# Saturday after Christmas



## rocks860 (Dec 14, 2014)

I'm planning on heading out somewhere the Saturday after Christmas and looking for some ideas. It would just be a day trip so I'm not looking to go super far as the drive back would be rough. I'd be heading up from hartford area in CT. I usually go to someplace like okemo or Stratton/magic for a day trip but I'm looking for some variety. Going to sugarbush for a week in January and that's about my limit in terms of driving distance for a day trip. Any suggestions?


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## powhunter (Dec 14, 2014)

Should be real busy just about everywhere with all this new white stuff


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## ALLSKIING (Dec 14, 2014)

rocks860 said:


> I'm planning on heading out somewhere the Saturday after Christmas and looking for some ideas. It would just be a day trip so I'm not looking to go super far as the drive back would be rough. I'd be heading up from hartford area in CT. I usually go to someplace like okemo or Stratton/magic for a day trip but I'm looking for some variety. Going to sugarbush for a week in January and that's about my limit in terms of driving distance for a day trip. Any suggestions?


MRG,SugarbushNorth or South,Killington,Pico,Magic


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## rocks860 (Dec 14, 2014)

ALLSKIING said:


> MRG,SugarbushNorth or South,Killington,Pico,Magic



Yeah I'd like to avoid killington. Magic hasn't ever been to crowded when I've been there but I'm wondering how the snow will be. Maybe I'll just go up to sugarbush


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## Jully (Dec 14, 2014)

Pico would also be good that day without ridiculous crowds like Killington if you want to save the drive. No where near the size of Sugarbush though, obviously.


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## Brad J (Dec 14, 2014)

If you are only skiing one day consider The day after Christmas, The crowds will be arriving in droves on Saturday, If you are determined to ski Saturday consider NH , Cannon ,Bretton Woods. Most of Vt get crazy crowded


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## rocks860 (Dec 14, 2014)

Unfortunately can't make it the day after, would have to be that  saturday. Maybe cannon, haven't been there in a long time


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## steamboat1 (Dec 14, 2014)

Middlebury, that's where I'd go on the Saturday after Christmas. BYOB


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## rocks860 (Dec 14, 2014)

The only time I was at cannon was many many years ago and the conditions were terrible. How would you describe the mountain? Is it like any place in vt? I think the drive for me would be about the same as to sugarbush


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## Krikaya (Dec 15, 2014)

rocks860 said:


> The only time I was at cannon was many many years ago and the conditions were terrible. How would you describe the mountain? Is it like any place in vt? I think the drive for me would be about the same as to sugarbush



There's a Cannon lover's thread somewhere here on AZ. Personally, Cannon is my favorite along with Wildcat and Whiteface. IMHO, Cannon is more dependent on natural snow fall than corporate mountains like LOON that make a lot of snow and groom. The upper mountain gets scoured by the wind. I've been checking trail reports obssesively the past few weeks waiting for Cannon to open the top of the mountain. When the top is open, I think it's the best skiing in NH.

 I can't think of any place similar to Cannon in VT. Is Whiteface close enough to you? They're claiming 18" the past 3 days. I'm planning on skiing 12/25 Bretton Woods($25 lift tickets), 12/26 Wildcat and possibly 12/27 at Cannon. I'm still debating Saturday's destination


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## VTKilarney (Dec 15, 2014)

I'm hearing that central and western Vermont got more snow than Hew Hampshire or eastern Vermont.


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## rocks860 (Dec 15, 2014)

I've only really skiied vermont vt and ma for the past 15 years or so. I did ski loon, cannon, gunstock and Waterville valley way back in the day. I'm just trying to get an idea of what cannon is like before I drive 4 hours up there. To give you an idea of where I am magic is about 2 hours away


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## xwhaler (Dec 15, 2014)

I'm also skiing that Saturday and will be at either Pico, Magic, or Dartmouth Skiway. I always avoid the big places holiday weeks.


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## rocks860 (Dec 15, 2014)

Maybe I'll just stick with magic assuming there's snow


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## bigbog (Dec 15, 2014)

Remember...conditions change as one travels northward..rocks860.  Think you might be overthinking it a bit..


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## steamboat1 (Dec 15, 2014)

xwhaler said:


> I'm also skiing that Saturday and will be at either Pico, Magic, or Dartmouth Skiway.* I always avoid the big places holiday weeks.*


Exactly why I recommended Middlebury.


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## rocks860 (Dec 15, 2014)

bigbog said:


> Remember...conditions change as one travels northward..rocks860.  Think you might be overthinking it a bit..



