Snowboarding near NYC

Hi,

I recently moved from Europe to NYC. I'm used to snowboarding a lot
and I'd like to keep on doing it. I'll be going to a western resort or
to canada for one week or two weeks, but I'd like to go to nearby
resorts on week-ends as well. I don't expect to find big mountains but
I'd be happy if I could find a decent half-pipe or park.

I did some research on the web and I found the following places.

Mount Creek : 1 hour ride
Hunter mountain, Windham : 2 hours
Mt Snow, Killington : 4 - 5 hours

All these places advertise snowparks but does it mean that I can expect
to find a decent half-pipe, or well-shaped jumps any day in the season
?
Do you think Mt Snow or Killington are worth the additional trip (esp.
regarding terrain parks, or the crowds) ?

The Paragon shop (for instance) organizes daytrips to MC, HM and W.
Hunter Mountain on Saturday, Windham on Sunday : which one would you
recommand ? which day is usually more busy ?

There are also several clubs that organize week-ends (or sometimes
daytrip) to Mt Snow or Killington, but not on a regular basis. I'm not
interested in these as I want to check the weather forecast before
going. Do you know any clubs that organize trip to Vermont every week ?

Thanks,
Phil

Everyone I know in Manhattans talks about Hunter.
just go on their .com site and check for yourself, they usually have
live cams.

Mount Creek : 1 hour ride
Hunter mountain, Windham : 2 hours
Mt Snow, Killington : 4 - 5 hours

You can also go to the Poconos in eastern Pennsylvania. Shawnee,
Camelback, etc. Haven't been there in 15 years so I have no idea what
their pipe/parks are like.



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While pondering the Universe, wrote
. com:

Hi,

welcome to the area. I suspect you will be woefully disappointed
with a place like Hunter aka Hunt-ah or nearby Windham (where I
first rode). Crowded and little terrain.

Clearly your time out of the city is variable - time you leave,
mid/downtown etc. But to give you an idea, it takes me from
lower westchester county 2 1/2 hours to the VT border. Mt. Snow
is about another 20 minutes or so. Depending the time of day I
can make it into midtown in from 35 mins to 1:15

Another alternative you should consider is Stratton. Its a little
more $ but is a little closer mileage wise but probably not much
more than 15 mins timewise. Straight up the Deagan then I guess
you pick up the Sprain to the Taconic and local road (22n and 7N/E)
the last 45 mins or so.

Lastly you can consider Gore mountain which is about 100 miles
north of Albany but more or less a straight shot up 87.

Both of those will have better pipe/park and general mountain
conditions.

wrote:
Hi,
I did some research on the web and I found the following places.

Mount Creek : 1 hour ride
Thanks,
Phil

Been awhile since I lived back there but I did see a pro snowboarding
event from Mtn. Creek last season on ESPN. The half pipe looked good
as well as the terrian park. If they are having pro events there and
they use the same pipe/park as the general public, it has to be pretty
good. Downside is that it's usually crowded but you can expect that at
any area within two hours of NYC.

snoig

"Do you think Mt Snow or Killington are worth the additional trip (esp.

regarding terrain parks, or the crowds) ? "

Yes. Killingon is definitely worth the trip, as it's a real mountain,
offering all kinds of terrain, plus bigger terrain park/pipe, but a
mulit-day trip. From NYC, Hunter is a good choice for a day trip,
using one of the bus trips run by places like Paragon Sports, but
Hunter is a fraction of the size of Killington. Both places can get
somewhat crowded, but Killington, being so large, it's a lot easier to
find some decent room.

To get to Killington, you can either drive or take Amtrak's Ethan Allen
train. While a car is desirable to get around, there is a local bus
service with free passes from many of the hotels in the area and you
can certainly get around using it. Check the lodging choices to be
sure where the bus stops are. The bus will take you around the access
road which covers all the bars, restaurants, many of the lodging spots,
etc.

For lodging at Killington, I would recommend staying away from
Killington's own lodging reservations. I had a bad experience staying
at their Mtn Green Complex. We rented a condo and on arrival, the
dishwasher, which was very old, was broken. The spray arm was
obviously broken and stuck. All the glassware was absolutely filthy.
Killington never fixed the dishwasher during our stay. As for the
dirty glasses, they attributed that to hard water. My position was,
whatever the reason, no one would ever think of serving anyone water in
a restarurant or club out of a glass that looked like that. If they
can't be cleaned, they should be replaced. Killington offered no
apology, credit or anything else. I filled out a complaint form at the
main lodge before we left and never even received a reply. I would
never stay at one of the Killington properties again. Use one of the
local agencies instead.