Southern Vermont Ski Advice

Highpeaksdrifter wrote

I've always heard good things about Magic just like I've always heard good things about Plattenkill. Fans of both have always written on forums how superior they are to the other ski areas in the Catskills and S. Vermont, yet both struggle to stay open. Fans of both places have tried to explain the reason that is to me, but I gotta say their reasoning has never made sense to me.

It's opinion. Making sense of opinion sometimes isn't possible.  People like what they like and mountains attract the people who like them.  People who ski Whiteface really seem to like it. Gore, Plattekill, Magic, Stratton.

Regarding struggling to stay open... maybe the fans of those ski areas like the simplicity or lack of polish and commercialism.  I don't know much about Magic, but that stuff appeals to me at Plattekill.  A basic lodge, an affordable lift ticket, a lack of lift lines. Hell I'm the one guy who liked Stateside at Jay.

Those very things may also make it hard to be profitable. I think of Stratton as the polar opposite of Plattekill and they seem to be doing pretty well.

BTW great pics ML. Got to get to Magic soon.

Part of the reason we chose to go to one of these places is that there is good on-hill lodging.  However since we are going on a holiday weekend I knew that we needed to book early.  I looked at the lodging pages for both Stratton and Okemo.  Both places looked like they were sold out.  The only option at Stratton was going to cost over $1,000 per night.  The option at Okemo would've cost over $2,000 for the whole weekend.  Both of the places that were available were also way too fancy and had many trills and frills that we would never need for a ski weekend.  For example they all had full kitchens which we don't need because we will be eating out for all meals.  If anyone knows any way that we could get lodging on hill for Presidents' Weekend at one of these places please post it.  Also I looked for a week before and there were options.  On hill lodging is very attractive because my mom usually doesn't ski all the way till closing.  When we have skied elsewhere she has needed to wait for the rest of the day in the noisy crowded lodge.  If we stay on hill she could go back to the hotel room or check out the ski village that both mountains have.  The kind of lodging we are looking for is similar to the top option here.  Does anyone know if the release blocks of rooms closer to the date that we are booking for?

Check out the condos at the base of Pico
IMO Pico is much better skiing than either Flattron or Okemo and will be much less expensive and crowded

also see my earlier post and check out mt snow/kitzhof -not quite slopeside but a quick 2 min. shuttle/drive away, also better and cheaper. hit Stratton once last year, the group I was skiing with wanted to hit a demo day there - it was worse than I remembered, between the parking garage, crappy fake (vacant)village and crowds it felt more like a shopping mall than a ski area

Doesn't have to be directly on the hill. Check out lodging that has shuttle bus service. Killington has a bus that runs up and down the access road all day and night, and individual hotels also provide their own service.

Our decision has been made.  We will be going to Okemo and staying at the Jackson Gore Inn, which is slope-side at Jackson Gore Base Area.  We chose Okemo because they seem to have great intermediate terrain which my mom wants.  There is also lots of advanced terrain for my dad and I.  My mom also cross country skis on one of the days and Okemo has an on-site nordic center.  It is only a 1 mile drive away and they have a shuttle.  The hotel/village looks very nice and they have many things such as an in-room fireplace, outdoor heated pool, indoor pool, indoor and outdoor hot tubs, weight room, library, wine room, (for my parents, I'm underage), restaurants in the village, and possibly in our building.  There is also tubing and a mountain coaster within walking distance, or served by a shuttle.  I'm looking forward to the trip!

I have stayed there with my kids, you will have a blast

We stayed at the Jackson Gore Inn in 2007 for our first family ski trip ever, and it was great.  The location was perfect and we could even take our lunch back to our room if the cafeteria was too crowded (which it was, and we did).  The bar had great s'mores platters, which my kids loved.  There's also a free ski check for residents of the inn, so you don't have to carry your gear up to your room each day.

snoloco wrote

We chose Okemo because they seem to have great intermediate terrain which my mom wants.  There is also lots of advanced terrain for my dad and I.  

You will have a blast and it's a good hotel. Good choice overall. But just to clarify, there really isn't lots of advanced terrain at Okemo. It is extremely flat. Great for beginners and low intermediates, but not challenging at all. You will all still have fun. I enjoy skiing places like that, as long as I have the right expectations. So expect to have fun skiing easy blues and blacks that ski like blues. Cruise, enjoy the snow and sliding down the hill. That's what it's all about...just don't expect challenge or truly advanced terrain.

WNY-ADK Skier wrote

snoloco wrote

We chose Okemo because they seem to have great intermediate terrain which my mom wants.  There is also lots of advanced terrain for my dad and I.  

You will have a blast and it's a good hotel. Good choice overall. But just to clarify, there really isn't lots of advanced terrain at Okemo. It is extremely flat. Great for beginners and low intermediates, but not challenging at all. You will all still have fun. I enjoy skiing places like that, as long as I have the right expectations. So expect to have fun skiing easy blues and blacks that ski like blues. Cruise, enjoy the snow and sliding down the hill. That's what it's all about...just don't expect challenge or truly advanced terrain.