Overthinking what? I'm just looking for some variety from the norm but also would like to avoid insane crowds if possible. This is all speculation right now since who knows what the conditions will be like in a week


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## rocks860 (Dec 15, 2014)

xwhaler said:


> I'm also skiing that Saturday and will be at either Pico, Magic, or Dartmouth Skiway. I always avoid the big places holiday weeks.



I've never skiied pico, how is it?


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## Smellytele (Dec 15, 2014)

rocks860 said:


> I've never skiied pico, how is it?



It rocked this weekend but it had 2 feet of snow over the last week. Never waited in line for more than 3 minutes


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## rocks860 (Dec 15, 2014)

What are the trails like difficulty wise? I never skied magic until 2 years ago but I love that mountain when there's snow? Do they groom everything out or keep some stuff natural? It's near killington right?


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## Smellytele (Dec 15, 2014)

rocks860 said:


> What are the trails like difficulty wise? I never skied magic until 2 years ago but I love that mountain when there's snow? Do they groom everything out or keep some stuff natural? It's near killington right?



I can't tell you what they normally do but over half the trails were not groomed yesterday


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## steamboat1 (Dec 15, 2014)

rocks860 said:


> What are the trails like difficulty wise? I never skied magic until 2 years ago but I love that mountain when there's snow? Do they groom everything out or keep some stuff natural? It's near killington right?


The upper part of the mountain has some challenging terrain as does the Outpost chair & Little Pico chair. Usually they only groom 49'er off the summit leaving everything else natural although other trails are groomed on occasion. Summit Glades & Giant Killer trails never see a groomer, rarely see Sunset 71 groomed either. I understand they groomed Pike this weekend but that also rarely see's a groomer, at least the top third doesn't. It's a big mountain boasting 1,967 vertical with plenty of difficulty. The lower mountain is groomed almost everyday & offers gentler terrain.

Yes it's right next door to Killington. There's even talk of connecting the two areas but that's a topic for another day. Pico is owned by the same corp. that owns Killington. You can ski Pico with a Killington ticket or pass but can't ski Killington with a Pico ticket or pass.

Also the lifts at Pico are rarely crowded. Even when the parking lot is overflowing you'll rarely find the lifts or trails to be crowded except for maybe the Golden Express chair which services the lower mountain but even then it's never like what you often find at other more popular areas.


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## rocks860 (Dec 15, 2014)

steamboat1 said:


> The upper part of the mountain has some challenging terrain as does the Outpost chair & Little Pico chair. Usually they only groom 49'er off the summit leaving everything else natural although other trails are groomed on occasion. Summit Glades & Giant Killer trails never see a groomer, rarely see Sunset 71 groomed either. I understand they groomed Pike this weekend but that also rarely see's a groomer. It's a big mountain boasting 1,967 vertical with plenty of difficulty. The lower mountain is groomed almost everyday & offers gentler terrain.



Hmm sounds like my kinda place. Maybe I'll head up there as I'm going to sugarbush on 1/10 for a week (possibly gonna hit up mrg or smugglers notch when I'm there) and probably going to magic in february


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## rocks860 (Dec 15, 2014)

steamboat1 said:


> The upper part of the mountain has some challenging terrain as does the Outpost chair & Little Pico chair. Usually they only groom 49'er off the summit leaving everything else natural although other trails are groomed on occasion. Summit Glades & Giant Killer trails never see a groomer, rarely see Sunset 71 groomed either. I understand they groomed Pike this weekend but that also rarely see's a groomer, at least the top third doesn't. It's a big mountain boasting 1,967 vertical with plenty of difficulty. The lower mountain is groomed almost everyday & offers gentler terrain.
> 
> Yes it's right next door to Killington. There's even talk of connecting the two areas but that's a topic for another day. Pico is owned by the same corp. that owns Killington. You can ski Pico with a Killington ticket or pass but can't ski Killington with a Pico ticket or pass.
> 
> Also the lifts at Pico are rarely crowded. Even when the parking lot is overflowing you'll rarely find the lifts or trails to be crowded except for maybe the Golden Express chair which services the lower mountain but even then it's never like what you often find at other more popular areas.



As far as the crowds thing I've found the same with magic. Even if the parking lot is packed the lifts and trails are rarely crowded. I went to magic for the first time 2 years ago when we had a huge storm in February. I initially drove to Stratton but it was absurdly packed so I decided to check out magic. Parking lot was practically empty and it was some of the best skiing I've ever had, powder all day long.


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## RustyGroomer (Dec 15, 2014)

rocks860 said:


> Maybe I'll just stick with magic assuming there's snow


 Check my Trip Report from yesterday.


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## rocks860 (Dec 15, 2014)

RustyGroomer said:


> Check my Trip Report from yesterday.



