Mount Snow

I have been going to Mt. Snow for almost 10 years and the new ownership has really improved the mountain a lot.  They have put in over 10 million or something like that into snow making and groomers.  There is another lift or two ready (6-pack to the top is the rumor) to go up this summer and looking down the road there is more to come.

Now to the Mountain

There is a great variety of terrain, from easy trails like ridge and snow dance to ripcord which has one of the steepest in VT.  There is plenty of glades if you know where to look (they took them off the trail map)(the glades on north face and sun brook are really fun and the glades between trails at Carinthia are a little more open, also fun) and there are moguls all over the place (hit up bear trap for some fun) they also seed moguls on Roller coaster.  Then there are a large number of wide groomed trails that make for great wide open carving (my favorites are exhibition on the main face and free fall on the north face).  For those who like to throw down some tricks (I personally don't) two years ago or so they made Carinthia an all park face (only in the east) with 8 parks, 2 pipes (most features in the east).  Although it took away some fun terrain it moved all of the boarders and trick skiers away from other parts of the mountain and has attracted a lot of new riders.  

The few cons are it can be crowded on busy weekends and holidays and one the slopes shut down there is not much to do on the mountain but the valley is killer with tons of stuff to do and plenty of restaurants (just does not have the "Ski Village" many like on the mountain). Also the lift tickets (like every VT mountain) are fairly expensive.

**UPDATE: The have installed the 6-pack bubble to the summit for this year.  They also improved the base area with the tap room open after the slope closes and added a burger joint with some killer burgers.  The mountain continues to get better and better. Also while it can get crowded at the base there are plenty of ways to avoid the crowds (just stay off the bubble and that the "exposed" high speed quad (horrible i know) to the top).

I just can't say enough great things about this mellow little resort.

My personal predilections are for resorts that are huge, sick, steep, & deep.

Mt Snow is none of that, but when I'm here with my wife and two little girls, I'm all smiles.

The village is cozy, tidy, & well run, with a lodge scene that is like a throwback to Norman Rockwell America.

Got a backpack with $1500 worth of gear in it? Toss it in a corner. It will be there when you get back.

Try THAT at Squaw!

Our kids love this place, and we're happy it's a big step up from the Poconos & Catskills on all fronts: Mt. Snow moves skiers well, does a fine job with snow-making and grooming, and the skiers are 1000-times better than the yahoos in the Poconos, both in athletic skill & the simple art of common courtesy.

The drive is only about 4.5 hrs from the NYC area, and with a 4 & 7 year-old in the back seat who don't need more mountain yet, we're happy we're not doing the full 6.5 hours to Stowe!

Both of our girls took their first ski lessons here.  The ski school is a reasonable value for the money, but you'll need to check in regularly: our eldest had confidence issues at first, and they kept parking her in the "hot chocolate" room, & we kept having to talk her back out onto the snow. (Breckenridge, by way of contrast, matched our daughter with instructors by personality & athleticism instead of age & nominal skill level, and the results were exponentially better).

On a powder day, there is some fun tree skiing here: in particular back on the North Face and the glades tucked between runs on Carinthia.

Appropo Carinthia, Mt. Snow has done a great job placing their terrain park complex over on this side of the mountain, thus giving young jibbers & huckstronauts their own space, which leads to far less "snow squeegeeing" on other parts of the mountain. (You've all seen it: young jibbers who can't carve very well will sideslip the entire face of a run just to set up for some minor "hit" further down the hill.)

As for the stabs below blaming Joisey & NYers for ruining the weekend vibe, I'm a Californian & a linguist, and the loudest, most abrasive voices on the mountain are without fail the Bwostonians.

Just sayin'.

I prefer the perfect solitude of a mountain all to myself, and hate weekend crowds as much as the next guy, but there are only so many times a year I'm going to pack the family in a jet and fly to the Rockies.  For those short, 3-day family snow trips, this is the East-Coast ticket.

In all, a great little family resort that makes the most of what South Vermont has to offer!

i love this mountain, been skiing there since i was 2, so a total of 18 years so far! it has trails for everyone, easy and hard, ripcord for the best! great tree skiing when there is powder and the parks are rated the best in the east. this is the only mt i go to every year, and wont stop. the bad part is the price of the ticket cost so much! luckily I have a college pass! the night life is okay, you just need to know where to find it. as far as fine dining in the area, it is hard to find. Mount snow does have some great events though. They have hosted the xgames twice, the dew tour twice, and have great events every year. this year they are even hosting the finals to the mountain dew vertical challenge, always a great family event. All of the staff is very friendly and fun to be around. staff is there to greet you as you walk in and sometimes they give out free granola bars! also, they have the best waffles at the cabin. they are so tasty and after a long day of skiing, this is all you want to eat. or maybe have a drink at cuzzins which is a great bar right at the main base. tons of fun. over all I really love to spend my weekends at mount snow. the 3 hour drive for me goes by quick because I know what I get to spend my time doing the rest of my time there. shreding great snow with great people, eating yummy waffles and skiing fast in the trees. the sites are beautiful especially the dragon lake.