Survey on top eastern ski resorts

We just got the Ski magazine issue with the top resorts ranked.  My 9 year old son was outraged over the results so I got drafted by my kid to poll the NYSB readership to see what you all think.  I went to Harv's problematic survey monkey and created a survey which is linked below.  Hopefully this is ok with you Harv?

Please take the survey and I will post the results in a few weeks.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5NNFWGM

OK with me. No problem with surveys from active forum members.

I tried the survey and got some kind of error.  Not sure how, but I screwed it up.

I tested it and it worked fine once i fixed a bug in one of my questions last night.  If you tried it right after I posted it there was an error showing up because I didn't understand how to do one type of question (it was the one about skiing ability) Please try it again

or

try this


Click here to take survey

As a Gore seasons pass holder, each year I read the rankings and feel a bit left out.  I question whether  I should have chosen Stratton, Mount Snow, or Okemo as my home mountain.  They are all about the same distance from my downstate home and consistently rank well in the survey.  Heck, I doubt Gore has ever been in the running.  

Although my friends do seem to be happy with Southern Vermont, they all complain about the crowds on the slopes, expense, and lack of varied terrain.  These just aren't issues at Gore.  In fact, the lack of crowds, value for the dollar, and excellent terrain are exactly why my family chose Gore.   We are very pleased with our decision, survey or no.  

I am totally with CMR.  People down here have never heard of Gore and I am totally fine with that.  We invite plenty of serious skiers to join us at Gore and they are always blown away by the place, especially when all the goods are open and you can really fly around the mountain.  Surveys aside, Gore is a really great place to ski.

Coach, I've taken the survey, but noticed few issues
- I have not been to Mont Tremblant, Sunday River, Smuggler's Notch, Sugarloaf, Holiday Valley, Loon or Jay Peak so in that order those resorts took positions from 5 to 11. So Killington and Stowe by default appear above those resorts. Sugrrbush is missing, I know it regarded highly by many.
- last question missing "Crowds" choice, very important for me in deciding where to ski

Personally I feel that Gore unfairly get overlooked in these type surveys and by the masses.  Gore in my book is much better than Southern VT and when the trees are good can hold its own with most of the big names. Gore is also a shorter drive from NYC / NJ as its more interstate driving.  

This is a NY State ski blog so I decided to add Gore to the mix in the Survey to see how it would rate.

I purposely used the same criteria that Ski magazine uses for their survey and I don't think that they use crowds.  Their survey is a popularity contest and the more crowded the more people like it.

The only change I made is to add Gore since this is a NYS ski blog.

Most people have probably not skied every one of these resorts.  I have skied 9 of the 11 listed (all but Holiday and Tremblant).  Besides Sugarbush I think that Cannon is a big omission.  It also skips totally over Southern VT and while I am not a fan of Okemo and Stratton many people do really like them based on how many skier visits they get.  They both fit into the mold of a Tremblant or Deer Valley out west which do really well in the Ski Survey.  These resorts mostly cater to blue skiers and do well with snowmaking and grooming.  I suspect that advertising dollars and the need to spread results around to various regions ski areas as they are a national publication impacts their choices.  

If you have not skied a particular area use your impressions of that area as to its desirability for a future visit by you and your family compared to the resorts you have skied.

please, enough of extolling Gore's virtues. let the popular mountains keep getting the crowds.

i love the lack of crowds too.  But I believe Gore could use the extra revenue.  The mountain could easily accommodate 10% more skier visits.  I doubt a little publicity would put it over the edge.   People are still smiling at Holliday Mountain.  

I agree with almost everything you're saying, Coach, but if intermediate skiers really care about grooming and snowmaking, you should see the job Okemo does. After a rain/freeze event it skis better than anywhere, not that I could avoid boredom there. And, the village at the base, etc. It's not hard to see the appeal for most.

Gore...were is that?

Jackson Gore... the newish area at Okemo of course.  Mmm... waffles!

ml242 wrote

I agree with almost everything you're saying, Coach, but if intermediate skiers really care about grooming and snowmaking, you should see the job Okemo does. After a rain/freeze event it skis better than anywhere, not that I could avoid boredom there. And, the village at the base, etc. It's not hard to see the appeal for most.

I totally agree with you ML.  I think Okemo has a nice base area and does a great job with grooming.  I commented that I was suprised that they did not make the top 10 even if they are not my cup of tea.  I'd still rather ski there compared to Holiday Valley.

I think if anyone was outraged over the Ski Magazine Resort rankings, I'd let them know that Ski Magazine sucks. Get your kid a subscription to Powder or Freeskier.

ml242 is right. It's a listing of the top mountains for wealthy intermediates. That's why Deer Valley keeps winning in the west (I think they were 2nd this year). There is nobody in the world who believes that Deer Valley is the best pure skiing mountain in the west. But throw in the Grooming, the Pampering, the Stein Eriksen lodge, the limit of people on the mountain, the lack of snowboarders, etc., it's the perfect mountain for the average Ski Magazine reader (affluent, older, high level intermediate).

There's also geographical considerations. Holiday Valley gets high ratings because a lot of the clientele is from Ohio, and most of their basis for comparison is mountains like Brandywine.

Also, I took your survey, but you left out a lot of really good mountains. Where was Sugarbush and Mad River Glen? Those would've ranked above Whiteface for me (actually, I had Whiteface at 8 on that list anyway). Also, where were Wildcat, Cannon, Saddleback, Bromley, Stratton, Magic, Mt. Snow, and Burke?

mattchuck2 wrote

I think if anyone was outraged over the Ski Magazine Resort rankings, I'd let them know that Ski Magazine sucks. Get your kid a subscription to Powder or Freeskier.

man, I was warming up to this guy and then he goes and ranks the WF 8 on Coach Zzzz's little survey...

I don't remember the order, but I think it was Stowe, Jay, Sugarloaf, Killington, Smugg's, Gore, WF . . . So maybe it was 7 . . .

I love Whiteface when they get dumped on. There are few places I'd rather be on a powder day. But, if there hasn't been snow in a while, I'd much rather ski at other places.

Matt

As I mentioned the survey was mirrored by the Ski Magazine selections except that I added Gore.  Maybe I'll do another survey later once this one is tallyed up for more matched to NYSB's more hard core readership.  So far in the results we have 3 skiers that rate themselves = to Lindsey Vonn and one that is a 12 so maybe Ingemar Stenmark responded to the survey.  He is Elan's VP so maybe he saw my post of this on FB. LOL



I also get Powder but don't let my son read it yet as it has some material not suitable for 9 year olds.

Just for giggles - what 7 other mountains did you rate ahead of Whiteface?  Sounds like SJ may kick you off the island with good reason.

Also its a stretch to call either Brandywine or Holiday "mountains" given their verticle rise.  I'm sure that the correct geological term would be a glacial hill or moriane caused by the recession of the great lakes glaciers during the end of the ice age.  Mountains they surely are not.

So assuming, "if it hasn't snowed in awhile" means not snowed in awhile for all the areas you mentioned then I still would prefer WF over all of them areas.

Last season it did not snow in awhile but we did get a decent stretch to make snow and WF skied awesome.  In fact, many of our friends from the north told me that our base and surface was much better than what they were skiing in VT and O, Canada.    Many asked about the price of a season pass and were shocked at how much lower a WF/Gore pass was compared to VT and O, Canada mountains.  

And many described WF as a mountain not a hill..

To each it's own but 7 or 8 no f-ing way...