East Coast US

A snowHead

OK so it would be insane to make the trip across the pond to ski the East coast but as there is a chance I might have a work trip to New York this winter how accessible are the Vermont resorts for a weekend trip? IIRC from a summer trip it is a fair drive from Vermont to NY so do people drive it at weekends? I am aware that there are nearer palces such as Hunter but I'd rather go a bit bigger.

I know this more of a Epic ski type question but as I am not a member there I thought I'd try here first. I have mountain biked a few of the places so I know what to expect terrain-wise

A snowHead

fatbob, I'll be in Stowe for a weekend in December, so if it's not too far for me to fly from France, it should be OK for you to drive. Not sure of the time though.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

fatbob, There used to be snow-trains from NY up to resorts in Vermont and New Hampshire it'd be quicker than driving and there are flights from La Guardia to Burlington for Stowe though I think you have to go via Boston for the NH resorts. Hit the resort sites and see which travel agencies are contracted or doing deals and mail them to see what W/E packages are available.

brian

fatbob, I did a work trip to New Jersey a few years ago and afterwards went to stay with a mate in Boston for the weekend. It turned out that routing the return ticket via Boston was almost as cheap as a standard NY return so my work were happy to book it that way. Might be worth a try ?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

fatbob, like yourself, I have had the odd business trip where there has been chance for a little slope time and there are a number of hills within easy reach of NY that are good enough for a day or two. I have skiied at a place called Hunter Mountain not far off I87 about 2/3 of the way up between NY and Albany - reckon on a couple of hours by car from the city and the same from Newark.

http://www.huntermtn.com/photos/trailmap_small.jpg

You'll need to Register first of course.

fatbob,

I looked into this, in the end my summary was for one days skiing the "big resorts" are too far away. I have done one evening at a tiny hill, which was just about enjoyable, and a day at Mount Snow which was much more enjoyable!

This website may help:

http://www.skidweeb.com/?s=&z=10007

My thread from a few years ago::

short link

Cheers,

Greg

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

I'm not an expert on drive times from New York City. But I looked a couple up on Mapquest. Mapquest says it's about 334 miles to Stowe with an estimated drive time of 5 hours 48 minutes. Killington was 277 miles with a drive time of just under 5 hours. Okemo was 249 miles with a drive time of about 4.5 hours. Mt. Snow was 334 miles with a drive time of about 3.5 hours. I find I can generally make trips in less time than estimated by Mapquest unless I hit heavy traffic. My wife and I really like Stowe but have not been to Mt. Snow. Mt. Snow is reputed to be pretty crowded on weekends (I believe it is the closest VT ski area to New York City). In my opinion, the real Vermont experience is further north at places like Killington, Stowe, Sugarbush, Jay Peak, etc. You might take a look at places like Hunter and Gore in New York State. There are a couple of New England specific ski forums that would have participants with much more intimate knowledge of many of the ski areas and drive times. You need to register before posting but it's pretty painless and the folks will be happy to help some folks from across the pond. The sites are www.alpinezone.com and www.snowjournal.com. You can also try www.epicski.com which is a more general USA forum.

After all it is free

you could also head inland to the pocconos (not sure if correct spelling). I spent sometime at www.skicamelback.com and had a great time. It's a small hill, but lots of good runs and great lift system. Have a search through the archives for it. There's also another place called Blue Knob that's not too far away Wink

fatbob, I have done Mount Snow from Boston (3-4 hours drive bad weather) and (I think) Wyndham from NYC. Hunter is busier (excuse me if I mix the two up, neither are "special") hence the quieter Wyndham option. Mount Snow is OK, but really these are all places you ski cos you happen to be there, you don't go there to ski. If you see what I mean. I would of course repeat the experience if I had a Weekend trip...

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

killington is doable - I did it once when I was working out there but for a 5 days weekend not just 2 days. You'd arrive v late friday night but as long as you could pickup the keys for the place you stay somehow you'd be fine to get there and back I think. Somewhere around 5 hours depending on how law abiding you are aj xx

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Hi Fatbob,

I live here (NJ) so I make the drive to VT quite often on the weekends. I wouldn't even try to take a train, they used a have a good service (called the Ethan Allen on Amtrack) but no matter where you go, you'd need to rent a car to get to the skiiing (ie. the train used to go to Rutland VT which is 20 minutes from Killington). I am using the past tense because I believe Amtrack discontinued that particular train but they may have replaced
it with something else. Keep in mind that unlike in Europe, trains here are much slower than driving.

