The top ten North American Ski Resorts in the East

According to Ski Magazine's latest poll, the top North American ski resorts in the East are:

The 2015-16 SKI Magazine top ten resort rankings are:

1. Mont Tremblant in Quebec
2. Stowe in Vermont
3. Holiday Valley in New York
4. Smuggler's Notch in Vermont
5. Whiteface Mountain in New York
6. Jay Peak in Vermont
7. Killington in Vermont
8. Sunday River in Maine
9. Okemo in Vermont
10. Mount Snow in Vermont


How would you rate them?

iainm wrote:How would you rate them?

Well, unusually for a Top Ten Ski Resorts list, I've not been to any of them! So can't rate them from personal experience...

However, looking only at traffic to our snow report pages, the most popular Eastern ski areas with J2Skiers appear to be, in order :-

1. Mont Tremblant, by some margin (~50% more page views than Jay Peak)
2. Jay Peak
3. Sunday River (~40% fewer views than Jay Peak)

Killington, Whiteface Mountain and Stowe were "best of the rest" at around half the interest in Sunday River with the remainder only receiving a few hundred views each through the season.

Trencher's our resident East Coast regular I think, but he may not have woken up for winter yet? Anyone else know any of them well enough to comment?

I've been to Killington about 6 or so years ago but none of the others so can't do a comparison.

Of Killington itself I'd say there were some great runs (some of the Double Black Diamonds were serious) and some garbage (Juggernaut is a 10 km green that is basically a road so its flat for much of it and soul destroying - we did a quick bit of off piste-ing and got on a red sharpish).

Access is fast on the gondolas and the slopes (were) deserted yet fabulously groomed - first place I ever really encountered "courdory"

But

It's the East so 4 seasons in a day - rain wiped out drifts in 20 mins. Also the lack of a real "village" means that it's a bit soulless at night and you have to have a car realistically. A shame cos there are (were?) a reasonable scattering of restuarants and bars

Overall - I'd say worth a look if you're around the area but with hindsight I'd fly further west

I was in NE US for 3 months last winter ...all I can say is most of the resorts can give good skier about 2 to 3 days skiing out of them all I like
1 Cannon Mountain ...really tough skiing ..but its COLD
2 Sunday river more varied and good runs ...better for the intermediate
3 Okemo I enjoyed this nice skiing and varied
4 Stowe..very busy but good skiing

but mainly I remembered ...the COLD if you do go get some serious gloves and a face mask and take some hand/boot warmers..I nearly got frostbite walking across a car park at 4,30 Just remember you HAVE to have a car and the Americans think 300 miles a short trip.

All the resorts have something to offer but I would not make the return journey ...as Andy says ..fly further west...or even stop in Europe ..it is better value

Last Year, when much of the Rockies shut down by the end of February, I headed East and stayed with my friend in Quebec. My friend is a displaced Albertan, he makes a yearly pilgrimage to the Rockies. This was my opportunity to experience the East. We did a road trip skiing 3 hills in Quebec, and 3 in Maine and Vermont. Two of the places we hit are on the list, Sunday river and Jay Peak. Although I'd have to admit, the best day by far (both for terrain and Snow conditions) was at a place called Sutton in Quebec.

The question asked is: How would I rate them?

There is an "eastern charm" that you don't see in the west, The old Hotels and the friendly people that run the family run places we stayed at. The hills are fairly close together, 3 or 4 hours to the next destination. We ate at some wonderful locally owned restaurants. The local culture in Eastern Canada and the US is awesome (both very different).

But how was the skiing ??

Every place we went to, on their biggest baddest Powder day, you better have good edges and superior "gorb avoidance" skills. I've never skied so much ICE ever. I'm not used to a crowded ski run. The vast majority of the runs are groomers, so just take your carving skis.

I also found it colder than what I'm used to in the West. I think that has a lot to do with the humidity, which is much greater in the East.

As vertical is quite low, the runs tend to be short at every hill out there. You don't get a chance to get very tired at the end of each run. For the same reason, a typical day in the West, if you "charged" the hill all day, you'd be lucky to get 8 to 10 runs. In the east, 25 or more are possible (with no lift lines anyway).

Difficulty? As most of the runs are short and groomed, even the steep ones are pretty easy. Every hill I visited had an "easy way" from the highest lift. Very family friendly! This is not always true in Western resorts.

Last words: What I loved about Eastern Skiing had more to do with the people, places, the experience with a different culture. The great food and friendly folks we found everywhere. Great for family skiing! If your trip is about that, try the East. If on the other hand, you are spending lots of money (like a flight from England for example) and everyone in your group is an advanced skier. If the trip is really more about the skiing than the experience you wrap around it, just go a bit further and experience the Rockies!!