New England Quick weekend ski from Long Island

[dbostedo]

At some point the quality of what's within reasonable drive distance degrades to the point that one's ski resources may be better spent flying somewhere. By the time you get to say, DC, most people would feel that line has been crossed.

I agree with most of what you said Tony, regarding pain threshhold, and understand what you'd consider time "better spent".

But I don't agree with the statement here about "most people"... the popularity of skiing in VA, southern PA, and WV with folks in DC doesn't sync with that. Of the people I know (granted, not a huge sample) I'd say that most ski the mid-Atlantic, and don't take trips to ski anywhere else. For the 1 or 2 or 5 days a year that they get, local is fine.

For me personally, I got 20 days last season (a huge number for me), 9 of which were local here (9 Mid-A, 3 NE, and 8 out west). So even for those of us that travel, weekend skiing is prevalent and important.

 

[crgildart]

Long Island must be a masochistic place for a skier to live, having to drive through NYC to ski anywhere. And the best eastern skiing farther north is not mentioned in the article because it's too far away for a weekend drive.

Skiers in a location like this do have one advantage though. NYC is a very competitive market for airfares. Seriously, if you can afford to live most places in Long Island, you're probably better off doing most of your skiing out of Denver or Salt Lake.

Another dissenting opinion here. I can drive 3 hours, ski for 4-5 then drive 3 hours home and sleep in my own bed. When I arrive at the resort I have a ski box full of different options to play with. A good parking spot and lunch can happen at the car. A bad spot and a quick, overpriced snack will suffice.

You can easily spend 3 hours at the airport each way in addition to the flying time. Not have a decent AWD vehicle with good tires when you arrive, and pay way more for the "snack" only having one or two pairs of skis to choose from.

Heck, 3 families can combine and rent a ski in ski out mountain house for an entire weekend for less than hotels in SLC or other nearby spots are out west.

Terrain is more around 1K of vert, but still well worth a 6 hour commute. On your best day you're going to spend more time in the airport and packed on a plane than that, paying triple the cost, having less convenience not having your own car, quiver, etc.. Doesn't matter where you go flying adds pretty much a full day at each end of your trip unless you want to really make it stressful worrying about missing work the next day, or worse, a ski day if the flight gets cancelled or majorly delayed.

No thanks.. Unless I've got at least 5 days off with a reasonable expectation of only skiing three of them book ended by full travel days way more stressful than driving my own car there I'd rather drive 3 hours to pay less and maybe ride the lift a little more to ski smaller vert.

 

[Tricia]

@crgildart I think your the target for an article like this.
Clearly its easier for Tony to catch a flight to Denver or SLC than it is for you to catch a flight with your family.
Its the guy or gal who's paying for a family of 4 plane tickets then a rental car or shuttle, and .....

Part of the reason that Phil and I drive to most of our ski destinations instead of fly is because its cost effective. By the time we pay for two plane tickets(conservatively say 400/ea), and rental car big enough for the family and ski gear (600.00/week) we're at 1,400.00.
Driving my own car affords me a lot of convenience and budget for other expenses.
From the east coast its not as easily done, but can be an option. Heck look at @Gary Stolt - That dude drives everywhere.

As for Tony's comment about being masochistic for a skier to live in the greater NYC area, sometimes people live where they do because thats where the job is, or family, or (name the obligation). You do what you gotta do if you want to ski.

Anyone remember Altaskier from Epic? He lived in Utah for a looooong time. When his dad's family business was going to shut down when he retired, he opted to move back to Michigan and run the family business.
Does he miss the mountains? Yup. but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

 

[crgildart]

@crgildart I think your the target for an article like this.
Clearly its easier for Tony to catch a flight to Denver or SLC than it is for you to catch a flight with your family.
Its the guy or gal who's paying for a family of 4 plane tickets then a rental car or shuttle, and ......

