Mountain Creek joins the Max Pass

You guys do realize you're trying to reason with a kid who can't vote, has yet to pay taxes, and has a completely skewed view of reality, right?

RA, please don't stop sharing your stories or pictures. I for one appreciate them more that you may know. It takes me back to my days at Smuggs and reminds me of what life is all about. For me that's having fun. Somewhere that message gets lost in the day to day hustle and bustle. Rock on bro  

when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. Demanding more lemons, particularly if they're starting to rot doesn't make better lemonade or make eating the lemons more enjoyable.

In a crummy year, I still note as one of the highlights of my season being the day I joined ski patrol on a rainy day late December to hike up to the Gondi mid station. Having skied MC plenty when I lived in NJ, there were 1-2 moments I was grateful that the skiing was so close but that sentiment usually didn't last much beyond 2 hours. Even in the days of the $79 3 day pass deal (or that's about what I remembered the cost was) I struggled to justify the skiing. It's about more than time on skis, it's about what you take back as memories. And there are an awful lot of forgettable memories and experiences at that place. MC can have the Max Pass or whatever this topic was about anyway. Don't care.

Doesn't make me less "core" sno.

Hope you enjoyed your 100% snowmaking experience as much as I enjoyed my hike:

Harvey wrote

The idea of a Mountain Creek vs Mad River Glen thread has real potential, it could be another one of our finest moments here in the NY Ski Forums.

I just used it as an example to debunk someone's claim that I couldn't put up this thread because MC is in NJ.  Brownski is right in that it was probably better to say that MC is in NJ, but lots of people from NY ski there, just like many people from NY ski in Vermont, so we post about those mountains here.

The two places are very different, will never compete with each other, and can't really be compared.  Standalone throwback style ski area with no snowmaking and a single chair, or closest mountain to NYC over 100 acres.

I'm sure MRG is great on powder days, especially midweek when there are no lift lines either since it won't get all tracked out.  On more average days, I'm just not sure it's the religious experience that some hype it up to be.  The lift lines are really long, and if there's not a storm in a couple weeks and there was a freeze thaw, the skiing is going to suck until there's another storm because they can't groom or resurface the trails to make the conditions better.

campgottagopee wrote

You guys do realize you're trying to reason with a kid who can't vote, has yet to pay taxes, and has a completely skewed view of reality, right?

You're completely correct of course. I think its cause I have a 14 year old and I hate to think of him acting like a know-it-all when I'm not around. If he was spewing that crap, I would have to set him straight, don't know why hearing it from Sno bugs me. It's silly

snoloco wrote

debunk someone's claim that I couldn't put up this thread because MC is in NJ

Who made this claim? I missed it.

Sno
You sound a lot more reasonable now but I think you still don't understand the appeal of Mad River. I like bombering corduroy as much as the next guy but there's a lot more to skiing then that.

Brownski wrote

campgottagopee wrote

You guys do realize you're trying to reason with a kid who can't vote, has yet to pay taxes, and has a completely skewed view of reality, right?

You're completely correct of course. I think its cause I have a 14 year old and I hate to think of him acting like a know-it-all when I'm not around. If he was spewing that crap, I would have to set him straight, don't know why hearing it from Sno bugs me. It's silly

Gotcha. That makes perfect sense once you put it that way. Not being a parent I never would've considered that. It's apparent now you guys have WAY more patience than I do.

Sno, you will eventually learn to keep your opinions to yourself or at least temper them.  You're so ripe to be hazed next year when you go away to school.

http://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/7-reasons-why-its-smart-to-listen-more-than-you-talk.html

Harvey wrote

The idea of a Mountain Creek vs Mad River Glen thread has real potential, it could be another one of our finest moments here in the NY Ski Forums.

HAHA! We need more nets along ski runs!

One of my favorite nuggets of wisdom an early boss gave me was "never get an argument with a fool....he'll drag you down to his level and beat you up with experience." And yet here I go.....

snoloco wrote

< The lift lines are really long, and if there's not a storm in a couple weeks and there was a freeze thaw, the skiing is going to suck until there's another storm because they can't groom or resurface the trails to make the conditions better.

Sheez. I can't stand it when actual facts get in the way of baseless and senseless argument. Good thing this dude can ski the ungroomed trails of MRG:

There's also the fact the mrg goes through a lot less thaw/freeze cycles than mc because it is alot further north and at a lot higher elevation.  It gets on average alot more natural snow as well.

You make a good point. So much of Sno's hit-job was just factually inaccurate. The lines aren't any longer then anyplace else and, really, the trails are less crowded then most places. Sno actually posted a thread a while ago using lift capacity and acreage to compare resorts' theoretical skier density. Maybe that should be the metric we use to grade resorts. And, of course, there are snowmaking and groomed cruisers at MRG. It's just not what the place is known for because there's so much more. It's also not accurate to call Mountain Creek a feeder hill. It really competes with Hunter, Windham and Camelback more then if does with Mt Peter.

hahahahahahahahahahhhahaahhah

Vermont sucks!  

Brownski wrote

It's also not accurate to call Mountain Creek a feeder hill. It really competes with Hunter, Windham and Camelback more then if does with Mt Peter.

It IS accurate to call Mountain Creek a feeder hill.  It isn't one to the extent Mount Peter and Campgaw are, but it most certainly functions as one to many of their guests.  They're close to NYC and suburban NJ, making skiing easily accessible for millions of people.  Lots of people learn for the first time there, and then grow their abilities while skiing there.  Evenutally, some move on to bigger and better mountains.

I think they're in a completely different league than Hunter and Windham, and don't compete with them.  The latter two are vastly superior, having much more terrain, longer runs, longer season, and better conditions.  Their biggest competition IMO is the "big 4" of the Poconos.  That would be Camelback, Shawnee, Blue, and JFBB (two mountains that Peak Resorts markets as one).  Being on the Max Pass should help MC compete with them.

Sno
I guess feeder hill means something different to you then it does to me. I learned to ski at Jiminy Peak, like many other people, but I wouldn't call it a feeder based solely on that. To me 1000 feet vertical means a medium sized mountain.All that being said, you're right that being on a multi mountain pass will probably attract more people to Mountain Creek. Unfortunately that's the last thing the place needs. Maybe it will convince some MC skiers to spread their wings and try out other max pass mountains.

Compared to the Bird, Jackson, Vail, etc anything east of the Mississippi is a feeder hill

PeeTex wrote

Compared to the Bird, Jackson, Vail, etc anything east of the Mississippi is a feeder hill

I don't know Peetex, I prefer MRG, Stowe and Smuggs to Vail any good snow day but that's just me. The other two, yeah, ther is little to compare.

raisingarizona wrote

PeeTex wrote

Compared to the Bird, Jackson, Vail, etc anything east of the Mississippi is a feeder hill

I don't know Peetex, I prefer MRG, Stowe and Smuggs to Vail any good snow day but that's just me. The other two, yeah, ther is little to compare.

You have got to be kidding. Yes, MRG is unique and quaint but if you remove the fuzzy Sorrell set and the enourmous price tag Vails shear size and variety crushes MRG. I too am not a Vail fan but you have to admit that there is a huge amount of terrain to lose yourself in

Yes, total acreage wise, but for the most part, given good snow at both locations, I have to agree with RA that I'd rather be on MRG's terrain than most of Vail's.

I've never been to Vail but I'll take Smuggs - Stowe and the Notch in between them as my playground any day. The money saved by not buying a plane ticket can buy a lot of beers.