Ski Magazine Top 20 Eastern Ski Areas

I just saw this page so I decided to post it here.  Comment about your praises or gripes about the rankings below.

20.  Saddleback, Maine
19.  Bromley, Vermont
18.  Mad River Glen, Vermont
17.  Cannon, New Hampshire
16.  Mount Snow, Vermont
15.  Loon, New Hampshire
14.  Waterville Valley, New Hampshire
13.  Stratton, Vermont
12.  Jay Peak, Vermont
11.  Sugarbush, Vermont
10.  Okemo, Vermont
9.  Sunday River, Maine
8.  Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
7.  Sugarloaf, Maine
6.  Whiteface, New York
5.  Holiday Valley, New York
4.  Killington, Vermont
3.  Stowe, Vermont
2.  Smuggler's Notch, Vermont
1.  Tremblant, Quebec

Loaf is in Maine, not NH.

Holiday Valley is always a LOL but it makes the list every year so it is to be expected. I'd add Gore and remove Bromley, that seems like a no brainer. While I like Burke and Magic better than a lot of areas on this list, I can understand them not being overall top 20 for most skiers. Surprised Smuggs gets tops in the USA, maybe Smuggs isn't underrated?

Anyways, same as it ever was... a limited perspective based on the preferences of a very limited segment of the skiing population, but perhaps a representative sample of the average skier that hasn't skied a wide variety of mountains.

People still read Ski? Huh.

What criteria do they base this off?

It's done by a reader survey I assume.  One alternative top twenty in no particular order... Smuggs, Mad River, Stowe, Jay, Sugarbush, Killington, Pico, Cannon, Gore, Plattekill, Hickory, Whiteface, North Creek Ski Bowl, Magic, Snow Ridge, Mt Abram, how many is that? I've got some skiing to do.

Someone has to do a poll that is based merely on skiing...snow and terrain. Maybe bonus points for surface lifts.

Glade Runner wrote

What criteria do they base this off?

 Who has the best pizza

riverc0il wrote

Loaf is in Maine, not NH.

Oh crap, I'll change it.

riverc0il wrote

Holiday Valley is always a LOL but it makes the list every year so it is to be expected. I'd add Gore and remove Bromley, that seems like a no brainer. While I like Burke and Magic better than a lot of areas on this list, I can understand them not being overall top 20 for most skiers. Surprised Smuggs gets tops in the USA, maybe Smuggs isn't underrated?

Smugg's is great. Only reason it's considered "underrated" is the outdated lifts. I guess the cat's out of the bag now.

Holiday Valley is the best mountain close to 200,000 Buffalo and Ohio skiers. So it always gets rated highly. Plus it's in a great ski town.

mattchuck2 wrote

riverc0il wrote

Holiday Valley is always a LOL but it makes the list every year so it is to be expected. I'd add Gore and remove Bromley, that seems like a no brainer. While I like Burke and Magic better than a lot of areas on this list, I can understand them not being overall top 20 for most skiers. Surprised Smuggs gets tops in the USA, maybe Smuggs isn't underrated?

Smugg's is great. Only reason it's considered "underrated" is the outdated lifts. I guess the cat's out of the bag now.

Holiday Valley is the best mountain close to 200,000 Buffalo and Ohio skiers. So it always gets rated highly. Plus it's in a great ski town.

Holiday's biggest draw is the 7 million or so in the GTA (Toronto) which  2 hours away, 300,000 in Hamilton and the other umpteen thousands from Southern Ontario (St. Catherines, Niagara Falls, etc.)  USA side greater Buffalo-Niagara is closer to 1 million (1 hour away)  They also get lots of people from Cleveland (3 hours) and Pittsburg (2 hours) that do the season long weekend-warrior rental thing like up in Gore.  That is why Ellicottville has what may still be the largest private ski club in North America--Hollimont--at 5,000 members.

Given that it's not really a surprise they appear near the top of these lists every year.  Or that their base lodge has a heated outdoor pool and all the lifts are high-speed.  