Even going solo, the time and stress of air travel, having to get there 2 hours early, deal with baggage, and the never ending delay complications push me to drive someplace fun rather than fly someplace stellar. To me it's about the skiing more than the destination. Our little 5K elevation 1K vert stuff is quite a bit nicer than the little 300 foot hills I grew up skiing. I like to go bigger places, but even solo the difference in scenery isn't worth two days of travel time (or at least two solid half days) for just a weekend. Flying's only worthwhile if I've got a full 5 days to work with.. And I'd still say the same thing if I only had access to that 300 foot hill instead of the highest lift served elevation east of the Mississippi 3 hours away. I love the SKIING more than anything else about the particulars, location, etc.

 

[Muleski]

I agree, "ya gotta do what you gotta do" is SO true. I did one year plus in NYC, living in Mid Town. Killington was our weekend destination, pre-kids. One year later, we were back in Boston, living north of the city. Entirely different manageable ski access, and when we had kids, that drove other decisions. Ski in ski out condo, primo location versus a house. So easy to deal with. Drive up Friday night, never start the car until Sunday night. As the kids were older and we needed more space, back into a ski house.

A bunch of years ago, I ran into an older friend who had been a weekend warrior forever to Vermont. Raised his family doing it, made all of those critical good mom and dad decisions to pick up the kids at school in the loaded up Suburban, with the dogs, etc.

He explained that they had sold the house. I made some comment like "that must be sad." He laughed and said "NO. We have all of the memories, and we'll ski there a couple of times a year, but we have a new plan."

They bought a condo in the Cliff at Snowbird. I think they flew out every three weeks, and skied five days at a time. At the height of the season, it might have been every two weeks, and it may been four days. Some weeks he would travel for business from SLC, and his wife would stay and ski. Obviously they kept all of their stuff and clothes right there. I would occasionally drop him off at the airport on my way to work, and he'd have his jeans on and a backpack....that's it.

He said it was FAR less expensive, all in, than what they were spending on the house in VT, etc. and much easier on the body. Including the skiing.

Now obviously, we're talking about really good skiers, and a guy with a career that let him take the time, and a grown family, who like visiting Snowbird and Alta.

We have done a really easy 4 hour ride {my record is about 3:15, dry roads very late at night} forever. EVERY weekend for a lot of years. But we were heading to our home, not transporting any equipment of ski "stuff'. My wife had the weekend packing of food, laundry, etc. down to a science.

Guess it all depends. Lot of NYC and Fairfield County hanging out at Okemo.

 

[LKLA]

It really depends on the weather - duh! And, on the time you leave NYC. The mountains nearest to NYC are just not high enough to get much snow, so while there could be over a dozen places nearby, there are winters when they are barely open.

When you leave NYC can make or break a trip. It can easily mean the difference between a four hour drive and six plus hour drive.

There are a few nice, small hills a couple of hours from NYC - Hunter, Catamount, Windham, Wachusset, Bellearye... Most of these places are around a two hour drive.

Then you get some more interesting places that are three to four hours away - Mount Snow, Stratton, Jiminey Peak, Crotched, Okemo...

But to get to the best spots on the east coast you have to factor in at least five hours of driving - Stowe, Sugarbush, Jay Peak, Whiteface, Smuggler's, Mount Tremblant, Sugarloaf...and in some cases even more than that.

 

[Muleski]

It really depends on the weather - duh! And, on the time you leave NYC. The mountains nearest to NYC are just not high enough to get much snow, so while there could be over a dozen places nearby, there are winters when they are barely open.

When you leave NYC can make or break a trip. It can easily mean the difference between a four hour drive and six plus hour drive.

There are a few nice, small hills a couple of hours from NYC - Hunter, Catamount, Windham, Wachusset, Bellearye... Most of these places are around a two hour drive.

Then you get some more interesting places that are three to four hours away - Mount Snow, Stratton, Jiminey Peak, Crotched, Okemo...

