Best Northeast mountains for adv. beginner?

[MilkyWookiee]

At Okemo, the Jackson Gore side is nice for advancing skiers because you can warm up on the green trails under the Coleman Brook chair and then take the bubble chair up and do Tuckered Out, which is an easy blue. Once that gets comfortable you can try Blue Moon, which has a bit more pitch, but is very wide.

Then you can go over to the Solitude area and do Screamin' Demon/heaven's gate and eventually take the Jack-a-lope trail back to the JK side.

That way you avoid the insanity of Lower Mountain road, which funnels skiers of all abilities down to the Sunburst chair and is a pinball-machine of people straightlining at MACH 1 and nervous new skiers moving slowly. No shade to either group, it's just a bad combination.

Lower mountain road and lower arrow are the 2 most difficult trails on that hill! I do wish they would find a better way to move people through JG because you’re right it’s a great spot. I can ski every trail on that hill and tuckered out is my 100% favorite! I did forget about blue moon though. That’s the one that takes you all the way to the base correct? If so, I think it’s a great trail most of the time but it does get a lot of flying pizza types on saturdays and holidays as it’s posted as the easiest route to JG

 

[Mayree]

Yes, Mt Snow will be crowded (weekends) but the snow conditions will be good. Mid week is great.

 

[marzNC]

Yes, Mt Snow will be crowded (weekends) but the snow conditions will be good. Mid week is great.

Are there regulars midweek? I've learned to look around for the small group of seniors when I go to a new place midweek. They always know the best place to boot up and store a boot bag.

 

[Mayree]

There are regulars midweek and most skiers have their fav spots. All depends where you park. Weekend advice is GET THERE EARLY! I’m going to try to be more regular on weekdays this yr.

 

[marzNC]

There are regulars midweek and most skiers have their fav spots. All depends where you park. Weekend advice is GET THERE EARLY! I’m going to try to be more regular on weekdays this yr.

What I learned when I first discovered online ski forums from SkiSE is that to get "rock star parking" it's best to arrive at least an hour before the lifts start spinning. My daughter was young enough when we started exploring beyond our home mountain that she didn't complain about getting up early. So by the time she was a teen who would rather sleep in, getting up early for a ski day was not an issue.

Hope you'll post more so that you can see the Divas Only threads in Meet On The Hill (MOTH). That's where traveling Divas look for local Divas to ski with. I'm a traveler when it comes to skiing in the northeast.

 

[newboots]

@Mayree - Welcome to The Ski Diva! It’s a great community and we are happy to have you!

 

[knolan12]

It certainly isn't someplace with double blacks, but depending on where on the south shore you are, Wachusett can be good for day trips if you can get out during the week when it is quiet there. It has some nice blues to practice on, and a good lesson program. I'm in Quincy, and often drive up once or twice a week (I get the Bronze weekday pass.) PM me if you want to come check it out with me some time.

How would you rate the blues at Wachusett? I'm in Cohasset so this is probably the closest, but I'm a little worried that it seems to be all blues haha

 

[marzNC]

How would you rate the blues at Wachusett? I'm in Cohasset so this is probably the closest, but I'm a little worried that it seems to be all blues haha

One of the best features of Wachusett is that the two long green trails are also served by a high-speed detachable lift. That's in addition to a magic carpet used for never-ever lessons and little kids just getting started. So can ski the greens without a slow ride or having to worry about advanced skiers buzzing past.

The blues are mostly off a lift that doesn't have any black terrain. Pretty wide trails in general. Less pitch than the blues at Sunapee I think.

Of course, being close to Boston, Wachusett gets pretty crowded on weekends. Also has a lot of school buses that show up around 3pm.

How long a drive would it be to Berkshire East? That doesn't get crowded on weekends from what @newboots said. The flip side is that the lifts are on the slow side.

 

[knolan12]

How long a drive would it be to Berkshire East? That doesn't get crowded on weekends from what @newboots said. The flip side is that the lifts are on the slow side.

Thanks for the extra info on Wachusett! Berkshire East is doable in a day. I've only been out there for a wedding haha but I could deal with slow lifts if it's not too cold.

 

[newboots]

I skied at B East my first year skiing (then I moved to VT). I really enjoyed it, but I was a rank beginner. There are a couple of easy greens, a couple of long, WIDE trails, and some nice woodsy blues and blacks. I was too new to ski any blacks on purpose (!) but I was lost in a blizzard and found a quite nice one, steep, ungroomed, and lots of turns.

I didn’t know the lifts were slow, having never skied anywhere else! They seemed fine to
me!

 

[diymom]

How would you rate the blues at Wachusett?