Drive times to VT depend a LOT on traffic leaving the City, especially on Friday nights. Optimistically, you can get to Killington in 5.5 hours and Mt. Snow in 3.5 hours from NYC. However, you can add up to an hour to those times if you leave midtown during rush hour on Fridays and if the traffic is bad getting to the GW bridge.
If you can get on the road by 3p, or after 7p, you'll miss the worst of the rush hour. Hunter is the closest, it's 2 hours. I don't think Windham is less crowded anymore, in fact most of us who go to Hunter & Windham believe Windham is now MORE crowded than Hunter as it's gotten very popular in the past few years. Both are fairly crowded on winter weekends but Hunter definitely has the more difficult terrain.

LOTS of us go to Killington for the weekend. I prefer Sugarbush but it's another hour, at least, north of Killington. Stratton would be a longer drive than Mt. Snow but not quite as far as Killington. Okemo is about the same as Killington (maybe a bit closer). Don't even think about Stowe (unless you're going to fly), not only is it considerably further than Killington, the roads through CT & NH are a NIGHTMARE on weekends. You should stick with resorts you can get to from the NY Thruway (I 87) - NOT resorts that require you to get on 95 thru CT. That's just my opinion but I avoid 95 at all costs on Fridays and Sundays.

Gore is the same distance as Killington (so is Whiteface) so don't let the fact that they are in NY fool you. If you decide to just do a daytrip, or not go too far, and you really don't want to ski Hunter, consider Belleayre. It's not as popular as Hunter or Windham, and it's terrain is not as challenging, however, IF the snow is good, they have some nice "off piste" tree runs that they give you a snowcat ride to (for $2). You can also traverse to them (they aren't far from the top of the chair) if the snowcat isn't running. It's sort of a "local's secret" and can make it well worth going to Belleayre if the snow is good enough.

Have fun!

Helen

snow reports

All good answers so far, not much to add. Irishskier nailed it.

You know it makes sense.

CT/NH?

you don't use I87 to 74 to 9N to 22A to 7 to 89?

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

comprex, Is that englsih??? Laughing

A snowHead

A snowHead

easiski, let me tell you a Connecticut/ New Hampshire driving story.

2 am Thanksgiving Day 2002, leaving Washington DC for North Conway
5:35 am New Jersey Turnpike Molly Pitcher travel area cursing the holiday for the coffee shops being shut
7:45 am finally replenish caffeine and blanket of fresh snow in Bedford Ct. (Convenience store Jolt, utterly inadequate)
10:45 am still in @!#$@$* Hartford
11:20 am just now passing Ma and Pa Accountant in silver Audi with matching steel Nissan coffee mugs and blue pinstripe suits ON THANKSGIVING driving 54mph in the middle lane, still in @$#$$##@ Hartford
(normal driving speeds now resumed)
12:40 pm Lowell, Mass buying coffee from a blue-skinned Irish-looking guy in a freezing cement blockhouse of an Exxon station, nothing but 2 industrial coffee pots and single serve pickles left for sale (everything else is shut).
1:15 pm Nashua, NH, entering 'blast zone' warnings so switch mobile off. Person in front with a 'Live free or Die' NH reg.plate continues to yap on mobile for the next 20 miles.
- passing liquor store rest area
- entering White Mountain National Forest (no mobile coverage)
2:45 pm exit to Kancamagus Hwy at Woodstock. Can't get into petrol station for the snowmobiles.
(9 million Massachusetts plates appear from nowhere)
3:15 pm waiting for traffic light at 112/Rte 16.
3:40 pm still waiting for traffic light at 112/Rte 16.
4:20 pm waiting for traffic light on Rte. 16
4:45 pm waiting for another traffic light on Rte. 16
5:20 pm arrive at Intervale. Open vino.
6:00 pm discover (vegetarian) friend has burnt turkey; pull out XC skis and ski to nearby inn.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

To answer comprex's question, I use I87 (NY Thruway) to get to every mountain where I regularly ski (in the Northeast). Except when I go to Stowe.....for some reason, to get to Stowe, you have to take I95 thru CT/Mass (maybe not NH - it all looks the same from 95).

I have driven to Stowe using I87 but it took at least an hour and half longer than the dreaded 95. And Stowe is further than Killington so adding extra time to an already long drive is not a great idea. IF you can get on 95 when there's no traffic whatsoever (2am?), you might make it to Stowe in 6 hours but plan on about 7 during normal drivetime.

Good story comprex - I have a similar one. I took a Friday off in June to drive to Boston (on 95). I left NY at 10am and got to South Boston around 6p (it should have been a 3-4 hour drive). The worst part was that my friends who had to work and couldn't leave NY until 3p arrived about an hour after I did.....they were smart enough to take 684 to 84 and avoid 95 altogether. I HATE 95 (as if you couldn't tell:)

Help!!

East Coast US

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