But to get to the best spots on the east coast you have to factor in at least five hours of driving - Stowe, Sugarbush, Jay Peak, Whiteface, Smuggler's, Mount Tremblant, Sugarloaf...and in some cases even more than that.

Good points. It all depends. All personal preference. We have close friends who could ski at Belleayre, within about an hour of home. They did a lot when their kids were toddlers. Now, they made an 8 hour drive, one way, every weekend, to Sugarloaf. They split the driving, and they book it...fast. They watch the weather, but they drive through crappy weather and that 8 hours can stretch out.

They don't need a lot of sleep. They LOVE their friends there, love the skiing, and they completely unwind in the car, and when they walk in their house. I think a big art of it is that they are a prominent family in a small town, and it's hard to get away for it.

This is "getting away", perhaps to an extreme.

Some of our friends when we skied at Stowe were neighbors who were there every weekend form Rochester, NY. I think that was about seven hours, with three kids. They had the routine down, and dad being able to get on the road the minute they could pick up at school was key.

 

[mdf]

Even going solo, the time and stress of air travel, having to get there 2 hours early, deal with baggage, and the never ending delay complications push me to drive someplace fun rather than fly someplace stellar. To me it's about the skiing more than the destination. Our little 5K elevation 1K vert stuff is quite a bit nicer than the little 300 foot hills I grew up skiing. I like to go bigger places, but even solo the difference in scenery isn't worth two days of travel time (or at least two solid half days) for just a weekend. Flying's only worthwhile if I've got a full 5 days to work with.. And I'd still say the same thing if I only had access to that 300 foot hill instead of the highest lift served elevation east of the Mississippi 3 hours away. I love the SKIING more than anything else about the particulars, location, etc.

To a large extent it depends on how you feel about driving. I find long solo drives difficult... especially if its one I've done several times before.

 

[crgildart]

To a large extent it depends on how you feel about driving. I find long solo drives difficult.

Agreed! I'll take the comfort of my own car with my music and favorite snacks over the middle seat on an airplane worrying about what the baggage handlers did to my only skis.

That tour bus running across Long Island to Hunter was the best of both.. No hassles and airport chaos, but also don't have to stay vigilant driving. Very relaxing both ways. Arrive back at the park and ride to your car which was parked there for free then a 10 minute drive home.

Also, the bus drops you right up at the base lodge.. no walking a half mile across parking lot after lot carrying ski gear..

 

[Tricia]

Even going solo, the time and stress of air travel, having to get there 2 hours early, deal with baggage, and the never ending delay complications push me to drive someplace fun rather than fly someplace stellar. To me it's about the skiing more than the destination. Our little 5K elevation 1K vert stuff is quite a bit nicer than the little 300 foot hills I grew up skiing. I like to go bigger places, but even solo the difference in scenery isn't worth two days of travel time (or at least two solid half days) for just a weekend. Flying's only worthwhile if I've got a full 5 days to work with.. And I'd still say the same thing if I only had access to that 300 foot hill instead of the highest lift served elevation east of the Mississippi 3 hours away. I love the SKIING more than anything else about the particulars, location, etc.

@Philpug and I have discussed this.
I'll use SLC as an example. If we fly, we have to get to the airport An hour before boarding, a 2 hour flight IF we can find a direct flight(its harder than you think) an hour to get our bags and get a rental car, + the cost of the rental car, or shuttle. 4 hrs if everything goes smoothly, and we pack light.
In our car we can be in SLC in 7 hrs and have all our stuff we care to haul in the car.
Cost of gas to drive to SLC in the Yukon is roughly $300.00 round trip.

 

[LKLA]

Good points. It all depends. All personal preference. We have close friends who could ski at Belleayre, within about an hour of home. They did a lot when their kids were toddlers. Now, they made an 8 hour drive, one way, every weekend, to Sugarloaf. They split the driving, and they book it...fast. They watch the weather, but they drive through crappy weather and that 8 hours can stretch out.

