l am planning a ski trip for mid-January 2009, and l have never been out East to ski.l am curious what the BEST places would be.

Thanks!

Maine- Shawnee Peak, Sunday River, Sugarloaf, Lost Valley. Just check some websites see where you wanna go. l also hear the Vermont has great skiing.

stowe (vt) is pretty nice, so is bretton woods (nh) and sunday river (me)

It depends on what u r looking for.

If u r looking for party spots with good skiing, my suggestions would be Killington & Mt.Snow (both in VT). There is enough terrain at both places to occupy any level of skier, plus Pico is close to Killington so u can always hit that too. Both Big-K & Snow have plenty of condos & hotel rooms close by, shuttle service, & close-by nightlife. Backcountry stashes at Killington r usually pretty good, but u relly need to know the terrain. Getting lost off-trail could mean a 6 mile walk back to the highway.

Stratton VT & Stowe VT r OK places, but l feel they r more for the posh skier. Both r overpriced in my opinion & both tend to be places for people who like groomers. (Both places do have some mad stashes off-piste, but for fear of reprisal by the locals l wo not give them up in this forum. Email me & l might give u some leads.)

Now.if u really want skiing.Jay Peak & Mad River Glen r where it is really at. There is not much in the way of nightlife & hotel/condo selection has less variety, but both places have excellent terrain, leaning more towards the expert level. Mad River does not make snow & does not groom much, so a late start to the ski season could mean it might not be at 100% by the time u get there. l ski MRG often & l am always there the last week of January. Some years there r truckloads of snow, & some years (like 2007) it was icy & thin. MRG is also right down the road from Sugarbush.also very good. Jay has a lot of Quebec residents that ski there, so u will hear a lot of French in the lift lines & at the lodge. That gives it a neat flair the other VT resorts do not have. Both Jay & MRG have excellent glades & some seriously sick steeps. But they also have some great cruisers that can be really fun too.

Skip the Poconos & Catskills. Gore Mountain in NY is good, but only for two days.not a week long trip. Whiteface in NY is also another place that is good for two days, but after that can get boring.

Best in NY: probably Gore.

Best in VT: well, l always feel the further north u go, the further u get away from the NYC & Boston crowds. Avoid Killington like the plague. Stowe is nice (but crowded). Jay Peak is great. Mad River Glen (skiers only) is a rather undeveloped place (which is a good thing for skiers). Do not forget Bolton Valley. Small, but fun.

l do not know much about NH or Maine. l skied Tuckerman is Ravine a few times, but that probably is not something u will put on ur itinerary.

Since there r so many resorts so close, l would suggest hitting several of them. The northeast can be cold at that time of year. Plan on bringing plenty of layers!

hard core is suicide six VT or mad river glen VT and jay peak VT that only if ur a good skier



In NH loon mountain bretton woods waterville valley

In VT okemo jay peak mt snow stowe

in ME sunday river sugarloaf sugarbush

In Canada Tremblaunt

Sugarbush, Mad River Valley, Vermont

Willie D knows what he is talking about. Killington is pretty much king of the east. Best of all worlds. Jay can get HUGE dumps when everywhere else is getting nothing or rain.

There r some classic New England ski areas not mentioned: Wildcat (NH), Magic (VT) but they r not destination resorts & Magic is only open weekends l think.

A nice plus about Whiteface is the Town of Lake Placid site of the 1932 & 1980 Winter Olympics & still a winter olympics training facility. Lots of stuff to do.

l recommend u leave ur powder skis at home & make sure whatever boards u do bring r freshly tuned. You're likely gonna need an edge. You may want to consider taking ur trip later in the season too. More snow, better light.

Whatever u decide, l hope u have a great time!