# Top 10 East Coast Ski Resorts Under 1100



## gmcunni (May 19, 2014)

[h=2]Top* 10 East Coast Ski Resorts Under 1100′[/h]

[h=3]Ski Butternut, MA[/h]
[h=3]Camelback, PA[/h]
[h=3]Holiday Valley, NY[/h]
[h=3]Plattekill Mountain, NY[/h]
[h=3]Blue Mountain, PA[/h]
[h=3]Lost Valley, ME[/h]
[h=3]Elk Mountain, PA[/h]
[h=3]Wachusett Mountain, MA[/h]
[h=3]Suicide Six, VT[/h]
[h=3]Mountain Peter, NY[/h]
 saw this list recently published (republished?). Having revisited Butternut for the first time in 20 years i was pleasantly surprised at how "pretty good" it was.  I don't think i hit the busiest of days and that can certainly transform a place from good to crap based on how they manage it (not saying they manage good or bad) but i'll be checking it out a few more times next year too.  Especially with the decent CSC discount.



* Snow East Magazine


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## deadheadskier (May 19, 2014)

this list sucks


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## BenedictGomez (May 19, 2014)

Camelback ranked higher than Plattekill is offensive.  

And Blue Mountain being ranked higher than Elk Mountain is ridiculous.

As usual these lists fail spectacularly.


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## St. Bear (May 19, 2014)

How tall is Black (NH)?  I don't remember if it's under 1100, but it's right about there.


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## dlague (May 19, 2014)

I think they forgot New Hampshire and Maine!


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## Edd (May 19, 2014)

dlague said:


> I think they forgot New Hampshire and Maine!



Lost Valley is most definitely in Maine. I broke my arm there. Dinkiest hill I've ever skied. 


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## gmcunni (May 19, 2014)

dlague said:


> I think they forgot New Hampshire and Maine!


most people do


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## St. Jerry (May 19, 2014)

Really surpirsed Brodie is not in the list.
?


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## ScottySkis (May 19, 2014)

Platty great to see they made the list. If peoplebthink PA areas are better that their opinion.


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## trackbiker (May 19, 2014)

BenedictGomez said:


> Camelback ranked higher than Plattekill is offensive.
> 
> And Blue Mountain being ranked higher than Elk Mountain is ridiculous.
> 
> As usual these lists fail spectacularly.



I would rank Camelback below Plattekill, Elk, and Blue. Not necessarily in that order.

Once again a nonsense list.


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## Savemeasammy (May 19, 2014)

I wonder how much it costs these ski areas to be on this list? 


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## ScottySkis (May 19, 2014)

^ I think it because their near NYC and have lots of ppl that coke and figires it the best.


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## Domeskier (May 19, 2014)

I was not aware that Sundown is over 1100'.


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## St. Bear (May 19, 2014)

Snowforecast.com has Black (NH) at exactly 1100 vertical feet.

This list must be the old "ski resort" versus "ski area" debate.


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## jimk (May 19, 2014)

I've only skied four on the list and a couple of those were under poor conditions or a great many years ago, but would rank those four in this order:  Plattekill, Wawa, Camelback, Suicide Six.  Never skied Elk, but have heard good things about it.  I have skied Black, NH and thought it was very good with some short, but surprisingly challenging steeps.  I did not ski Plattekill on a good day.  Only a couple of trails were open from summit.  Blockbuster wasn't one of them and no glades were open, but the mtn has a good and steep fall line.  I guess Mt. Abram, ME just misses this list as being a few feet more than 1100' vertical.  It's got some pretty good advanced terrain and may rival Plattekill.

