Mountain Creek joins the Max Pass

Vail has some really great terrian. It's huge.  All the eastern areas mentioned would fit in about a third of Vails front side acreage alone.  If you have not skied there it's hard to comprend how fricking huge the place is.  

The back bowls on a powder day are hard to beat any where .

Coach Z wrote

Vail has some really great terrian. It's huge.  All the eastern areas mentioned would fit in about a third of Vails front side acreage alone.  If you have not skied there it's hard to comprend how fricking huge the place is.  

The back bowls on a powder day are hard to beat any where .

Exactly. Why to people bother to ski out west? It's freak'n great when the snow comes.
We have a lot of great terrain in the east, we tend to relish the few special days we have there like a fine single malt. But for better odds, you can't beat elevation and dry snow.

Crap, missed the opening day of Snoloco season again.

I don't doubt what you are saying is true Coach. My point is as far as the fun factor goes on a POW day I can't imagine skiing at Vail would be any more fun than skiing what Madonna, Sterling, Mansfield and The Notch has to offer. That's quite a honey hole we have in the NE right there imo.

billyymc wrote

Crap, missed the opening day of Snoloco season again.

If you don't like the topic of the thread, why did you read it?

snoloco wrote

billyymc wrote

Crap, missed the opening day of Snoloco season again.

If you don't like the topic of the thread, why did you read it?

Why did you take that personally??? Grow some balls you little nitwit.

Campy

Have you ever skied out West?  The vast amount of terrain alone would make the difference on a pow day

Vail has 5289 acres
Stowe 485 acres
so there just is more pow to be had plus close to Vail on both sides there is vast open back country bowls that can be hiked or cat skiing ops http://www.vailpowderguides.com/

Eastern Pow days are nice but you ski uncut snow for a run or maybe two and then maybe a run or so in the woods.  Western Pow days go all day and then some and you are not hitting slab ice on the bottom.

Then you talk snow quality.  Snow in the West is so much drier and there just is so much more of it that.  You need to go buy a plane ticket and see what you are missing.

No I never have.

I didn't just say Stowe

I said Madonna, Sterling, Mansfield and The Notch ---- that's a shit-ton of terrain and area, one of which I hammered on for 4  years. When I hear of Smuggs I just don't think of the ski area, same for Stowe, to me it's all in play up there. It's a real hoot once you know your way around.

As for snow quality I'm sure you are correct as I've never skied out there but one we get down to that aren't we splitting hairs??

snoloco wrote

billyymc wrote

Crap, missed the opening day of Snoloco season again.

If you don't like the topic of the thread, why did you read it?

I really don't care about the topic.

My comment was a joke. In the future I shall insert smileys as appropriate.  

And Camp - you really do owe it to yourself to make a trip out west while you're young enough to take advantage of it. I'm not saying it's better than eastern skiing - no point in starting that argument. But it is well worth the effort, especially if you haven't done it  yet.

It's not like you can ski all 3 of the NoVT areas in one day

Frankly Campy you know not what you are talking about until you get your sizable butt out West and experience it for yourself.  

From my experience for my first trip out west, I can say that you have to see it to believe it.  They got a storm just before I arrived, and there were areas where one could still find only lightly tracked snow by the end of the week, and I didn't hike at all.  I'd most certainly go back, with the intention of hitting more of the tree skiing than I previously did.

Coach Z wrote

It's not like you can ski all 3 of the NoVT areas in one day

Frankly Campy you know not what you are talking about until you get your sizable butt out West and experience it for yourself.

Obviously you don't know what you are talking about either Coach ---- the Madonna, Sterling, Mansfield, then Notch loop has been done many times. All in one day --- it's a full day but man what a fun time.

Yea, I have plans to get out there someday. I hate to travel tho, can't stand the entire hurry up and wait process.

Coach Z wrote

Eastern Pow days are nice but you ski uncut snow for a run or maybe two and then maybe a run or so in the woods.  Western Pow days go all day and then some and you are not hitting slab ice on the bottom.

I agree with most of what you're saying about the west...Just by the shear size and vastness it has the east beat, let alone the generally (at least before global climate change...) more consistent and much deeper snowpack.

But, Coach, you're skiing in the wrong places in the east.  There is much, much more untouched snow to be had in the east even inbounds than only 2 runs of it where you're skiing on a powder day.    

From a ski touring perspective that looks pretty casual to be honest.

Wait, he's never been out west?

I love the east but.....the skiing in the rockies is incredible.

I haven't actually ever skied at Vail but I'm sure there is plenty of fun skiing to be had. I wouldn't pay to ski there but if it was free I'm sure I could figure out a way to have fun. It's just so easy to hate on Vail! :)

Also, I really like funky steep terrain and Vail doesn't have any of that. It's an intermediate ski area and that's in part why it's been so successful. They nailed the groomer and low angle open bowl skiing thing. I guess the East Vail side country is pretty sick. There are a lot of rocks to jump off of from what I hear. Geez, I sure hope my honesty doesn't sound like an elitist jerk as Snowballs insinuated.

I would still take a mid week 18 inch day at MRG over a day at Vail though. this is because I ski out west and haven't been out east skiing for over 22 years now so it's nostalgic.

Obviously it's not Colorado or Utah (or Europe for that matter) but any day at MRG is gonna be fun. I got there once last year when it was obviously very rocky but, in hindsight, it might have been my best day of the season. Bad conditions are part of the challenge (and fun). If there's enough snow for them to turn lifts, it's worth your time.
Actually I take that back. Best day was St Plattys day at Plattekill, introducing my kids to the place with only a third of the hill open. The plastic cup of mothers milk stout I had on the deck that day may have been my best beer if the year so far as well.
What were we talking about again?

Brownski wrote

What were we talking about again?

I think the op was talking about a water park in New Jersey or something.

Didn't mean to imply it was some great ski tour ---- it's all lift serviced with a few hike to spots ---- we would ski it all day --- multiple laps in the Birthday Bowls --- we were slow --- and stoned

campgottagopee wrote

Didn't mean to imply it was some great ski tour ---- it's all lift serviced with a few hike to spots ---- we would ski it all day --- multiple laps in the Birthday Bowls --- we were slow --- and stoned

It sounds rad to me. I was just saying that lapping all of that stuff and riding both Stowe and Smuggs on the same day doesn't seem far fetched at all. I've often thought that if I lived there I would want dual citizenship just so I could jump back and forth. How long is the walk from the top of the smaller mountain on the Stowe side to Sterling? It looks like a pretty quick and easy push and pole or skin but it's hard saying since I've never done it.

Thats my favorite kind of skiing. when we have a big year here the ski touring right off the chair can be so good. One lift lap you go here, the next you go over there, etc. That's what skiing in Jackson is like. My first two seasons there I skied a lot of in bounds laps but after that it seemed like almost every tram ride involved some hiking.

I think with this sort of mentality and style Stowe/Smuggs is the best ski area in the east.