They don't need a lot of sleep. They LOVE their friends there, love the skiing, and they completely unwind in the car, and when they walk in their house. I think a big art of it is that they are a prominent family in a small town, and it's hard to get away for it.

This is "getting away", perhaps to an extreme.

Some of our friends when we skied at Stowe were neighbors who were there every weekend form Rochester, NY. I think that was about seven hours, with three kids. They had the routine down, and dad being able to get on the road the minute they could pick up at school was key.

There is a HUGE difference between living in Rochester, NY - or outside of NYC (Connecticut. New Jersey) - versus living in NYC. Just loading and unloading the car and picking it up and dropping it off at the garage can take an hour!

No one from NYC will drive to Sugarloaf on a regular basis like your friends do. There would simply not be enough time to make it there and back and get any skiing done if you left NYC after work on Friday and had to be back home Sunday evening. It is 440 miles North of NYC - it will easily take 8, if not closer to 9 hours, each way.

 

[crgildart]

There is a HUGE difference between living in Rochester, NY - or outside of NYC - versus living in NYC (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx..). Just loading and loading the car and picking it up and dropping it off at the garage can take an hour!

No one from NYC will drive to Sugarloaf on a regular basis like your friends do. There would simply not be enough time to make it there and back and get any skiing done if you left NYC after work on Friday and had to be back home Sunday evening. It is 440 miles North of NYC - it will easily take 8, if not closer to 9 hours, each way.

Ya, I draw the line at 3.5 hours for a day trip and 6 hours one way for a weekend trip... leaving a little work early Friday up and leaving Sunday by 3 for the trip back home.

 

[Muleski]

To a large extent it depends on how you feel about driving. I find long solo drives difficult... especially if its one I've done several times before.

I think that can be very true. I'm 63, and I've got, knock on wood, good energy. I'm in pretty good shape. But I have 63 year old eyes, and depending on the weather, and how "crappy" the roads are, it can be really tiring. Add in dodging deer or moose at certain times of the year. And throw in traffic: people driving a bit slower than you would like in front of you {but not slow enough to pass}, or people driving right up your tailpipe with lights beamed the wrong way. We pull over for "that guy".

On long drives, I need to hydrate a lot more than I did before, as I think it avoids the splitting headaches. Of course, I need to "stop" a bit, when I never used to. At all. I would not love those four hour drives solo at night. 10 years ago, never thought twice. I would fly into Logan, and blast right up to Maine.

The driving thing is very personal, and we all need to be safe.

Five years ago I flew out to see our son in CO. I had bought a car in Denver, he had arranged to see it, and have some work done on it, we got to spend four days together before he was super busy with the season. All good. So I was thinking about the drive back East. 2200 miles. Weather was good. Car, very good for the trip. 26 year old son, who has driven a huge amount of miles at that point says "I'm guessing you're going to spend A NIGHT along the way?" Huh? What? "You're not going to try to just go for it, are you?" No, I'm spending two nights, and even then, when I get home I am going to be beat. I'm 58 years old, dude.

The good hearted discussion of how I'm a pussy ensues. He reminds me that when he was headed to Jackson Hole as a PG, we drove, sharing the driving, non-stop, from Boston to Rapid City SD. That drive just about put me in a grave, and he was fine.

Driving solo, I find to be a lot harder than it "used to be."

 

[Muleski]

There is a HUGE difference between living in Rochester, NY - or outside of NYC (Connecticut. New Jersey) - versus living in NYC. Just loading and loading the car and picking it up and dropping it off at the garage can take an hour!

No one from NYC will drive to Sugarloaf on a regular basis like your friends do. There would simply not be enough time to make it there and back and get any skiing done if you left NYC after work on Friday and had to be back home Sunday evening. It is 440 miles North of NYC - it will easily take 8, if not closer to 9 hours, each way.

I agree. Remember, I lived there, when it was a lot easier. Two of our closest friends live on the Upper East Side, with garages. It is a huge, huge pain in the ass. I absolutely get it.

