New England 2019/20 Northeast

[Crank]

Thinking of an extended weekend over the MLK weekend (kids off...) -- which resorts are best at handling crowds (where's our best bet for non-mobbed lift lines)?

Canada?

 

[surfsnowgirl]

I'd normally say magic but even magic had long lines last MLK weekend. I second Canada as that's where we go. Lots of places in the eastern townships of Quebec not far over the border. MLK isn't a thing up there. Monday is particularly lovely.

 

[kitchener]

Unfortunately, half the group won't have passports.

 

[Marker]

Unfortunately, half the group won't have passports.

Driving from our area, it's always been a balance between tolerance for the drive and the expected quality of conditions. Our early trips were with folks that didn't like long drives, but wanted VT mountains. So we oscillated between Mt Snow (closest), Killington (biggest), and Elk (It's like skiing in Vermont without the drive!). I never could get them to try further north, or try Okemo or Stratton. These trips were during New Year's and HS/college spring breaks for our kids in March. Now that we are committed to Killington, we have skied MLK and Presidents weekends so our friends can join us (one's a teacher). It can get pretty hairy with folks flopping right in front of you due to lack of control, or stopping in the worst spots. Speed demons galore! We're learning how to make the best of those weekends, but will likely avoid them when we retire.

 

[Wilhelmson]

Thinking of an extended weekend over the MLK weekend (kids off...) -- which resorts are best at handling crowds (where's our best bet for non-mobbed lift lines)?

Cannon's lines are rarely long, or in the worst case not as long as other places.

 

[kitchener]

Rats -- was hoping the bigger names siphoned off the crowds but sounds like MLK is mobbed no matter where.

 

[KevinF]

Rats -- was hoping the bigger names siphoned off the crowds but sounds like MLK is mobbed no matter where.

Yeah. I'm done with MLK weekend skiing. I was at Stowe two years ago for MLK and conditions were definitely abysmal (i.e., freeze / thaw the night before), but it was the second or third time up the lift that we were already Googling to see when the Matterhorn opened. Times Square on New Year's Eve is less of a crush of humanity than the base lodge was that day..

 

[MissySki]

I was at Sunday River last year for MLK weekend and it was great. Saturday wasn’t crowded (must have been really cold which keeps people inside..). It also helps if you know the mountain, like to stay in trees/bumps rather than groomers, and know which areas to avoid during holiday periods. Then there was a good sized powder day on Sunday which I also didn’t wait in lines during all day. This is certainly not the norm., it pays to be able to make plans last minute based on what’s forecasted. Another good one during holiday periods is Pico. Went there on President’s Day weekend last season and there were barely lines there either. Come to think of it, we also had a small powder day then as well.

 

[SKI-3PO]

Burke

 

[skiki]

A few years ago I did President's day weekend at Bolton Valley with my youngest, no lines to speak of.

 

[Crank]

I was thinking, could well be wrong, that Bolton Valley would be crowded with locals from Burlington on MLK weekend.

Burke crossed my mind as well and would likely be a good bet. It's not close to anything and the only time I have ever seen it at all crowded was on a powder day between Christmas and New Years.

 

[sparty]

I was at Sunday River last year for MLK weekend and it was great. Saturday wasn’t crowded (must have been really cold which keeps people inside..). It also helps if you know the mountain, like to stay in trees/bumps rather than groomers, and know which areas to avoid during holiday periods. Then there was a good sized powder day on Sunday which I also didn’t wait in lines during all day. This is certainly not the norm., it pays to be able to make plans last minute based on what’s forecasted.

I may be wrong, but I think the base-level passes are blacked out for MLK weekend. I don't recall which holiday powder day it was last year--it may have been the one that weekend--but I was shocked at how long some of the "not quite obvious" tree lines had limited tracks, particularly in contrast to the next powder day, when it seemed everything was skied pretty hard in a couple of hours. I'm assuming that a lot of skiing-focused locals have those blackout passes, and my perception is that while there are clearly a lot of people on the hill (and in the parking lots, on the road, and in town), the actual traffic levels on the hill seemed lower than non-blackout weekends. I have no idea if the actual visit numbers support my perceptions or not.