Looks like it was great, looks like it's between there and pico. I haven't skiied pico so I'm leaning that way


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## drjeff (Dec 15, 2014)

Bottom line, if the weather is good, and the snow potential around Christmas plays out, that Saturday if not the busiest day of the year will be in the top 3 more than likely regardless of where you go


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## mtsixspeed (Dec 15, 2014)

Sounds like everyone has good advice here. Great source for anyone new to the scene like me.


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## rocks860 (Dec 15, 2014)

Thanks for the suggestions


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## rocks860 (Dec 15, 2014)

mtsixspeed said:


> Sounds like everyone has good advice here. Great source for anyone new to the scene like me.



Where are ya at?


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## ScottySkis (Dec 16, 2014)

Go to small hill without any high speed chair s. I can of think of several in north east.


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## rocks860 (Dec 16, 2014)

ScottySkis said:


> Go to small hill without any high speed chair s. I can of think of several in north east.



If I'm going to a "small hill" I'd rather not go


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## ScottySkis (Dec 16, 2014)

I meant like Burke, or Bolton valley not really that small 1600 vertical good snow good tree s less crowded you will not get both Hugh resort and not busy that time if winter.


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## rocks860 (Dec 16, 2014)

Yeah that's why I'm thinking like magic or pico


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## The Sneak (Dec 16, 2014)

rocks860 said:


> If I'm going to a "small hill" I'd rather not go



Don't be silly. If we get a storm around xmas Berkshire East will be epic. 
Nice short drive.

You cannot go wrong with Pico, though. I am really not sure why its not more crowded / popular. IMO It's terrain is superior to Stratton, Okemo, Mount Snow etc...


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## Smellytele (Dec 16, 2014)

The Sneak said:


> You cannot go wrong with Pico, though. I am really not sure why its not more crowded / popular. IMO It's terrain is superior to Stratton, Okemo, Mount Snow etc...



I agree and think it has to do with it being in the shadow of Killington.


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## rocks860 (Dec 16, 2014)

I've gotten extremely bored with the terrain at stratton and I haven't skiied mount snow in years as I always felt like it was too flat. Okemo is alright but I always feel confused as to where I'm going and it gets super packed. I'm a big fan of magic if the snow is good and not a solid sheet of ice but was hoping to broaden my horizons so pico sounds right up my alley


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## VTKilarney (Dec 16, 2014)

My only complaint with Pico is the lack of a top to bottom lift.


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## Tin (Dec 16, 2014)

VTKilarney said:


> My only complaint with Pico is the lack of a top to bottom lift.




I like the division and pods. Keeps people off the summit area who shouldn't be there. And it keeps the Outpost area isolated. If you lap the summit lift you're still picking up  almost 1600' of vert with not a lot of runout. So the same as K1 at Killington lol


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## VTKilarney (Dec 16, 2014)

Tin said:


> I like the division and pods. Keeps people off the summit area who shouldn't be there. And it keeps the Outpost area isolated. If you lap the summit lift you're still picking up  almost 1600' of vert with not a lot of runout. So the same as K1 at Killington lol


That's not bad.  It's been so long since I have skied at Pico that I was thinking the vert was less.


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## boston_e (Dec 16, 2014)

rocks860 said:


> I've never skiied pico, how is it?



Nothing worth seeing at Pico....

move along, move along


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## steamboat1 (Dec 18, 2014)

boston_e said:


> Nothing worth seeing at Pico....
> 
> move along, move along


Yep drove right past there this morning. Parking lot was empty. Yes Pico is open Thurs. Not sure if the summit quad was operating or not, it didn't appear to be when I passed in the afternnon. That's why I drive past, can't depend on that lift. About 3" fresh up there this morning. K-1 didn't start loading until about 10:30, everything else opened on time. Snowdon was the bomb right off the bat in the am.


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## medfordmike (Dec 18, 2014)

steamboat1 said:


> Yep drove right past there this morning. Parking lot was empty. Yes Pico is open Thurs. Not sure if the summit quad was operating or not, it didn't appear to be when I passed in the afternnon. That's why I drive past, can't depend on that lift. About 3" fresh up there this morning. K-1 didn't start loading until about 10:30, everything else opened on time. Snowdon was the bomb right off the bat in the am.



I was there today.  Summit quad was open and running from 9ish - 1 when I left.  Visibility up top was not great today but the fresh snow made for some nice runs.


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## steamboat1 (Dec 18, 2014)

medfordmike said:


> I was there today.  Summit quad was open and running from 9ish - 1 when I left.  Visibility up top was not great today but the fresh snow made for some nice runs.