I was going to mention Toronto, but didn't know if the SKI Magazine survey went out to Canada.

And be careful about your numbers. Just because that many people live there, it doesn't mean they're all skiers.

OK, show of hands, who has even been to Saddleback, Maine? I mean, where the hell is it?

Harvey wrote

It's done by a reader survey I assume.  One alternative top twenty in no particular order... Smuggs, Mad River, Stowe, Jay, Sugarbush, Killington, Pico, Cannon, Gore, Plattekill, Hickory, Whiteface, North Creek Ski Bowl, Magic, Snow Ridge, Mt Abram, how many is that? I've got some skiing to do.Someone has to do a poll that is based merely on skiing...snow and terrain. Maybe bonus points for surface lifts.

Harvey, isn't the ski bowl part of Gore now? You need one more ski area on your list!

Benny Profane wrote

OK, show of hands, who has even been to Saddleback, Maine? I mean, where the hell is it?

I have. It's even more in the middle of nowhere than Sugarloaf.

Cool mountain, though. I like it more than Sunday River.

I am ALWAYS amused by these listings . it leaves me with the cynical feeling that the results are simply rotated annually among the highest volume advertisers to the publishing company . So bottom line impact buys results .

that said , look i ski Tremblant every season , it is an experience BUT frankly from strictly a SKIING perspective MANY of the other venues provide a more diversified product for those who are  hardcore skiers NOT party skiers .

By way of example i personally enjoy Gore and Whiteface more than Tremblant for the above stated reasons . I am certain that many of the other eastern biggies also have more diverse terrain , but Tremblant provides the closest thing to a Continental experience and offers a unique ambiance and it is solely on THAT capability and their advertising $$$ that they rank high In my opinion .

have at it ;)

Glade Runner wrote

What criteria do they base this off?

Advertising $.

snoloco wrote

I just saw this page so I decided to post it here.  Comment about your praises or gripes about the rankings below.

20.  Saddleback, Maine
19.  Bromley, Vermont
18.  Mad River Glen, Vermont
17.  Cannon, New Hampshire
16.  Mount Snow, Vermont
15.  Loon, New Hampshire
14.  Waterville Valley, New Hampshire
13.  Stratton, Vermont
12.  Jay Peak, Vermont
11.  Sugarbush, Vermont
10.  Okemo, Vermont
9.  Sunday River, Maine
8.  Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
7.  Sugarloaf, Maine
6.  Whiteface, New York
5.  Holiday Valley, New York
4.  Killington, Vermont
3.  Stowe, Vermont
2.  Smuggler's Notch, Vermont
1.  Tremblant, Quebec

What?! No Mountain Creek?!!?? Irrelevant!

Ski should be embarrassed to rate Holiday Valley ahead of any of the other resorts on this list much less Whiteface.

In my mind the way these things should be done is to say regardless of location or cost where would you want to ski next weekend.  In that case no way HV makes the top 5. No way Tremblant makes it either.

Given that criteria my top 5 in no particular order
Whiteface
Jay
Stowe
Sugarloaf
Sugarbush

I have. Top 20? well may be terrain wise.  OK truth time.  When is the last time you went skiing?  

Marcski wrote

Harvey wrote

It's done by a reader survey I assume.  One alternative top twenty in no particular order... Smuggs, Mad River, Stowe, Jay, Sugarbush, Killington, Pico, Cannon, Gore, Plattekill, Hickory, Whiteface, North Creek Ski Bowl, Magic, Snow Ridge, Mt Abram, how many is that? I've got some skiing to do.Someone has to do a poll that is based merely on skiing...snow and terrain. Maybe bonus points for surface lifts.

Harvey, isn't the ski bowl part of Gore now? You need one more ski area on your list!

Depends on who you ask I guess.  :)

I only got 16 areas there - I need the flexibility!

tjf1967 wrote

When is the last time you went skiing?

I'd love to know this, too.

I've never seen anyone with a higher ratio of Posts On Internet Forums to Actual Days Skiing.

Between here and TGR, his POIF/ADS has to be somewhere around 10,000.