However, my clear favorite in the east in the under 1100 vertical foot range is not on the list. First place I ever skied back in 1967, so sentimental bias here probably:  Blue Knob, PA (1070' vert), about an hour east of Pittsburgh. It has a good, long bump run called Extrovert (~700 vertical foot continuous steep fall line) that would appear to be the equal or superior to what I saw of Blockbuster.  There is also a legit black diamond bump run under a lift that is fairly steep and very narrow called Route 66.   But what really gives BK some black diamond cred is the extensive amount of expert level glade skiing when they get natural snow.  Unfortunately, Mother Nature only cooperates for that probably three weeks per season on average:-(  
 
Extrovert side view

 
Looking down the bottom two-thirds of Extrovert

 
A little bit of Route 66 in left background


East Wall Glades


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## steamboat1 (May 19, 2014)

At 1,000 ft. vertical Middlebury Snow Bowl should have made that list.


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## deadheadskier (May 19, 2014)

That extrovert trail picture kind of reminds me of Cascade at Killington back in the days of the old double.


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## yeggous (May 19, 2014)

Most of these lists, especially is Snow East, ignore New Hampshire and Maine. These publications cater to the hordes in the Mid-Atlantic who make a few trips a year to southern Vermont.


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## WWF-VT (May 19, 2014)

Middlebury Snow Bowl is my favorite 1000 ft vertical drop mountain


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## Mapnut (May 19, 2014)

Lost Valley and Mt. Peter on the list is totally ridiculous; both are extremely not resorts but local hills. Also Butternut, while nice enough has almost no expert terrain.


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## ScottySkis (May 19, 2014)

^ Mount Peter Vertical is probably 400 st best .


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## Not Sure (May 19, 2014)

ScottySkis said:


> Platty great to see they made the list. If peoplebthink PA areas are better that their opinion.



There not. Never been there but simple goegraphy. Elk should be at the top of Pa. areas.....


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## BMac (May 19, 2014)

Hickory Ski Center in Warrensburg is the biggest, rowdiest 1000 feet of skiing I have ever experienced.  Zero snowmaking though so there needs to be a couple feet down to even open.  No chairlifts but two of the gnarliest high speed Poma lifts you will ever ride.


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## joshua segal (May 19, 2014)

It seems like we have two (maybe three) separate categories in the sub-1100' vertical crowd.

I'll speak to the areas where 90+% of their business is day-trippers, less than 2-hours from a major metropolitan area.  These IMO are the viable candidates for this category:
- NH: Crotched, Pat's Peak
- VT: Nothing
- ME: Nothing
- RI: Nothing
- MA: Wachusett, (maybe Berkshire East and Blandford, if you consider Hartford/Springfield as a major metropolitan area)
- CT: Most of their areas
If you add PA, MD, NY and NJ, there are a lot more candidates

Some of the other categories: 
- Small destination resorts such as Ski Butternut (#1 on original list in this thread)
- Hotels that offer skiing as an amenity, such as the Woodstock Inn (#9 on original list in this thread)


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## jack97 (May 19, 2014)

yeggous said:


> Most of these lists, especially is Snow East, ignore New Hampshire and Maine. These publications cater to the hordes in the Mid-Atlantic who make a few trips a year to southern Vermont.



Wachusetts is on the list. just before Vermont, they have to make a sharp right turn and stop in the middle of Mass.


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## jack97 (May 19, 2014)

joshua segal said:


> Some of the other categories:
> - Small destination resorts such as Ski Butternut (#1 on original list in this thread)
> - Hotels that offer skiing as an amenity, such as the Woodstock Inn (#9 on original list in this thread)



First time this year I skied Butternut, went there twice in the same week for spring bumps.   I still think about the great time I had there.....the place and the town has a nice vibe.

I think this is the second year where I spent most of my trips skiing areas with vertical of 1100 or less.


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## BenedictGomez (May 19, 2014)

BMac said:


> Hickory Ski Center in Warrensburg is the biggest, rowdiest 1000 feet of skiing I have ever experienced.



Is that that the place you see when you get on the highway in Queensbury?


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## Hawkshot99 (May 19, 2014)

BenedictGomez said:


> Is that that the place you see when you get on the highway in Queensbury?



I belive you are talking about West Mtn. Hickory is up in Warrensburg.


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## joshua segal (May 19, 2014)

BenedictGomez said:


> Is that that the place you see when you get on the highway in Queensbury?