I was thinking, could well be wrong, that Bolton Valley would be crowded with locals from Burlington on MLK weekend.

It's been more than a few years since I've been a regular, but when I was, a normal Saturday crowd on lift 1 at Sunday River would have been a really big crowd at Bolton.

 

[MissySki]

I may be wrong, but I think the base-level passes are blacked out for MLK weekend. I don't recall which holiday powder day it was last year--it may have been the one that weekend--but I was shocked at how long some of the "not quite obvious" tree lines had limited tracks, particularly in contrast to the next powder day, when it seemed everything was skied pretty hard in a couple of hours. I'm assuming that a lot of skiing-focused locals have those blackout passes, and my perception is that while there are clearly a lot of people on the hill (and in the parking lots, on the road, and in town), the actual traffic levels on the hill seemed lower than non-blackout weekends. I have no idea if the actual visit numbers support my perceptions or not.


It's been more than a few years since I've been a regular, but when I was, a normal Saturday crowd on lift 1 at Sunday River would have been a really big crowd at Bolton.

It definitely could have been that weekend by your description! You are also correct that the Ikon base is blacked out at those times. However, it’s still usually a pretty busy weekend if it’s not extremely cold, and I think that was a weekend when it was and when the weather forecasters were making a big deal about the snow coming and wind event potential. Regular skiers aren’t concerned with that stuff, but families who come up on long weekends sometimes are. On those weekends if people don’t cancel, everything else can be really crowded except the trails, it’s so strange..

Barker (lift 1) and Southridge are the bases to avoid as much as possible on any busy weekend. I tend to stay on the outside peaks on either side of the mountain and avoid the middle where everyone tends to congregate. It’s one of the things I love about Sunday River, the setup really lends itself to spreading out crowds.

 

[Guy in Shorts]

I. On those weekends if people don’t cancel, everything else can be really crowded except the trails, it’s so strange...

The holiday crowds tend to jam up the lodges and the family trails. Not so strange after you have experienced a few times. Love the holiday crowds as they pay all the bills.

 

[Wilhelmson]

The holiday crowds tend to jam up the lodges and the family trails. Not so strange after you have experienced a few times. Love the holiday crowds as they pay all the bills.

This sums it up nicely. If you pick up your tickets the evening before you ski and get out skiing before 9 you'll get a decent parking spot and the family runs won't be too crowded yet. By 10 it'll get busy and you better stay away from the base loge and lifts. If you want to sit down for lunch then do it at 11 and buy some food or byo and eat it anywhere but the base. Inevitably someone will have to go to the base at which point the group can break up and go separate ways. Meet up again for a beverage at 2 and ski until close. If you can take Tuesday off to drive home, the crowds will disappear by noon on Monday.

 

[MissySki]

The holiday crowds tend to jam up the lodges and the family trails. Not so strange after you have experienced a few times. Love the holiday crowds as they pay all the bills.

The part I find strange is that people will still come to any mountain, but not actually ski if it’s “too cold”. If I’m already at a mountain, I’m going skiing regardless of the weather.. Fine with me though, as you said the holiday crowds bring money to the mountain which is a good thing. I don’t usually stop for lunch in the lodge and avoid the worst lifts, so it’s definitely best case scenario for actually skiing when this happens.

 

[KevinF]

The part I find strange is that people will still come to any mountain, but not actually ski if it’s “too cold”. If I’m already at a mountain, I’m going skiing regardless of the weather.. Fine with me though, as you said the holiday crowds bring money to the mountain which is a good thing. I don’t usually stop for lunch in the lodge and avoid the worst lifts, so it’s definitely best case scenario for actually skiing when this happens.