Our friends who do the every weekend eight hours to Sugarloaf, live in New Paltz, so again......NOTHING like NYC. But still, eight hours every single weekend is a LOT of driving. I can't begin to imagine it. But it's what they do and what they love. The draw of Sugarloaf are a group of VERY long term friends for them. College friends, etc.

And the Rochester friends. When we would drive to Stowe from our home north of Boston, it almost never took four hours. Only with bad weather. So they were driving almost twice as long.

When it's four hours, if Dad is hing up, and you leave even at 7:00, it's not the end of the world. Kids sleep in the car, etc. But if you're taking seven hours onto a late departure, that makes for a short night sleep and an early wake up call, etc. Tough on everybody.

We live where we do, among other things to have very, very good New England skiing within four hours. That was about our limit. So no chance of our living south of the city. Plenty of people do it, every weekend, but it's harder.

Agree 100% that living IN the city adds a whole new level of complexity to this. Same if you live IN Boston.

 

[LKLA]

I agree. Remember, I lived there, when it was a lot easier. Two of our closest friends life on the Upper East Side, with garages. It is a huge, huge pain in the ass. I absolutely get it.

Our friends who do the every weekend eight hours to Sugarloaf, live in New Paltz, so again......NOTHING like NYC. But still, eight hours every single weekend is a LOT of driving. I can't begin to imagine it. But it's what they do and what they love. The draw of Sugarloaf are a group of VERY long term friends for them. College friends, etc.

And the Rochester friends. When we would drive to Stowe from our home north of Boston, it almost never took four hours. Only with bad weather. So they were driving almost twice as long.

When it's four hours, if Dad is hing up, and you leave even at 7:00, it's not the end of the world. Kids sleep in the car, etc. But if you're taking seven hours onto a late departure, that makes for a short night sleep and an early wake up call, etc. Tough on everybody.

We loved where we did, among other things to have very, very good New England skiing within four hours. That was about our limit. So no chance of our living south of the city. Plenty of people do it, every weekend, but it's harder.

Agree 100% that living IN the city adds a whole new level of complexity to this. Same if you live IN Boston.

It's a whole nother thing!

People forget that there are almost 9 million people living in NYC alone (not counting suburbs like Westchester County or Nassau County). There are over 20 million in the NYC metropolitan area. That compares to barely 700K living in Boston (4.5 million in the Boston metro area) or 5 million in the entire state of Colorado.

 

[KingGrump]

I can tell @LKLA is a real New Yorker. When we say the City, we mean Manhattan. The outer borough don't really count. And let's not get me started on Staten Island.

Getting out of Manhattan is a trip in itself. The construction projects we had in Manhattan usually carry a 20 to 30% premium. The additional stress is unbelievable.

For those of us that have a place up by the mountains, the 4± hour drive is just a slightly different routine that happens at the end of every week. For us, a small bag of fresh groceries is the only extra.

Trips out west is a completely different beast. We have been doing three to four trips out west or to Europe every season since 1981. So we are really familiar with the fly to ski thing. No, it is not the same as driving to a weekend in VT. The logistics and stress are much higher.
.

 

[at_nyc]

What are we arguing about? I've completely lost the plot.

In the past 25 years, I've lived in Long Island (3), Queens (1), Manhattan (~10, give or take), Westchester/CT(5-6).

YES! I did go skiing when living in Long Island!!!

Driving through Queens to get to upstate was painful. But I had a job that had irregular hours. So I was able to take advantage of timing, SOME OF THE TIME anyway. All my trips were weekenders. No day trips. But then, I lived WAY east, near Brookhaven (if anyone even know where that is ).

I also took the car ferry from Port Jefferson some of the times. That works too, albeit more expensive. It's far more civilized.

Basically, "you got to do what you got to do"!