I think you're looking at West Mt.  But Hickory doesn't qualify: Depending on where you look, Hickory Hill is between 1200' and 1300' vertical.


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## ss20 (May 19, 2014)

jack97 said:


> First time this year I skied Butternut, went there twice in the same week for spring bumps.   I still think about the great time I had there.....the place and the town has a nice vibe.



Definitely try Catamount next year.  A bigger, steeper, more diverse mountain than Butternut with good discounts, less people, and more of a "skiing" vibe than a "family" vibe.  

I like Buttered Nuts too, but only early and late season when they have the most snow around.  25$ late season tix are a steal.  I couldn't go to the place any more than 4 times a season.  Everything skis the same.  No variety at all.  Never understood how they got to the number one spot on EVERY small mountain list.


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## joshua segal (May 19, 2014)

Interesting how the character of an area can change with a slight change in management.  When I used to ski Butternut, everything was groomed flat and I didn't care for it at all.  I suspect that for an advanced skier, the moguls completely change the way the mountain skis.

I agree with ss20 on Catamount.


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## deadheadskier (May 19, 2014)

BMac said:


> Hickory Ski Center in Warrensburg is the biggest, rowdiest 1000 feet of skiing I have ever experienced.  Zero snowmaking though so there needs to be a couple feet down to even open.  No chairlifts but two of the gnarliest high speed Poma lifts you will ever ride.



I visited a friend in Lake George once and he pointed Hickory out to me.  Place looks really bad ass.  Does it get tracked out quick on a powder day or is it totally off the radar for Albany area skiers?


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## 4aprice (May 20, 2014)

I enjoy smaller mountain skiing so lists like this entertain me.  Wonder why Camelback is so high?  Because they distribute the magazine through out the lodge all season.  Never filled out the survey (did the ski mag one once) so don't know what the criteria is.  It may ask many questions that hardcore skiers never give much thought.  For instance we all agree that say Elk is better skiing then CBK, but if you ask me to rank such things as base lodges for instance (or Bar, parking etc.) Camelback wins IMO.  Its all subjective. 

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## ScottySkis (May 20, 2014)

I like Elk a lot. i havent been to other PA hills since i was a twen.. Platty when their is snow you know that my fav small hill.


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## jimk (May 20, 2014)

I had a small window of opportunity to ski Hickory this past March, but I was only free for a Wed or Thurs and it wasn't open midweek.  Too bad, it sounds very cool.  
I should add that even though I did not rate Suicide Six highly (because it's small), it has a very decent little headwall that featured a mogul run when I was there that was two or three hundred yards length.  Good little workout.  Some of the other headwall slopes looked to be used by racers running gates.  Suicide Six has a great, long history and that steepish front face must have been "suicidal" to tackle in vintage 1930s ski gear.

By the way, this topic was discussed on Snowjournal last year, by some of you same guys:razz:  :  http://www.snowjournal.com/page.php?cid=topic19647


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## Tin (May 20, 2014)

joshua segal said:


> - MA: Wachusett, (maybe Berkshire East and Blandford, if you consider Hartford/Springfield as a major metropolitan area)



B-East is listed at 1,180'. Legit 980' though.


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## yeggous (May 20, 2014)

jack97 said:


> Wachusetts is on the list. just before Vermont, they have to make a sharp right turn and stop in the middle of Mass.



WaWa is not entirely locals either. It pulls a lot from RI and CT, which I've never understood. The extra drive time to Crotched is made up in lift time very quickly. More directly to the point, the average WaWa skier is not generating the kind of per visit revenue this magazine caters to. They don't stay in hotels, eat out, etc.

My point was this list is largely driven by a mid-Atlantic mindset and crowd. There is no Crotched, Shawnee, etc. NH and ME have plenty of qualifying hills. The only reason Suicide Six made the list is that occasionally a mid-Atlantic skier will stop there as a diversion from the other southern VT areas.


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## BenedictGomez (May 20, 2014)

4aprice said:


> *Wonder why Camelback is so high?
> 
> Because they distribute the magazine through out the lodge all season.  *



Funny.  

