I am curious why people here at DCski talk about Killington but don't talk too much about Whiteface in Lake Placid, NY.

Whiteface is only 15 minutes longer to drive than Killington (see mapquest). After a 7 hour drive from DC area what is another 15 minutes. Whiteface is also a true 3000+ feet of vertical serviced by 2 lifts. Killington true vertical is much less than 2000 feet.

Now the Canadian dollar is gone south, there is a lot less Candian's at Whiteface which means shorter lift lines. In fact, total skier visits at whiteface is probably half Killington.

For the spouse that does not ski, the town of Lake Placid is a lot more interesting than Killington.

I know Whiteface marketing is not very good. Still curious why Whiteface does not seem to be on the favorite ski discussion list here at DCski?

Three reasons: marketing, marketing and marketing.

Killington is probably the most marketed resort in the eastern US. And one of the most frequently visited. Love it or hate it, everyone has an opinion on K-Mart, oops, I meant Killington.

Plus several posters on this site went to college in Vermont plus others grew up in New England. We know more about ski areas in New England than we do about upstate New York because we skied them growing up.

I've never been been to Whiteface, but I've heard some good things about it. I've also heard that it can be very, very cold (stated by some pretty hardy folks) and it also doesn't get as much snow as Vermont. The main reason I go the extra distance to Vermont is the natural snow trails, not the groomed runs where snow making rules. Plus, Vermont is a lot more convenient to Connecticut than is upstate New York. I go to Vermont a lot after visiting family in CT.

I have some strong opinions on this question. There's more than marketing at play. I like Killington a lot and I'm not the biggest fan of Whiteface (made many trips to K, made two to Whiteface). Whiteface skis small given the big vert. Not that many trails run down from full vert. Surface/trail conditions have been less than great for both my visits, I conclude that Whiteface snowmaking is not the greatest. WF seems to me like an overgrown day-ski area, it lacks the infrastructure (slopeside lodging/restaurants/nightlife) to attract people coming from a long way who are looking for a resort atmosphere to spend an entire week. Finally, I will admit my wimpy side, I find Whiteface a hard place to ski. Many of the trails from the highest points are pretty steep with pretty hard surfaces (I consider myself a single black diamond skier). The cold hasn't been a factor in my two visits, but the Whiteface rep for that could dissuade others too.

Conversely, on a weekday Killington skis huge (at least horizontally) and I get a great feeling of expansiveness. Surface conditions have rarely disappointed for about 10 visits spanning almost 30 years. There is plenty of tough stuff at K too with Bear Mtn and Canyon areas. Tons of intermediate terrain and nearby lodging and après-ski options. It is expensive though and crowded at prime times.

I would never condemn a place based on two visits and I acknowledge that some of the "drawbacks" like few fancy resort amenities and strong suit in real tough terrain are advantages to some folks. They have made some nice lift upgrades in the last few years. Also, I never went to Lake Placid during my visits to WF, so I missed this nice aspect and plead ignorance on how enjoyable it may be to stay there and ski WF. One thing I'll say about WF: driving up the access road it has got to be THE most impressive looking ski mountain in the East. But from my experience, Whiteface doesn't quite fulfill the promising first impression when your ski day is done.

I dispute none of JimK's information.

I prefer Whiteface. I don't mind hardpack at all. (Some have accused me of liking it. This is untrue- I love it). Moreover, Whiteface gets enough early and late-season lake-effect snow to keep me happy.

Killington, in the fringes of the season, tends to shove all the visitors into one, two, maybe three corners on the mountain, so that you feel confined to one lift with all the other visitors.

So. Come mid-March with a big storm, if I can't get plane tickets to UT cheap, I know where I'm driving to. And, I can bring a few cases of NY riesling home too.

I've skied Killington about 5 times but never skied Whiteface. I've always wanted to go to WF but Vermont has a strong draw for me. I'm originally from the Boston area, so I grew up skiing VT and NH. To me, it's hard to connect skiing with NY. I know the NY has great mountains but VT just screams winter and skiing. I associate NY with the city and VT with mountains. That's terribly unfair but sadly true for me as well as many others from DC.

Admittedly, Killington is not the most attractive part of the state, but it is near Woodstock--one of the cutest towns there. Furthermore, the skiing is consistantly decent. I often ski New England early in the season when the Mid-Atlantic resorts are closed or just getting going. Killington does a remarkable job on the snowmaking front and that's always been the draw for me early season.

My wife, however, HATES Killington. She thinks the skiing is borring. It's not just the limited Vert., but the constantly intersecting beginner trails, which she claims, keep her from enjoying many of single black and blue slopes. "You always have to slow down and watch out for the newbies cruising down GREAT NORTHERN or GREAT EASTERN," she claims. Also for her, the intermediate terrain at Killington really is not that much better than the groomers at Timberline.

For her, "there is no place like Stowe." In fact, she argues that Stowe is the only mountain outside of the Mid-Atlantic on the NE coast that's worth the drive. Interestingly, she doesn't ski the front four, but enjoys the long, steep blues like Perry Merril, Lord, and Gondolier. Killington does not have any upper level intermediate terrain that compares to those slopes.

I suspect WF might, but as Jim stated, it's not a good early season play.