Like @marzNC mentioned, the greens are quite nice. There are only the two, but they are decently long, and always kept nicely groomed. And the blues kind of "build" nicely. I'd say Ralph's is the easiest. The top is nice and mellow, and the spot with a slightly steeper pitch is at the bottom so no worries about surprises since you can take a look at the steepest part from the base. The others from that lift are maybe a tad steeper than Ralphs Run, and then Connifer from the summit is the steepest (and longest). I would agree that the shorter blues are all easier than Sunapee blues. The blue from the summit would be comparable.

Wachusett is generally pretty quiet during the week, especially right now since the blacks aren't open yet. I don't think the school groups start up until after the Christmas break either. In any case, I find leaving just before the school kids start spilling out of the buses works well to ensure that I don't hit too much traffic on the way home either.

If you are thinking of heading there before Christmas, I recommend buying a Cow Card (gift card) in the ski shop as soon as you get there. If you get a $100 card right now, you get an early season ticket for free. And then you can use the gift card to pay for anything thing else there- food, gear, your next lift tickets, what ever.

 

[tinymoose]

10. For apres, you can go across the street to the Mt. Washington Hotel. The lobby is well worth the visit. Go in ski clothes; you'll be one of many.
View attachment 9560

This is 100% off-topic but I want to marry this hotel. I'm gonna change my username to Mrs.MtWashingtonHotel.

Anyhow, I don't have a lot to contribute b/c I'm from Pennsylvania, but of the few mountains I've skied in the Northeast I'd rec Stratton or Okemo. I skied my first black diamond at Stratton my 2nd year of skiing if that tells you how truly not terrifying it is (and seasons 1 & 2 of skiing for me probably added up to a grand total of 14 days). Okemo seems somewhat comparable as far as terrain to Stratton, at least the one time I was there.

 

[Tvan]

@tinymoose - mrs.mtwashintgtonhotel - that made me laugh out loud!

 

[LKillick]

Was very happy with Sunday River over Thanksgiving. We stayed in lodging that was inexpensive and ski in/out accessible right off the beginner lift. My partner is a true beginner, and he had a superb private lesson with a level III PSIA instructor, as did I as an advanced-intermediate-ish skier still transitioning from old straight ski habits. Top notch all around.

 

[knolan12]

@liquidfeet I'm headed to Bretton Woods this weekend to ski Sunday and Monday! Any trails you'd recommend we check out first to get our ski legs back?

 

[liquidfeet]

Ride the Zephyr chair.

Ski down Rangeview, the trail below the lift. Take a trail map with you; there's a way to avoid the drop at the top (steepish to some skiers, not at all to others) if you feel the need. Go right as you depart the lift and come around below the drop to join Rangeview. This is called taking the "jughandle."

At the bottom of Rangeview there's another (steepish to some) drop which you can avoid by going right on Short Cut and then back left to the lift on Go West.

Back up the Zephyr lift, then do Crawford's Blaze (take the jughandle to get there).
Back up the Zephyr lift, then do Granny's Grit (if it's groomed) (take the jughandle to get there).
Back up the Zephry lift, then do Avalon.
Go to the West Mountain lift at the end of Avalon, ride up, then take Alpine Gardens to Starr King.
All of those are very gentle cruisers.
At that point you'll be warmed up and can do whatever you like off of the three major chairs.

At Bretton Woods you can ski every lift (except the T-Bar) and come down exclusively on greens, or on blues that are mostly green. The mountain is perfect for advanced beginners.

Is there any particular type terrain you want to ski? Easy ungroomed (usually available)? Easy glades with baby bumps (usually available)?

 

[knolan12]

This is great, thank you! I actually prefer cruisers (I feel very zen going down them haha), but I'd like to try my hand eventually on a little steeper terrain to continue to build up my skills.

 

[liquidfeet]

You'll find short steeps at Bretton Woods, but no sustained ones. So again, it's perfect for giving steeps a first try.

At the customer service desk you can find the grooming report. Mark the trails that are ungroomed on your trail map before skiing.

If you're feeling frisky and there has been a little fresh snow in the last few days, find your way over to No Regrets for an easy ungroomed run. That's a fun trail for first-time skiers of the ungroomed. If it's groomed, that's fine too. Access it off the Zephyr lift. Take the jughandle, then go along Archie's Alley to get to No Regrets. People can't find it, so it remains mostly untouched.

 

[knolan12]

Awesome, thank you!! This is super helpful

 

[Divegirl]

@knolan12 - I just saw this thread. I was away for most of November. Anyways, I live in Hull (not to far from the Cohasset line) and ski mid-week at Wachusett. There are a couple MA skiing/Wachusett threads floating around or you can pm me if you can ski mid-week..