Similar to social media ski surveys that simply shake out to which mountain invests the most time in developing their social media numbers, and repeatedly pounds our "VOTE FOR US" reminders on Twitter and FB.


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## x10003q (May 20, 2014)

deadheadskier said:


> I visited a friend in Lake George once and he pointed Hickory out to me.  Place looks really bad ass.  Does it get tracked out quick on a powder day or is it totally off the radar for Albany area skiers?



Hickory is off the radar. It is a great advanced area with decent sustained steeps. The lack of snowmaking puts a real damper on when they can open. The base is around 700 ft in elevation and the yearly snow estimates range from 75 to 90 inches. It is worth the ride.

Here is a NYSki Blog visit from March, 2014:
http://nyskiblog.com/another-hickory-believer/#more-26583


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## marcski (May 20, 2014)

joshua segal said:


> I think you're looking at West Mt.  But Hickory doesn't qualify: Depending on where you look, Hickory Hill is between 1200' and 1300' vertical.



1120' here:

http://www.nelsap.org/ny/hickory1.html

But, I also do find a bunch of 1200' references.


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## abc (May 20, 2014)

Wow, nothing like a "top 10 list" of the most cheezy kind to bring out the participation of the almost dead board!

If they only add "in Mid-Atlantic" on that sub-1100 mountain list, it'll probably be a lot closer to reality.

But who wants to admit the mid-Atlantic can't hold a candle to New England? I mean, if you already chose to live in Mid-Atlantic in the first place...

Personally, I never care for any top-whatever list. Each mountain caters to a different crowd with different priority. Sometimes, I'm one of those "different crowd". Other times I'm the few on a particular mountain. So what if others don't join me?  I freely admit I have eccentric taste. I see no need to reaffirm that my taste is shared by largest possible number of others equally eccentric! :beer:


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## dlague (May 20, 2014)

Black Mountain in NH is 1100 ft and that is a pretty fun little guy!  Then again we probably ski at resorts that are 1100 ft or less about 3-4 times per season primarily due to opportunity more than desire.  In other words, I am skiing there because of a comp or really good deal.  This year we skied Pats Peak (very well run and close), Black Mountain NH (vintage), Dartmouth Skiway (just to say we have been there done that) and Suicide Six (nostalgic) all on comp, comp, local dollar saver ($22) and Fox 44 card respectively.

In the past we also visited Crotched, Whaleback and a very long time ago King Pine.

Funny that only Suicide Six was named since it is not the best one mentioned in this post.  That list is focused predominately on areas where 1100 ft or less resorts are more common.


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## St. Bear (May 20, 2014)

Lost in this discussion is the overall rankings, which have Gunstock as the top NH resort, and a spot below Camelback.
http://unofficialnetworks.com/snow-east-magazine-ranks-124132/


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## 4aprice (May 20, 2014)

St. Bear said:


> Lost in this discussion is the overall rankings, which have Gunstock as the top NH resort, and a spot below Camelback.
> http://unofficialnetworks.com/snow-east-magazine-ranks-124132/



Again its all about what and how the questions are phrased.  Notice there are all sorts of categories they rank.  I took the Ski Magazine survey several years ago and they limited (or attempted to) answers to areas one had skied in only the previous season.  Like I said Camelback distributes the magazine several places around the resort.  We may all agree that a place like Gunstock with its higher vertical and snowfall is better skiing,  but I would bet due to its location Camelback has better attendance figures which probably translates into more votes and a higher ranking.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## joshua segal (May 20, 2014)

FWIW: Black Mt. lists its vertical as 1150; Gunstock as 1400'.  So neither qualifies for a list of "Best areas under 1100' vertical".


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## dlague (May 20, 2014)

joshua segal said:


> FWIW: Black Mt. lists its vertical as 1150; Gunstock as 1400'.  So neither qualifies for a list of "Best areas under 1100' vertical".



Onthesnow.com has Black listed as 1100 which is where I looked.


