Boston

Hi,

I'm moving to Boston (actually Marlborough) for a few months. What resorts
would people recommend? I've done about 5 years boarding in Finland and
looking for a mix of park and freeride.

When does the season normally start? I know it will vary a lot but how
likely is it that the resorts will be open by mid-December?

Thanks,

Rob.

It's been a few years, but if you like park I would recommend Loon and
Waterville Valley in NH (there is a pass that works for Loon, WV, and
Cranmore). 2 hours highway drive from Boston on 93 (no windy mountain
roads). Loon used to have a great park, but I'm told Waterville Valley
has been better in recent years. Both are small mountain though.

Next on my list would be Killington, VT (huge resort, crowded, etc) at
2.5 hours away and Sunday River, ME (colder, better snow) and then
maybe Stratton... of course my knowledge is about 6 years out of date,
so ask a local for more recent info as resorts change quickly.

Rob wrote:
Hi,

I'm moving to Boston (actually Marlborough) for a few months. What resorts
would people recommend? I've done about 5 years boarding in Finland and
looking for a mix of park and freeride.

When does the season normally start? I know it will vary a lot but how
likely is it that the resorts will be open by mid-December?

Thanks,

Rob.

"lonerider" wrote in oups.com:

Next on my list would be Killington, VT (huge resort, crowded, etc) at
2.5 hours away and Sunday River, ME (colder, better snow) and

KMart is more like 3 to 3 1/2 as I had a friend driving from
Boston up to Sugarbush and it would take him over 4 hours - and
K to Bush is only about 45 mins. YMMV.

I would suggest Mt. Snow as closest of the VT mountains as it is
just over the MA/VT border off 91.

They generally aim to start the season most places at Thanksgiving,
but it can be quite hit or miss and dont expect things to be fully
going. Reality is more like 2nd week in December assuming the
weather cooperates. Early season you will find most of the base
is manmade.

I've only been to Finland during the early summer so don't know
the typical snow quality - I'm guessing fairly dry and not too
icy. If you plan on doing more than park and pipe you might want
to look into having a full tune done with appropriate structure
for east coast hardpack and edges sharpened for 'vt powder'.

I really like Flow bindings. They feel good and are easy to get in and
out of.

Rob wrote:
Hi,

I'm moving to Boston (actually Marlborough) for a few months. What resorts
would people recommend? I've done about 5 years boarding in Finland and
looking for a mix of park and freeride.

When does the season normally start? I know it will vary a lot but how
likely is it that the resorts will be open by mid-December?

Thanks,

Rob.

Thanks guys.

Mike, FYI Finland is almost all manmade snow. Real mix of conditions but
hardly any powder and can be hard as rock at times.

Cheers,

Rob.

Don't forget about Jay Peak, its a haul but it will have the best snow.
The tree skiing there is world class, the place has an international
flair (with those French-Canadians coming over). The bad thing is the
weather is pretty extreme and if you hit a bad day it will be hell.

The good thing is if you hit it right it will the best powder-tree
skiing you've ever had.

Also Mt.Snow has a younger crowd (mid 20's) and can have some good
party scene
Killington has more of a mix and each bar has plenty of each age.
Although Killington is huge and can get really busy, there are plenty
of places you can go to be almost alone.

Don't forget to visit http://www.KillingtonNews.com


Rob wrote:
Thanks guys.

Mike, FYI Finland is almost all manmade snow. Real mix of conditions but
hardly any powder and can be hard as rock at times.

Cheers,

Rob.

mt_ski wrote:
Don't forget about Jay Peak, its a haul but it will have the best snow.
The tree skiing there is world class, the place has an international
flair (with those French-Canadians coming over). The bad thing is the
weather is pretty extreme and if you hit a bad day it will be hell.

The good thing is if you hit it right it will the best powder-tree
skiing you've ever had.

Also Mt.Snow has a younger crowd (mid 20's) and can have some good
party scene
Killington has more of a mix and each bar has plenty of each age.
Although Killington is huge and can get really busy, there are plenty
of places you can go to be almost alone.

Don't forget to visit http://www.KillingtonNews.com


Rob wrote:
Thanks guys.

Mike, FYI Finland is almost all manmade snow. Real mix of conditions but
hardly any powder and can be hard as rock at times.

Cheers,

Rob.


As to when Killington opens, last year Killington was open late Oct. I
heard it was their best opening ever. But that is unusual. Usually
it's open mid/late Nov, but with very limited trails and tons of
people, so it may not be worth it. I'd say mid Dec on is when it
usually starts to make sense for those of us that have a long drive.