I can remember two "cold" MLK weekends at Stowe

1. I was riding the quad with a patroller and some couple. It was "standard Stowe January cold", but not "polar bears think it's cold" cold. The couple asked me if "it's always this cold here". I started with some sort of diplomatic response; i.e., north-facing slopes, the notch is a wind tunnel pointed right at us, etc. The patroller leaned around me and just said "yes. Yes, it is". Customer service at it's finest!
   
2. The other MLK weekend I remember involved a high of 25 below at the top on Saturday. Without the wind chill. And a foot or so of fluff that would have made a Utah resident jealous. There was NOBODY out. I skied all day. Of course, that earned me frostbite on one toe; I was in tears driving back down to the village from the agony of that warming up. Sunday was relatively balmy; 15, 20 below or something. I figured my toe was already frostbitten, so... Why not ski again? Conditions were still righteous. I sought treatment for my foot on Monday; the doc wasn't exactly complimentary about my decision making skills, but hey -- it was a powder day. You're given 10 toes for a reason; obviously some are for sacrificial purposes. And yes, all 10 toes are still there. (I thought it best to not tell the doc that I had ski-race league on Tuesday night...).

 

[MarkP]

I can remember two "cold" MLK weekends at Stowe

1. I was riding the quad with a patroller and some couple. It was "standard Stowe January cold", but not "polar bears think it's cold" cold. The couple asked me if "it's always this cold here". I started with some sort of diplomatic response; i.e., north-facing slopes, the notch is a wind tunnel pointed right at us, etc. The patroller leaned around me and just said "yes. Yes, it is". Customer service at it's finest!
   
2. The other MLK weekend I remember involved a high of 25 below at the top on Saturday. Without the wind chill. And a foot or so of fluff that would have made a Utah resident jealous. There was NOBODY out. I skied all day. Of course, that earned me frostbite on one toe; I was in tears driving back down to the village from the agony of that warming up. Sunday was relatively balmy; 15, 20 below or something. I figured my toe was already frostbitten, so... Why not ski again? Conditions were still righteous. I sought treatment for my foot on Monday; the doc wasn't exactly complimentary about my decision making skills, but hey -- it was a powder day. You're given 10 toes for a reason; obviously some are for sacrificial purposes. And yes, all 10 toes are still there. (I thought it best to not tell the doc that I had ski-race league on Tuesday night...).

fttt

It ain't just the temperature... add in the wind and more than just toes suffer. Several of my late January trips to northern VT, NH and ME involved brutal combinations of both. -14F with 40mph gusts at the top of Stowe felt far worse than -24F but calm at Jay Peak the next day. First time I ever saw people being turned away from lifts due to exposed skin bringing frostbite into play.

 

[KevinF]

fttt

It ain't just the temperature... add in the wind and more than just toes suffer. Several of my late January trips to northern VT, NH and ME involved brutal combinations of both. -14F with 40mph gusts at the top of Stowe felt far worse than -24F but calm at Jay Peak the next day. First time I ever saw people being turned away from lifts due to exposed skin bringing frostbite into play.

My recollection is that 25-below day at Stowe was pretty much dead calm in terms of wind; probably the only thing that made it bearable. As you said, wind can definitely make it feel infinitely worse.

There was a stretch at Cannon back in the early 2000's where the high temp for about two weeks didn't reach positive digits Fahrenheit at the base; they had somebody at the lodge door checking people for exposed skin. Seems prudent at temps where frostbite would set in in minutes. At least Cannon has a tram that gave shelter for the ride up. I had a tram ride that was just two people -- me and the operator.

Speaking of temps... it's almost 50 degrees here in eastern Mass today! C'mon! It's been nice and cold the past couple days; the Weather Gods are apparently still practicing.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

Magic might be delaying our opening til 12/7. At least I have bromley. It's entirely too warm in CT. It's damp amd cool but needs to be COLD.....I got a powder alert for southern Vermont for Sunday. It doesn't match any of the weather apps but dammit I'm going to be optimistic.