Hi everyone - hope all of you had a nice Christmas. This is my first post here, although I've been browsing the forums for quite some time.
I live in Richmond and will be leaving for a trip up to Connecticut tomorrow, staying through the 1st or 2nd of January. After that, I'll have approximately ~3 days to ski anywhere I want within driving distance. The caveat here is that I need to be at Snowshoe by the afternoon of the 6th (I'll be skiing there through the 10th). So, I'll probably need to leave whichever resort I find myself at by the evening of the 5th.
I was curious if anyone here would be able to toss some advice some way in regards to what would make an optimal trip. I prefer more traditional skiing - downhill, glades, bumps - and have no interest in anything park. I've been skiing for over 10 years now and can tackle most anything down here in this part of the Mid Atlantic. However, I've never been to a mountain outside of VA/WV/MD/PA. Is it worth the drive up into Vermont, leaving me with a potential ~12 hour drive down to WV? Should I stick with Plattekill/Hunter to shave off a few hours? I heard a lot about "hidden gems" such as Blue Knob & Timberline - how do they compare to some of the terrain in the areas I've already mentioned (it's been so long since I've skied at these resorts that I have no memory of them)? Are they worth stopping at if I can swing it?
Visions of skiing in Vermont etc. have occupied my dreams for years but I want to be practical here. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Bad news: New England got hit with that devastating rain last weekend, but the big snowmaking resorts are working hard to resurface their runs. They were in relatively good early season shape before the warm-up, just like our mtns down here. You are looking at the final weekend of the holiday break so most places could be crowded to very crowded.
Good news: Personally, I'd go for it! From the CT coast you are about 3-4 hours from a bunch of good sized hills, certainly worth a visit. For example: Mt. Snow, Okemo, Stratton, Killington. Of those I think Killington has the most interesting and challenging terrain and worth the effort from CT. If you want to stay in southern VT then I guess I would recommend Mt. Snow since the others are similar and it's a few minutes closer to points south. All these mtns have tremendous snowmaking capacity and their groomers should be in pretty good shape with cool temps in the forecast through your dates.
Sugarbush and Stowe are great too, but another couple hours further north. NH has some good mtns, but further off track for you. Hunter can be good, but somewhat similar to Snowshoe in many respects and will be crowded.
Adding: I love hidden gems, but they are not so good right down due to lack of natural snow throughout the East.
Agree with jimk. I just did a quick look at on the snow and none are more then a quarter open. I have skied Gore in NY, Jiminy peak right outside of Albany and elk mountain at tip of PA. All three have a full range of greens blues and blacks open. Elk is one of my favorites, but not many places to stay close.. Otherwise would suggest you just hit a place you always wanted to go to in the rasa, as I think they are all about in the same boat.
Thanks for the great advice Jim! I was leaning toward a Mt. Snow trip, or perhaps Killington if I'm feeling up to it, assuming the conditions are right. As a friend told me, the drive to Snowshoe is going to be rough either way. I'm not sure if you've ever been to Plattekill but it looks like that has more of a "hidden gem" feel which obviously requires more natural snow.
Now, I do follow weather models/patterns closely and it looks like there is some potential for a decent Mid Atlantic storm around the 3-4 of January. Assuming this occurs (and the conditions remain just so-so in southern VT) do you think it is worth stopping off at Blue Knob and/or T-line on the way down? As I said earlier, I don't know much about either of these resorts but have been told that they have more of an old-school feel with more ungroomed runs, bumps and glades, which is very appealing to me. I'm not sure if either of the two is more worth it but I'd love to hear thoughts on this.
I'd ski Mt. Snow, it has great snow making, parks, groomers, some steeps, and some good tree skiing if thats your kind of thing. Mt. Snow gives you that big mountain (1,700') VT feel without driving further north. I'd skip Hunter or maybe ski it on your way to Mt. Snow, but the crowds at Hunter can be brutal. If you want that big mtn feel, I wouldn't ski the rest of the closer ski areas in NY, PA, & MA, as they are no bigger or better than the hills we have here in the mid-atlantic.
Heard good things about Mt. Snow this week on another forum from a regular who drives there from Boston. If it were me, I'd take advantage of being that close to VT to ski somewhere. They will have plenty of cold weather days for snowmaking before you would get there.
Regardless of where you ski in New England, no reason to take I-95 when you are driving south. Head west on I-84 to I-81. Avoid NYC and NJ completely. Might be a little longer by mileage, but far less traffic so tends to be the same driving time. I do it a lot driving between Lake Placid and Raleigh.
The advantage of checking out Timberline on the way to Snowshoe is that you'll know why there is an bi-annual DCSki gathering there. Driving all the way from New England to Snowshoe in one day would be a push. There are plenty of cheap motels along I-81 in PA/WV/northern VA. You could stop overnight, get up early to drive a 2-3 hours to Timberline in daylight, then just a few more hours to SS after skiing.
Thanks for the helpful advice marz.
Anyone besides Bumps been to Gore? I had someone on another forum I frequent tell me that it is comparable to the southern VT mountains and might be worth a drive up. It's probably 30 minutes of extra driving compared to Mt. Snow etc.
Really pay attention to weather for trip back south to Snowshoe; if it is bad then the trip South will take much more time, and Sunday will be a heavy traffic day due to folks returning home after a Holiday trip.
Personally I would recommend a couple areas I used to hit when visiting relatives in CT: Mt Snow in VT and Jiminy Peak in Mass.
Welcome to DCSki, hope to see more posts (tell us about your trip) and maybe meet you on the slopes some time!