Visibility was awesome today. You should have been there Tues. & Wed if you want to see poor visibilty. Could hardly see the gondola from the K-1 lodge after 2pm yesterday & it was like that top to bottom. Was thinking of Pico today but like I said the reliability of the summit quad often makes me drive past, without it there's not much to ski at Pico. Glad you enjoyed yourself.


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## boston_e (Dec 20, 2014)

I was actually kidding.  I think Pico is one of the most underrated / hidden gem places in New England.  As steamboat1 mentioned there is some risk if the summit quad is not running, but I skied there at least 15 days last year and I don't think the summit quad was down for even one of them.  That is prob a risk though at a handful of the "medium" sized resorts… if a lift goes down it limits your day for sure.


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## billski (Dec 20, 2014)

Time for a reality check, given the Christmas Day forecast that looks fairly certain.  From a snow point of view, go somewhere that has excellent grooming.  You'll be coming off of a rather wet couple of days.


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## billski (Dec 20, 2014)

VTKilarney said:


> My only complaint with Pico is the lack of a top to bottom lift.


My complaint is that if they close off part of the mountain for whatever reason, it gets really boring really fast.  pico skis best when it's all open.  Best if you pull the trigger on Friday - be flexible, this niar is going to make things interesting and each resort will suffer and recover differently.


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## rocks860 (Dec 20, 2014)

Ugh, with that forecast maybe I'll just go to sugarbush


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## billski (Dec 20, 2014)

I'll probably be there on Monday.  Waiting for some intel.


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## boston_e (Dec 20, 2014)

VTKilarney said:


> My only complaint with Pico is the lack of a top to bottom lift.



I'm not sure what Pico gains with a top to bottom lift other than a longer green circle / blue square runout from the summit and a longer lift ride to go along with it.


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## VTKilarney (Dec 20, 2014)

boston_e said:


> I'm not sure what Pico gains with a top to bottom lift other than a longer green circle / blue square runout from the summit and a longer lift ride to go along with it.


Agreed.  That had been pointed out earlier in this thread.  It had been a LONG time since I last skied there, and I had not remembered the runout.


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## rocks860 (Dec 21, 2014)

Well I hope things shape up in the next couple weeks, heading up to sugarbush for a week on the 10th


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## rocks860 (Dec 23, 2014)

This looking to be less of a good idea but it's the only day I'll have to go before my trip to sugarbush so I'm gonna go out anyway


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## rocks860 (Dec 24, 2014)

Looks like it's between pico and sugarbush at this point. Pico likely less crowded but looks like they're getting more rain today and tomorrow. Bush will likely be more crowded but it's only supposed to rain today. Thoughts?


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## deadheadskier (Dec 24, 2014)

Are you staying at either mountain?  Where are you coming from?  Just thinking that if you're coming up route 100, you could swing by Pico real quick on the way to Sugarbush and see if you like what you see.


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## billski (Dec 24, 2014)

Pico doesn't get much grooming love, which is good and bad.  You could consider Mt. Ellen if you're willing to compromise on variety in order to get minimal crowds.  Mt. Ellen has one lift down for maintenance.


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## rocks860 (Dec 24, 2014)

deadheadskier said:


> Are you staying at either mountain?  Where are you coming from?  Just thinking that if you're coming up route 100, you could swing by Pico real quick on the way to Sugarbush and see if you like what you see.



I'm coming up from CT. I was just thinking the same thing about swinging by one on the way to the other. I was gonna leave around 5 or 530 so I can get there early


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## rocks860 (Dec 24, 2014)

billski said:


> Pico doesn't get much grooming love, which is good and bad.  You could consider Mt. Ellen if you're willing to compromise on variety in order to get minimal crowds.  Mt. Ellen has one lift down for maintenance.



Yeah I saw that it was down. I feel like mt Ellen is most enjoyable when all the natural snow trails are open. Based on the report today it looks like all natural snow trails are closed


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## Savemeasammy (Dec 24, 2014)

At this point, you might want to make the call on Friday when you have a chance to see the snow reports.  The "best" skiing is likely to be at ski areas that have built up a nice base of man-made.  


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## rocks860 (Dec 24, 2014)

Yeah I don't really need to figure out until then. I'm just driving up saturday morning

Was just trying to figure out early in case I could buy a ticket on liftopia or something


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## Tin (Dec 24, 2014)

rocks860 said:


> Yeah I saw that it was down. I feel like mt Ellen is most enjoyable when all the natural snow trails are open. Based on the report today it looks like all natural snow trails are closed



And now two down.