Manhattan? It actually works out ok. Just HAVE TO leave during non-rush hours. If that means leaving AFTER dinner, and arriving at the wee hour of the night? So be it. Same on the return trip. MUST AVOID RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC!!!

As for loading the car? There's some method to the madness. Get all the gear in one big pile, ready to go! Double park the car down stair and run in to get them at quickly as possible. I don't recall having gotten ticketed (on THAT particular task).

Queens were actually the worst. That's why I only lived there for 1 year.

Now I'm in Westchester. Life is a lot easier. Even though I work in Manhattan. I simply take the train back to my car which, if I were to go away for the weekend, would have been already loaded.

Day trip from Westchester is a breeze. 1 1/2 hr to Hunter, 2 1/4 to Plattekill, 2 1/2 to Mount Snow. That's about how long I would drive one way for a day trip.

Before I moved to NORTH OF CITY, I only did Stowe on 3 day weekends. Because I would be too tired to drive 6+ hours after a full day of skiing. But now, the drive to Stowe is sub-5 hrs. More importantly, the driving is pretty easy, without having to FIGHT the traffic at the very end (of the return leg).

All those years, I take at least one trip a year out west. On that count, TonyC is right, but only to a degree. It's relatively easy to hunt down reasonably affordable air fare to go out west, IF one plan ahead. But to jump on a plane at the last minute is a different matter! You're gonna pay through the nose for that! And TonyC is also right on the other count: compare to rent and city tax? Air fare is just...small potato in the grand scheme of things! But TonyC is wrong in saying that our money is "better spend" to go out west. Because it's not money, but time, being the limiting factor. Local skiing is much more time-efficient in squeezing out a day here and a weekend there. Try doing a day trip to Salt Lake City anyone?

 

[BS Slarver]

Central LI to Hunter and windham is 3 hrs door 2 door and Plattekill and Belleayre are slightly less.

Again, friends and associates doing the journey weekly to the places they own or season rentals so the " going home " factor or stoke may help shorten the drive both mentally and physically, No need to hydrate till you arrive if the the IPAs are in the fridge from last weekend.
Most of these folks aren't going 4+ hrs l, kinda the end of the line on a Friday or the Sunday afternoon. Sooner or later most of the northern resorts funnel down to the shit show known as 87south on the return home.

We like you @KingGrump, used to do several trips out west but after as many years are finding less flights and longer stays 10 - 14 days are proving to be more relaxing and more economical but we take work on the road so YMMV.

 

[crgildart]

As for loading the car? There's some method to the madness. Get all the gear in one big pile, ready to go! Double park the car down stair and run in to get them at quickly as possible. I don't recall having gotten ticketed (on THAT particular task).

My boot bag stays in the car pretty much all season long with skis in the ski box. Both teens leave their boot bags packed ready to grab and go. Just a matter of packing a few extra clothes for overnighters and grocery store stop on the way if we're on the mountain instead of the Super-8. I can look at the weather and destination conditions and adjust ski box cargo as needed DURING work since I work from home. I can swap stuff around while downloading or uploading data and multi task without compromising the quality of work I turn around. I've worked out of a hotel room a couple times, signing off at 4;30 then hitting the fun for the evening. But, I never try to ski while on the clock juggling real work stuff. Not enough job security to risk trying that one..

 

[James]

When I was in a ski house at Killington in the 1980s there was a loose community of seasonal ski houses. About half of the people were from the NYC area, but I don't know how it broke down by sub-area. Of course, traffic must be even worse 30 years later.

No, traffic around nyc is much less than 30 yrs ago! You haven't heard?All that incredible mass transit and planing...

I ski most every weekend with a couple who go to VT from Easthampton on Long Island! They take the ferry. Been doing it for decades.

If one has a car in Manhattan there's now a service that will come fetch it and park it for you. Then bring it to you when you want it. All by the app. I talked with a guy who had a Tesla and used it. He said it was $350 a month.
So that can beat a garage.

I think they park them nearish Yankee Stadium.