few different programs:

Wachusett offers a lot if you decide you don't want to get a seasonal rental at one of the bigger mountains further from Boston. The mountain is run incredibly well, but the race program is quite constrained in terms of training time, and it's hard not to get bored if you ski there when your kids are training. They had some sort of problem with the homologation of their GS trail last season, which was a big bummer that I hope gets sorted out.

Franconia Ski Club has one of the best training venues I've seen anywhere, and the new performance center is fantastic. Having the race program separated off from Cannon by being at Mittersill is a HUGE plus. I'm a big fan of having a dedicated T-bar on a race hill for getting in lots of laps, which is effectively the case at Mittersill, and Sunday River. The FSC vibe is definitely a bit more intense than other weekend programs, and I've seen them turn out some incredibly good racers but also burn some kids out. Getting a rental that's actually IN Mittersill and training with FSC is pretty awesome. If the culture is a good fit, the only drawback I can really think of is it seems Cannon focuses their snowmaking over at the main mountain before they push to open up Mittersill, so gate training gets pushed back further into December than some other hills.

Waterville seems a small step down in terms of intensity from FSC (talking about the BBTS weekend program, not the academy), pretty good venue though more prone to lift holds and some other issues. Just under 2 hours from Boston is a plus. If you have kids that may want to step up from a weekend program to doing a winter term or academy, Waterville seems to offer that path.

Loon Race Team is one more step down in intensity from Waterville, but still a strong program that is perhaps more family focused. They're doing a winter-term program this year with the Linwood school. Loon is a well run mountain that gets crowded on weekends but the ownership is investing heavily in improvements (including summer downhill mountain biking), and seems to support LRT well in terms of opening up training terrain early. Lincoln is a pretty good town to spend a winter's worth of weekends in.

I've heard good things about the program at Ragged Mountain, which I think is a bit of an overlooked gem of a hill that's closer to Boston than most of the bigger mountains. Great lodge you can always find a table in, fun race hill, it's never been too crowded when I've been there. One drawback is there's nothing else around the mountain, so no "ski town" if you're renting in the area.

Sunapee seems like it has some great people working in their race program which I think is pretty big, but it's a Vail mountain that catches umpteen billion Epic pass holders that don't want to drive all the way to Stowe. The shortest drive from Boston to get to a big race program. Get there early!

I've been to a bunch of races at Gunstock in the last couple of years, and I think that place is kicking butt though being town or county-owned they're dealing with weird, local politics standing in the way of making some needed improvements. They do a great job with races, nice overall vibe, and I'm a sucker for the view of the lake.

 

[LiquidFeet]

Thank you all for your input. Yes, so if Wachussets doesn't end up being a good fit for what we are looking for (I'm worried about being overcrowded as someone commented) we would be willing to have a seasonal rental for a good program. What I mean is that even if they are not top racers, they will still focus on developing my kid's skills. They do love the sport and we aren't overachieving parents. We want a good vibe in the club.

You may have difficulty finding a seasonal rental.

 

[GB_Ski]

Let me ask a side track question. NYSEF seems to be doing well financially and have support at the 3 ski centers in NY. Anyone know anything about the program and how they are run?

 

[Wilhelmson]

You are sort of stuck with Wachusset or the smaller local hills for weekdays. Living in southern NH or ME would open some weekday options up. If you are here for a few years consider that some but not all towns have high school teams. Some private schools do too so there are still options.

Franconia has a great setup and Cannon is a fun mountain.