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## The Sneak (Dec 25, 2014)

Any damage reports? Trying to figure out where to ski Sat 12/27


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## rocks860 (Dec 25, 2014)

The Sneak said:


> Any damage reports? Trying to figure out where to ski Sat 12/27
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Would also appreciate any first hand reports


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## Tin (Dec 25, 2014)

rocks860 said:


> Would also appreciate any first hand reports



Snow reports are looking rough.
 Cannon down to 33 trails, Sugarbush lost 30 trails, Pico went from 100% to 14 trails. Wildcat from almost 100% down to 11 trails. K lost all the fun stuff on Bear Mountain. Not quite as bad as last year's December melt though. Southern VT seems to have really dodged a bullet. Okemo looks to have lost nothing. 

Take the weekend off.


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## fcksummer (Dec 25, 2014)

Tin said:


> Snow reports are looking rough.
> Cannon down to 33 trails, Sugarbush lost 30 trails, Pico went from 100% to 14 trails. Wildcat from almost 100% down to 11 trails. K lost all the fun stuff on Bear Mountain. Not quite as bad as last year's December melt though. Southern VT seems to have really dodged a bullet. Okemo looks to have lost nothing.
> 
> *Take the weekend off.*


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## billski (Dec 25, 2014)

It was still raining as far north as Stowe this Christmas afternoon.  Wait and see what the reports look like in the morning.   I'm sure all the areas will be making a full court press at snow making tonight and through the day tomorrow.  However, you can only push out so much snow each day.


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## yeggous (Dec 25, 2014)

Wildcat has yet to post a trail count, but they reported their snow stake is down from 32 to 26 inches.


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## rocks860 (Dec 25, 2014)

Tin said:


> Snow reports are looking rough.
> Cannon down to 33 trails, Sugarbush lost 30 trails, Pico went from 100% to 14 trails. Wildcat from almost 100% down to 11 trails. K lost all the fun stuff on Bear Mountain. Not quite as bad as last year's December melt though. Southern VT seems to have really dodged a bullet. Okemo looks to have lost nothing.
> 
> Take the weekend off.



Can't do it, gotta get out somewhere!

And from the trail report it doesn't look like sugarbush lost the trails per se, looks like they closed them to preserve the snow. Don't know if it really makes a difference though


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## WWF-VT (Dec 26, 2014)

rocks860 said:


> Can't do it, gotta get out somewhere!
> 
> And from the trail report it doesn't look like sugarbush lost the trails per se, looks like they closed them to preserve the snow. Don't know if it really makes a difference though



Natural snow trails are locked up frozen snow.  The snow guns are on a bunch of higher elevation trails.  Yesterday I skied Elbow at Mt Ellen which was not yet groomed and it was like skiing on a coral reef.


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## xwhaler (Dec 26, 2014)

Id like to think trail counts will rise throughout the day today and this wknd as the warmish sun works its magic


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## ScottySkis (Dec 26, 2014)

I think Saturday will be bumps and soft spring conditions in the Catskills so I be at Hunter.


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## deadheadskier (Dec 26, 2014)

http://skiwildcat.com/snow-report.html


Pretty honest and terrible snow report from Wildcat.  I was thinking of heading up there Sunday, but we'll have to see how(if!) things soften in the next couple of days to make it worth it.  Personally, I think they're crazy charging full Holiday rates for basically 2 trails from the mid-mountain and the beginner area.   Not that the weather they have been handed is their fault.  I just know if I spent $75 on that, I'd feel a little ripped off.


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## mriceyman (Dec 26, 2014)

At least the base is still there.. Just gona need temps for snowmaking to come back


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## dlague (Dec 26, 2014)

We were at Bretton Woods on Christmas and the base held up well.   Ungroomed was soft and heavy.  Any natural terrain took a beating.  Driving by Cannon - the front trails, Mittersill and Cannonball got whacked.  Anything with snowmaking survived but will probably be boiler plate after tonight.


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## rocks860 (Dec 26, 2014)

Looks like sugarbush is back up to 107 open


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## VTKilarney (Dec 26, 2014)

rocks860 said:


> Looks like sugarbush is back up to 107 open


Burke is at 9 trails.  I'm thinking that central Vermont is in the best shape.


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## yeggous (Dec 26, 2014)

At Bretton Woods right now. Groomers are skiing really well. Wet loose granular over frozen granular and freshly groomed this morning. Only exception is Bode's Run which had death cookies the size of grapefruit on top of a sketchy surface and they closed that mid morning. Natural trails range from sketchy to gone. Less is open than the snow report indicates as ski patrol is closing down trails.


