Whiteface Ranks #1 in Eastern U.S. by SKI Magazine Readers

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. --- The votes are in, they've all been counted and SKI Magazine readers named Whiteface, in Wilmington, N.Y., as the number-one ski resort in the eastern United States, second overall in eastern North America.  The independent survey of 7,000 readers put the Olympic mountain back on top for the first time since 2003. In 2009-10, the mountain was ranked fifth.  Only Mont Tremblant, Que. stood atop Whiteface in the SKI survey.

"Everyone at the mountain strives to give each visitor the best experience possible and this validates all of their hard work," said New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) president/CEO Ted Blazer. "It's great to be on top again and now our goal is to stay atop year after year.  With Wilmington virtually at the foot of the mountain and Lake Placid a short drive away, we have a perfect combination of meeting everyone's needs."

Whiteface, which boasts the greatest vertical drop east of the Rockies, 283 skiable acres and 86 trails, received high marks for its Après-Ski (#2), Dining (#2), Family Programs (#2), Scenery (#2), Terrain/Challenge (#2), Lodging (#4) and Overall Satisfaction (#5).  And for the 18th  consecutive year, Whiteface/Lake Placid  was chosen number-one for its Off-Hill activities, thanks to its array of Olympic-style sports including bobsledding, ice skating, cross country skiing, ski jumping, as well events such as World Cup racing, shows and concerts.

"All of these activities and experiences are what separates us from the rest of the pack," added Blazer.  "Nowhere else in the eastern U.S. can you ski in the morning, take an afternoon bobsled ride, take in the uniqueness of
Main Street and enjoy a world-class show or event. all in one day.  This is what differentiates Whiteface/Lake Placid from all of the other ski resorts."

Over the past 10 years, Whiteface has invested in a gondola, chairlifts, parking, improved and increased snowmaking and grooming, terrain parks, upgrades to the base lodge and dining areas and expansion of the Kids Kampus, to name a few.  Most recently, Whiteface opened Lookout Mountain in January 2009 and last season added 25 additional acres of glade skiing with the opening of the Sugar Glades.

"All of these investments and improvements have been 10 years in the making, and many thanks go to our staff who has worked hard to accomplish these improvements," remarked Whiteface general manager Bruce McCulley.  "They were made for one reason, to give our guests the best experience possible. While there are no capital improvements planned for this season, we are always striving to find new ways to give each skier the best value for their dollar."

The Top 10 resorts in Eastern North America according to SKI Magazine's readers:

For a complete look at the "Top 50 Resort Guide," pick up the October issue of SKI Magazine or log on to www.skinet.com 

1.    Tremblant, Que.
2.    Whiteface/Lake Placid, N.Y.
3.    Stowe, Vt.
4.    Okemo, Vt.
5.    Stratton, Vt.
6.    Sugarloaf, Maine
7.    Sugarbush, Vt.
8.    Sunday River, Maine
9.    Smugglers, Vt.
10.   Loon Mountain, N.H.

This is Ted's big week.  My recent article addresses some of the points in the Ski Mag article. I wrote it 1.5 years ago, but it was only published a few weeks ago (hence the dated snowfall figures).

James, I read your article, it was very good.

Thanks.

I'm sure there's no way that a #1 ranking can hurt a resort area's revenue stream, but I'm curious if, as alluded to in my article, the repeated best-of awards may de-sensitize a potential market -- i.e. not really pique potential visitors' interest or actually turn people off ("Yeah, Tremblant and Whiteface/Lake Placid always win these things") .

It'd be interesting to learn -- either via an organized survey (Q: Was there one particular reason that helped you decide to spend a vacation in LP/WF instead of a different northeastern destination? A: The Ski Mag #1 rating.) or even anecdotal evidence -- what, if any, effect these lists have on tourism.

Highpeaksdrifter wrote

Whiteface, which boasts the greatest vertical drop east of the Rockies, 283 skiable acres and 86 trails, received high marks for its Après-Ski (#2), Dining (#2), Family Programs (#2), Scenery (#2), Terrain/Challenge (#2), Lodging (#4) and Overall Satisfaction (#5).

I dug around on www.skinet.com to see if I could figure out what all of the criteria were. No luck. Anybody know?

In my opinion the way you get to be ranked is this and only this.

Take the ski mag people out for the night and make sure they get good and drunk and have a good time. It has nothing to do with the mountain. It is all about the nightlife. Look at the top mountains all of them have a happining town to some degree. Where is Jay peak?

Palka is right. It isn't about the skiing itself, it's about the other amenities. Afterall, it is a ranking of "resorts" in general as opposed to ranking ski areas for it's powder, terrain and ski experience.

IMO, Jay Peak and MRG are two of the best ski areas in the northeast in terms of snow, terrain and ski experience.

Are they "resorts"? well, Jay Peak is on that path...and even so, when we go up there, Bubba doesn't ski much, and doesn't do much else. There usually isn't a lot happening there other than the skiing, and whatever event there is in the International Room, though now there is an an ice rink and new bar and soon there will be a new health club. Hot tubs are hard to find up there...which has always been a real bummer for me. I am hot tub addicted and soak twice daily, so when I go up there, I have trouble getting my muscles warm and end up very sore as a result.

MRG isn't a resort. I suppose one could find digs nearby with a hot tub and other amenitiies. I usually just stay with friends.

Where did Holiday Valley end up? It seems every year HV is the poster child for  everything but the skiing is awesome. It is always ranked higher than Gore. For me the skiing portion of the survey should be weighted. If I want to drive 5 hours from my home to go skiing, HV is just not a choice.

The ranking is great and W-Face is a great skiers hill, best by far for sustained pitch/long trails. but with the ORDA budget cuts I'm worried about the snowmaking. Everyone knows how little natural they get. in recent years they can't even seem to get all the trails covered and open. cloudspin has been about 50/50 in the last 10 yrs and last year Northface never got covered. Lets hope for some real help from mother nature this season.

More reader survey kudos for Whiteface and Lake Placid forwarded by Jon Lundin at the hill:
 
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. --- Less than a month away from the start of the 2010-11 skiing and riding season at Whiteface, the accolades continue to roll in for Whiteface/Lake Placid.  On newsstands now is the November 2010 issue of SnowEast Magazine and the results of its reader survey.  The readers have spoken and more than 3,500 of them chose Whiteface, located in Wilmington, N.Y., as the East’s #1 ski destination.
 
Whiteface was selected the favorite Eastern Resort by the magazine’s readers, while Lake Placid was tabbed the Favorite Destination Ski Village. In addition, Whiteface was also designated as having the Favorite Scenic View.  Whiteface/Lake won three of the seven eastern U.S. categories for mountains over 1,100 vertical feet of descent.

I couldn't find more on the site... just the ranking itself....

www.snoweastmagazine.com

You see what happens when you hire a good PR firm..

Jason's comment is probably referring to the fact that the survey only mentions Whiteface the ski area, and not Whiteface/Lake Placid's total Eastern winter experience, for which it absolutely deserves to be in the Top 3 (depending on what you're looking for).

Maybe we should hold a Harvey Road "best EC ski area" survey that doesn't address the off-mountain stuff.

OK, everyone raise their hands if you read Ski magazine. My dentist doesn't even subscribe anymore.

It's 2010. They are about as relevant as one piece powder suits, which, I'm guessing, the remaining readers still wear.

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