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## jack97 (May 20, 2014)

yeggous said:


> WaWa is not entirely locals either. It pulls a lot from RI and CT, which I've never understood. The extra drive time to Crotched is made up in lift time very quickly. More directly to the point, the average WaWa skier is not generating the kind of per visit revenue this magazine caters to. They don't stay in hotels, eat out, etc.
> 
> My point was this list is largely driven by a mid-Atlantic mindset and crowd. There is no Crotched, Shawnee, etc. NH and ME have plenty of qualifying hills. The only reason Suicide Six made the list is that occasionally a mid-Atlantic skier will stop there as a diversion from the other southern VT areas.
> 
> ...



Yep, now i understand. 

Wawa grooms the crap out of their snow and they have two high speed quads that services the summit and mid mountain trails. That's prolly the reason they get visits from RI and CT.


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## jarrodski (May 21, 2014)

Domeskier said:


> I was not aware that Sundown is over 1100'.



:beer:


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## BMac (May 21, 2014)

deadheadskier said:


> I visited a friend in Lake George once and he pointed Hickory out to me.  Place looks really bad ass.  Does it get tracked out quick on a powder day or is it totally off the radar for Albany area skiers?



Hickory is a small mountain with maybe 8 trails so they will get tracked out but this is not necessarily a bad thing.  There are LOTS of large sharp rocks that can hide and it is nice when someone has discovered them before you.  The trees will never track out and there is substantial side country.  

It is also only open Saturday and Sunday so those midweek powder days remain mostly untouched until the weekend.


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## skirick (May 21, 2014)

Another vote for Platty to be much higher on the list.


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## ScottySkis (May 21, 2014)

skirick said:


> Another vote for Platty to be much higher on the list.




For weekend hill you cant beat it close to NYc wise.


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## boston_e (May 21, 2014)

I haven't skied all of the on the list, but I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Pats Peak


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## steamboat1 (May 24, 2014)

Well since we have another thread about the area already I'd add Balsams Wilderness to that list. It's NELSAP now but hopefully not for long.


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## thetrailboss (May 24, 2014)

gmcunni said:


> [h=2]Top* 10 East Coast Ski Resorts Under 1100′[/h]
> 
> [h=3]Ski Butternut, MA[/h]
> [h=3]Camelback, PA[/h]
> ...



They're baaaaaaccccckkkkk!  This magazine's list is usually pretty bad.  No Crotched?  No Pats?  Middlebury?


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## AdironRider (May 24, 2014)

I'll just come out and say it, what would Middlebury replace on this list? I've never been impressed with the college areas, Dartmouth included as well.


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## thetrailboss (May 24, 2014)

AdironRider said:


> I'll just come out and say it, what would Middlebury replace on this list? I've never been impressed with the college areas, Dartmouth included as well.



That's fair. Both are pretty simple. But they're much bigger than S6. And I've never heard of "Mountain Peter."


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## steamboat1 (May 24, 2014)

AdironRider said:


> I'll just come out and say it, what would Middlebury replace on this list? I've never been impressed with the college areas, Dartmouth included as well.



1600' base elevation & a 250" average annual snowfall. Pretty sure that beats any ski area on the list.


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## Harvey (May 25, 2014)

I haven't skied all those mountains but Camelback and Blue are not in the same league with Plattekill IMO.

I think Mt Abram in Maine is just over 1100 vert.


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## The Sneak (May 25, 2014)

Wawa pass holder forever here....berkshire east and black Mtn nh are awesome by any reasonable standard when the snow is good.

Never skied butternut. Crotched is also superior to wawa but coming from southern RI...just a bit too far to hit up on a weekly basis.


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## Cannonball (May 26, 2014)

Wachusett is the only one on the list I've skied so I can't really comment about the list.  But is there any justification for picking 1,100'??  That seems a like an odd number (I mean unusual, I realize it's an even number).  It seems like 1,000' would be a more straightforward cutoff point.  Are they intentionally trying to squeeze specific mountains (Platty & Blue) on to a list?