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## fcksummer (Dec 26, 2014)

dlague said:


> We were at Bretton Woods on Christmas and the base held up well.   Ungroomed was soft and heavy.  Any natural terrain took a beating.  Driving by Cannon - the front trails, Mittersill and Cannonball got whacked.  Anything with snowmaking survived but will probably be boiler plate after tonight.




Damn, I generally prefer Cannon to Bretton but sounds like Bretton might be a better choice for tomorrow...


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## ScottySkis (Dec 26, 2014)

Change of plan s I be going to Elk on Saturday


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## rocks860 (Dec 26, 2014)

Anyone know how magic is looking? A friend is heading there tomorrow but if it's terrible Id rather not waste my time


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## WWF-VT (Dec 26, 2014)

rocks860 said:


> Looks like sugarbush is back up to 107 open



Don't confuse "open" with a trail that you would want to ski.


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## St. Bear (Dec 26, 2014)

If I were skiing this weekend, I'd head someplace with a southern exposure.


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## Tin (Dec 26, 2014)

WWF-VT said:


> Don't confuse "open" with a trail that you would want to ski.



Because of a hard surface or lack of coverage?


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## rocks860 (Dec 26, 2014)

St. Bear said:


> If I were skiing this weekend, I'd head someplace with a southern exposure.



Well there's only one in vermont...


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## Cannonball (Dec 26, 2014)

Cannon wasn't terrible at all today. Loose sugar snow, sun, zero people.  I can think of worse things to do with a day.


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## ss20 (Dec 26, 2014)

Going to Butternut Sunday.  They're holding steady at 18/22 trails.  Warm temps and showers should keep the crowds away and make the snow soft.


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## JDMRoma (Dec 26, 2014)

Cannonball said:


> Cannon wasn't terrible at all today. Loose sugar snow, sun, zero people.  I can think of worse things to do with a day.



Sure it was much better than working !


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## Cannonball (Dec 26, 2014)

That is am undeniable truth


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## ScottySkis (Dec 26, 2014)

No where with no crowds in PA soft snow anyone else wants meet up at Elk tommorow


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## WWF-VT (Dec 26, 2014)

Tin said:


> Because of a hard surface or lack of coverage?



A little bit of both today at Sugarbush.  I don't mind thin cover but I am not a fan of bullet proof snow.


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## keyser soze (Dec 26, 2014)

rocks860 said:


> Well there's only one in vermont...



And what would that be?


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## deadheadskier (Dec 26, 2014)

Bromley


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## rocks860 (Dec 26, 2014)

WWF-VT said:


> A little bit of both today at Sugarbush.  I don't mind thin cover but I am not a fan of bullet proof snow.



So was sugarbush not good today at all?


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## WWF-VT (Dec 26, 2014)

rocks860 said:


> So was sugarbush not good today at all?



Groomers were Ok.  I skied Rim Run, Elbow, Cruiser and Crackerjack at Mt Ellen.  They are blowing snow on Rim Run and Cruiser has snowmaking whales that should get groomed tonight.  At Lincoln Peak Snowball and Spring Fling were better than expected.  The snow guns were going on Jester and Organgrinder.  Birch Run had huge whales that are expected to be groomed.  The snow has dried out and the temps are colder so there will be an aggressive grooming plan going into this weekend.  I avoided any natural snow trails.  Castlerock chair was spinning but I saw no one up there.


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## medfordmike (Dec 26, 2014)

deadheadskier said:


> http://skiwildcat.com/snow-report.html
> 
> 
> Pretty honest and terrible snow report from Wildcat.  I was thinking of heading up there Sunday, but we'll have to see how(if!) things soften in the next couple of days to make it worth it.  Personally, I think they're crazy charging full Holiday rates for basically 2 trails from the mid-mountain and the beginner area.   Not that the weather they have been handed is their fault.  I just know if I spent $75 on that, I'd feel a little ripped off.



In the same category as honest this was on Cannon's Facebook page yesterday  "OK, so...if we had a dome, we'd have closed it. But we don't. What we do have are snowmakers and groomers in the house firing it up and grooming it up. Our natural snow trails and glades will likely drop off the map for now, but we plan to have 33 trails to start the day on Friday from top to bottom and that number will likely grow into next week as favorable snowmaking temps settle in. We also have a sweet ticket deal for you this weekend".


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## Brad J (Dec 26, 2014)

Skied Wildcat today a slow start with only the Tomcat chair running , they opened Quad after coffee lynx skied pretty good,little choppy on steeper sections, Natural snow trails still had coverage for the most part, but was the surface was like the moon only harder. they were grooming Catapult and Bobcat today. I am sure it will ski much better tomorrow.