The Colonel
I'd suggest going somewhere you haven't been that strikes your fancy. Crowds should be non existent on jan. 2&3, even at Hunter, a place with very nice terrain and massive snowmaking capability. I once had a great powder day there on an early Jan. Tues. Gore is also very nice with lots of interesting meandering blue runs with nice rolls and drops. Also some of the steepest runs in the east, although short. It also catches and holds powder well. I've never been to Plattekill, but would like to go. I'd look up their operating hours before going. I believe they are open only on weekends unless there is 10" or more of new powder.
have fun and give us a report.
I live in Richmond and will be leaving for a trip up to Connecticut tomorrow, staying through the 1st or 2nd of January. After that, I’ll have approximately ~3 days to ski anywhere I want within driving distance. The caveat here is that I need to be at Snowshoe by the afternoon of the 6th (I’ll be skiing there through the 10th). So, I’ll probably need to leave whichever resort I find myself at by the evening of the 5th.
I grew up in Connecticut and drive from DC to CT 3-4 times a year. Are you daytripping from CT or plan on driving from CT and doing a 3 day trip? Makes a big difference. Also, make a big difference where you are at in CT. For a small state, it can be surprisingly difficult to go from A to B.
For most of central Connecticut, the Vermont areas are a pretty easy drive from CT up I-91. Mt. Snow, Stratton, Okemo, Killington, Sugarbush, Stowe. (Even Jay Peak is not that bad a drive.) Unless you are down near NYC in Fairfield County, getting to some of the New York areas (Plattekill, Belleayre, Hunter, Gore) can be a surprisingly long trip. Google Maps is your best friend.
All highways in the Northeast will be a total mess on Sunday, Jan 5th. Doesn't matter which route you choose, though parts of the New Jersey Turnpike and I-95 through Delaware and Maryland will be particulary heinous. I'd avoid a lot of driving that day. For non-getaway days (Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Sunday after Thanksgiving, Sunday after the Holidays, etc.), I disagree on the I-81 versus I-95 advice. Despite traffic, I-95 is still much faster if you are heading to CT. But sounds like you are driving today, so the advice doesn't matter for the trip north.
For an intro to Belleayre, look here:
http://mag.nyskiblog.com/Belleayre-NY-Low-Key-in-the-Catskills-td1012205.html
If you decide to check out Gore, can usually get an update on current conditions here:
http://forum.nyskiblog.com/Gore-Conditions-td4031565i10.html
Jan. 5 is definitely going to be a travel day for most vacationers, so won't be crowded on the slopes. In fact, Whiteface has a special low price that Sunday to encourage people to ski that day. I plan to ski with my daughter at Gore on Jan. 4 and Whiteface on Jan. 5. Dropping off her off at boarding school in Lake Placid after we ski on Jan. 5. But won't make a final decision of where to ski until a day or two before heading north. There are a lot of options for skiing between NC and Lake Placid.
I skied Gore last MLK weekend and never waited for a lift for more than one minute, except the gondola (maybe 5 there). You don't really need to use the gondola to access the mountain. We loved it there were ~70 runs open and we skied 3 days. There are some pretty awesome steeps if thats what your looking for and plenty of blues and greens that a group of all abilities can ski together.
Great place. Warrensburg Super 8 is a fine place to stay, its not upscale but it is clean and easy. There are about at least three good restaurants in the town (at least there were last year). Check out the New Way Lunch (gourmet hot dogs and homemade pie at good prices) and Village Bistro (good beers and burgers). Highly recommend Gore.
I would definitely go back there, especially if there was some freshies!!!!
Hey guys - thanks again for all the comments. JohnL - I arrived in CT today and will be staying in the Danbury area. As of right now I am leaning toward starting off at Mt. Snow mid next week and going from there. It will be a multi-day trip no matter where I go. Whether that means driving further north or heading over west into NY remains to be seen. Whiteface and Killington are probably a little too far north but everything else is fair game. If the natural snow falls like I hope it does I might try to hit the slopes at places like Berkshire East and Plattekill. Perhaps if we get that decent Mid Atlantic storm next week I'll stop in at Blue Knob and/or Whitegrass/T-line. As usual, it's all weather dependent!
If anyone else will be up this way toward the end of next week let me know!
If you love woods skiing, you will love Gore! If your on a snowboard you will hate it, as there a lot of flat transverses. The one complaint I have is that the Gondola does not go all the way to the top and you don't use it for the majority of your skiing. Although it was very nice to be able use it when your cold and/or need to eat some snacks.
I was at Gore for 2 days, and skiied almost entirely in the woods, and rareley skiied the same woods trail twice. On most of the woods runs I would rarely see another skiier. They have a lot of woods runs that are 1000 - 1500 vertical, which is very impressive.
For comparison I have skiied at the following resorts in NE: Mad River Glen, Killington, Sugarbush, and Magic. For me Gore had the best woods, hands down.
They also last year reopened a small lost ski area(1000 vertical / old-school / 1 chairlift / some woods trails for the whole vertical) and connected it. The North Creek Ski Bowl.
Looks like I'll be at Mt. Snow tomorrow and Berkshire East on Friday. If any posters will be in southern VT tomorrow let me know (I'm already skiing with a buddy on Friday)!
I have been to Mt. Snow many times. It does get crowded on weekends but mid- week, it is generally empty. The North Face has the most challenging terrain. If you are looking for a cheap place to stay with a nice Vermont atmosphere try Black Bear Lodge; a very short distance from the mountain.
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