If you say that Okemo is flat, does that mean that it has a bunch of half-mile cross country sections like Gore, or is it just that it lacks expert terrain?

Sorry for the double post.  I just looked at Okemo's pdf trail map and it says that most lifts have early closing times.  The South Face Express and the Morningstar Triple close at 3:30pm.  The Glades Peak Quad, Northstar Express, Jackson Gore Express, Green Ridge Triple, and the Solitude Express close at 3:45pm.  That leaved the Sachem Quad, South Ridge Quad A, South Ridge Quad B, Black Ridge Triple, and the Coleman Brook Express that close at 4:00pm.  Of these lifts the Sachem Quad is the longest and serves the most terrain.  The only problem with ending on it is that our hotel is at the Jackson Gore Base Area.  There is no way back from it to the Jackson Gore Base Area.  That means that we would either have to take a shuttle back, or end on the Coleman Brook Express which services only one trail.  If the shuttles are not super crowded and backed up then we would end on the better lift and take the shuttle back, if the shuttles are super crowded we would end on the Coleman Brook Express so we wouldn't need to take one.  Are the shuttles really crowded at the end of the day on a holiday weekend?  Also, what can I expect in terms of crowds and lift lines on the mountain?  I would also like to know if there are any lifts that usually have short lines.

snoloco wrote

WNY-ADK Skier wrote

snoloco wrote

We chose Okemo because they seem to have great intermediate terrain which my mom wants.  There is also lots of advanced terrain for my dad and I.  

You will have a blast and it's a good hotel. Good choice overall. But just to clarify, there really isn't lots of advanced terrain at Okemo. It is extremely flat. Great for beginners and low intermediates, but not challenging at all. You will all still have fun. I enjoy skiing places like that, as long as I have the right expectations. So expect to have fun skiing easy blues and blacks that ski like blues. Cruise, enjoy the snow and sliding down the hill. That's what it's all about...just don't expect challenge or truly advanced terrain.

If you say that Okemo is flat, does that mean that it has a bunch of half-mile cross country sections like Gore, or is it just that it lacks expert terrain?

I mean that Okemo lacks truly expert terrain. Gore is not flat, it just has a bunch of annoying traverses - as you point out. Regardless, Gore is decently steep, at least the upper part.

snoloco wrote

If you say that Okemo is flat, does that mean that it has a bunch of half-mile cross country sections like Gore, or is it just that it lacks expert terrain?

LOL > only in THIS forum would this question NEED to be asked.

3:30 and 3:45 are not really that early for closing outside perimeter lifts. This is standard practice at most large resorts. Just plan on being somewhere on the mountain that you can get to Jackson Gore lift to by 3:30, then you get one last run there and ski back to your hotel. Do you really need to take a last lift up at exactly 4:00? Just start earlier in the day. If you really and truly feel the need to go exactly bell to bell, you'll be riding a bus, no problem.

Okemo is a great cruising mountain. Almost every rating can come down one level compared to most other resorts. Not quite as flat as Bretton Woods. But no cross country skiing in alpine boots either, generally it is all fall line though if you don't plan your day well, you might end up on a downhill traverse or two to get where you want to go. Biggest problem with the mountain is that it attracts a lot of "people that ski" rather than "skiers" which is to say you need to keep your guard up and ski really defensively.

riverc0il wrote

Do you really need to take a last lift up at exactly 4:00? Just start earlier in the day. If you really and truly feel the need to go exactly bell to bell, you'll be riding a bus, no problem.

I always ski bell to bell and I intend to do so at Okemo.  I will either end on the Coleman Brook Express which is right next to our hotel, or end on the other side and take the shuttle back.  Is the shuttle a mob scene at the end of the day with lines and standing room only buses?

snoloco wrote

riverc0il wrote

Do you really need to take a last lift up at exactly 4:00? Just start earlier in the day. If you really and truly feel the need to go exactly bell to bell, you'll be riding a bus, no problem.

I always ski bell to bell and I intend to do so at Okemo.  I will either end on the Coleman Brook Express which is right next to our hotel, or end on the other side and take the shuttle back.  Is the shuttle a mob scene at the end of the day with lines and standing room only buses?

slow down there buckaroo..Like River said, start early  call it quits around 3..Always end on a good note..Have some smores back at hotel . Then hit the outdoor pool and hot tub ..

Hahah!  This kid wants to know every last detail that he can expect to experience before he experiences it.    In answer to your next question kid, I have no friggin' idea if your room service eggs will be too runny or if it's hard to get past the parental controls for hotel porn.  Just go and find out.  

Bwhahahahah

Noah on his A game

JasonWx wrote

slow down there buckaroo..

I know I TOTALLY listened to the old dudes tellin me to slow down when I was 14.  

Hot tube!

Harvey wrote

JasonWx wrote

slow down there buckaroo..

I know I TOTALLY listened to the old dudes tellin me to slow down when I was 14.  

Hot tube!

My dad always tells me "end your day, not your season".  I have not sustained a season ending injury and I intend to keep it that way.  Still nothing stops me from skiing bell to bell.