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## rocks860 (Dec 26, 2014)

WWF-VT said:


> Groomers were Ok.  I skied Rim Run, Elbow, Cruiser and Crackerjack at Mt Ellen.  They are blowing snow on Rim Run and Cruiser has snowmaking whales that should get groomed tonight.  At Lincoln Peak Snowball and Spring Fling were better than expected.  The snow guns were going on Jester and Organgrinder.  Birch Run had huge whales that are expected to be groomed.  The snow has dried out and the temps are colder so there will be an aggressive grooming plan going into this weekend.  I avoided any natural snow trails.  Castlerock chair was spinning but I saw no one up there.



Well it looks like this is where I'm headed tomorrow since it doesn't sound like any place else is any better. If anyone else is there I'll be wearin Orange pants and a green jacket with a red helmet


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## deadheadskier (Dec 26, 2014)

Any sign of guns firing Brad?  For as quick of a start Wildcat got this year, it seems like the snowmaking momentum slowed a bit in December.


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## Brad J (Dec 26, 2014)

deadheadskier said:


> Any sign of guns firing Brad?  For as quick of a start Wildcat got this year, it seems like the snowmaking momentum slowed a bit in December.



They were working on the lynx guns,Nothing running as of 3;30, they had huge whales on Catapult, Bobcat, started to blow on Gondiline, before rain , It will not take much to get the mountain in good shape with a little cold weather and mother nature providing some fluff to the natural snow trails , the rain was most unfortunate, it was skiing like early February before that.


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## deadheadskier (Dec 26, 2014)

Oh good.  I must have missed the snow reports outlining all those trails getting gun love.  Seemed like they were stuck on Lynx, Polecat and Upper Catapult still.  May make it up there Sunday yet.


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## Cornhead (Dec 26, 2014)

Sticking with my home hill, Greek Peak. Scotty and JimG will be at Elk. Scotty asked me to join them, and I'm sure they'll have more open at Elk than Greek, but since I have a season's pass at Greek, it'll be "free". We're all hooking up at Hunter New Year's Day, along with Spring Mountain High, and Crex. Better to spend my ski dollars then, me thinks, snowstorm for next weekend? Wednesday night would be perfect. Looked, and felt, more like Easter than Christmas today. Corn harvest tomorrow.


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## 603Skier (Dec 26, 2014)

dlague said:


> We were at Bretton Woods on Christmas and the base held up well.   Ungroomed was soft and heavy.  Any natural terrain took a beating.  Driving by Cannon - the front trails, Mittersill and Cannonball got whacked.  Anything with snowmaking survived but will probably be boiler plate after tonight.



I was there as well.  I bet its a block of ice tomorrow.


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## 603Skier (Dec 26, 2014)

Anyone ski gunstock today.  Heading there tomorrow free ticks good time to use them up I assume.


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## yeggous (Dec 26, 2014)

603Skier said:


> I was there as well.  I bet its a block of ice tomorrow.



Natural base is smoked. Groomers will be okay in the AM because they will groom it well. Get at it early before it gets ripped up.


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## fcksummer (Dec 27, 2014)

Headed up 93 now...what do you guys think, cannon or Bretton woods?


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## xwhaler (Dec 27, 2014)

Skiing Pico now on sugar snow. Not bad actually.  Natural trails got smoked


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## rocks860 (Dec 27, 2014)

Just got to sugarbush, way less crowded than I was expecting


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## rocks860 (Dec 27, 2014)

Snow is also better than I expected. Sleeper is mogul city but the snow on ripcord wasn't bad and jester was nice and buttery. Gonna head over to mt Ellen now and check it out


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## steamboat1 (Dec 27, 2014)

xwhaler said:


> Skiing Pico now on sugar snow. Not bad actually.  Natural trails got smoked


Read in their conditions report they groomed summit glades. I've never heard of them doing that before. I didn't even think they could fit a groomer in there.


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## yeggous (Dec 27, 2014)

The groomers at the Cat are great today. Better than Bretton Woods at this point yesterday.


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## xwhaler (Dec 27, 2014)

steamboat1 said:


> Read in their conditions report they groomed summit glades. I've never heard of them doing that before. I didn't even think they could fit a groomer in there.



They can and they did.  Still not too good.  Up high was firmer down low spring like


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## ScottySkis (Dec 27, 2014)

It all groomed today at Elk no mogul s on the blue trail under the old quad. Good snow to be found not bad day look s like as we waiting for lunch at Winter garden restaurant sun comes out that be sweet stay sun pm please.


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## steamboat1 (Dec 27, 2014)

St. Bear said:


> If I were skiing this weekend, I'd head someplace with a southern exposure.





rocks860 said:


> Well there's only one in vermont...





keyser soze said:


> And what would that be?





deadheadskier said:


> Bromley


Don't forget Spruce Peak at Stowe.