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## BenedictGomez (May 26, 2014)

Harvey said:


> I haven't skied all those mountains but Camelback and Blue are not in the same league with Plattekill IMO.



That's an understatement!  There's a reason I drive 3 hours to Platty rather than ~1 hour to Camelback or Blue Mountain.  It's because while it's 3x the drive it's 4x the skiing.


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## dlague (May 26, 2014)

AdironRider said:


> I'll just come out and say it, what would Middlebury replace on this list? I've never been impressed with the college areas, Dartmouth included as well.



We skied both Dartmouth and S6 this year in the end the runs at Dartmouth are a lot better than S6.  Especially when the runs across the way are open.


i typed with my i thumbs using AlpineZone


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## canobie#1 (May 28, 2014)

dlague said:


> We skied both Dartmouth and S6 this year in the end the runs at Dartmouth are a lot better than S6.  Especially when the runs across the way are open.
> 
> 
> i typed with my i thumbs using AlpineZone



I'd nominate Pat's Peak and Whaleback.  But MOunt Abram would be #1 if if just was a little bit smaller.


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## Quietman (May 28, 2014)

canobie#1 said:


> But MOunt Abram would be #1 if if just was a little bit smaller.



Kind of funny, cause the true vertical is at best 1,050, which is more than the 1,030 that the ski area used to claim.


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## gmcunni (Feb 21, 2015)

gmcunni said:


> *Top* 10 East Coast Ski Resorts Under 1100′*
> 
> 
> 
> *Ski Butternut, MA*




ok, now i get how they are tops in a poll like this... From Facebook:



> Ski Butternut friends HELP NEEDED - Send an Email to BERKSHIRE RECORD voting for Ski Butternut.
> Email best@berkshirerecord.net
> *Cut & paste the following.*
> 
> ...


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## Lny123 (Feb 21, 2015)

In my humble opinion:   Platty is tops, the completely ignored Catamount a close second.  Mccauley, Kissing Bridge, Snow Ridge, Labrador & Bousquet all completely ignored but are better than 3/4 of this list.  Bad list.


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## woodsman (Feb 21, 2015)

This list can not be based entirely on terrain.


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## Rowsdower (Feb 21, 2015)

Not that I don't like Butternut, but yeah there's much better places under 1100' of vert. If we're going solely on terrain alone Butternut isn't even in the top ten.


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## Wavewheeler (Feb 21, 2015)

woodsman said:


> This list can not be based entirely on terrain.



No way. Camelback over Platty? Not even in the same league if you are talking actual skiing. If you want to factor in a fancy lodge, condos, etc..Ok, but that isn't skiing. I'll add that Platty's food is much better too.


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## Harvey (Feb 21, 2015)

Wavewheeler said:


> No way. Camelback over Platty? Not even in the same league if you are talking actual skiing. If you want to factor in a fancy lodge, condos, etc..Ok, but that isn't skiing. I'll add that Platty's food is much better too.



That stuff is negative points. If you account for it, Plattekill wins by more.


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## Wavewheeler (Feb 21, 2015)

Harvey said:


> That stuff is negative points. If you account for it, Plattekill wins by more.



Totally agree with that!


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## Jully (Feb 21, 2015)

I really don't understand why Wawa is on this list. Except for location there are so many places better than it. It's too crowded and their terrain is hardly anything special.


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## Rowsdower (Feb 21, 2015)

Jully said:


> I really don't understand why Wawa is on this list. Except for location there are so many places better than it. It's too crowded and their terrain is hardly anything special.



Pretty sure the lists are by vote, so generally more popular/heavily trafficked mountains won out.


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## gmcunni (Feb 22, 2015)

Rowsdower said:


> Pretty sure the lists are by vote, so generally more popular/heavily trafficked mountains won out.


+1


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## Root16 (Feb 23, 2015)

Awwww, come off it, Catamount should be where Butternut is on that list! The terrain is much more interesting/challenging.

AoudwRMn1AU


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## ScottySkis (Feb 25, 2015)

Wavewheeler said:


> Totally agree with that!



Ig lts a bad place no snow fall .


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