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## rocks860 (Dec 27, 2014)

Mountain Ellen is hurting bad. Oh and right as I went to get on north ridge it stopped. I took like 3 runs and it still hasn't started yet


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## drjeff (Dec 27, 2014)

Moderate crowds today at Mount Snow - Bluebird never really had more than a 5-8 minute wait, Grand Summit was mostly a 5 to 10 chair wait, Canyon and Nitro had 3 to 5 minute waits - empty on the North face + Sunbrook - trail volume seamed congested due to limited acreage - can't wait for snowmaking to resume in about 24hrs!!!!


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## rocks860 (Dec 27, 2014)

Literally every trail is bumped up now, I gotta call it a day


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## Cornhead (Dec 27, 2014)

Greek Peak was good, just not much open, hero snow groomers in the AM, corn snow in the PM with a few icy and bare spots here and there. Sunny and 50° in the afternoon.


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## Warp Daddy (Dec 27, 2014)

Titus had about 1/3 of the mtn open .Hero snow early , then got cut into chowdah, heavy stuff . Skied with my family posse till 215 , 22 runs called ita day


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## Cannonball (Dec 27, 2014)

Today, like yesterday, was not bad at all. I've seen a hell of a lot worse at this time of year, and I can think of much worse ways to spend a day.  Dang it I just love to snowboard!


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## yeggous (Dec 27, 2014)

Word is that Attitash and Bretton Woods were train wrecks today. This validates my decision to go to Wildcat.


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## dlague (Dec 28, 2014)

603Skier said:


> Anyone ski gunstock today.  Heading there tomorrow free ticks good time to use them up I assume.



Did you go?  I was there Friday night and it was loose granular dust on bullet proof. Needed good edges.  I don't mind those conditions but it is not for everyone.


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## rocks860 (Dec 28, 2014)

107 trails yesterday at sugarbush, 59 today


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## WWF-VT (Dec 28, 2014)

rocks860 said:


> 107 trails yesterday at sugarbush, 59 today



All the natural snow trails are closed.  Yesterday was surprisingly good on groomers all over the mountain.  Rain stopped and heading out to ski now.  Looks like the last soft snow day for a while....


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## yeggous (Dec 28, 2014)

the Cat has Upper Wildcat, Top Cat, and Lift Lion open ungroomed and the snow is soft (for now). All the lower mountain ungroomed is closed due to running water, but they base is deep.


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## rocks860 (Dec 28, 2014)

WWF-VT said:


> All the natural snow trails are closed.  Yesterday was surprisingly good on groomers all over the mountain.  Rain stopped and heading out to ski now.  Looks like the last soft snow day for a while....



Yeah I was there yesterday. The morning was good, ripcord was really nice, but the afternoon turned into a mess. I took sleeper for my first run an it was moguls top to bottom, I've never seen it like that.


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## 603Skier (Dec 28, 2014)

dlague said:


> Did you go?  I was there Friday night and it was loose granular dust on bullet proof. Needed good edges.  I don't mind those conditions but it is not for everyone.



I did go on Saturday.  similar conditions.  I skied within 5 feet of the tree line where the sugar piled up.  Also spent the end of the day ducking ropes onto trails that the sun baked all day.  Not bad at all there.  One good thing I like about gunstock is you can toss your empties into a can straight ahead atop the main lift and continue right on to the outhouses.  Can't stand ski areas that have no garbage cans.  It can be dangerous skiing with an empty and I'm not willing to litter no matter the cost.  The conditions were so that we had time to drop the tailgate and cook up some grug and kick back a little.  But now its time for some more powder.  Thinking of checking out cardigan this week to see if there is a base so if we do get some dumps.


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## marcski (Dec 29, 2014)

603Skier said:


> One good thing I like about gunstock is you can toss your empties into a can straight ahead atop the main lift and continue right on to the outhouses.  Can't stand ski areas that have no garbage cans.  It can be dangerous skiing with an empty and I'm not willing to litter no matter the cost.



Craft beer in a can.


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## billski (Dec 30, 2014)

dlague said:


> We were at Bretton Woods on Christmas and the base held up well.   Ungroomed was soft and heavy.  Any natural terrain took a beating.  Driving by Cannon - the front trails, Mittersill and Cannonball got whacked.  Anything with snowmaking survived but will probably be boiler plate after tonight.



How was the skiing at Bretton, Cannon and Gunstock for you and the gang?  did  you get those pics?  http://forums.alpinezone.com/showth...-26-14-Weather?p=878835&viewfull=1#post878835


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