Stowe Mountain Resort
New England
Stowe
Vermont
United States
Stowe
Vermont
United States
In my non-humble opinion, Stowe is overall the best resort in New England. The terrain is really nice: great steeps and trees (check out Goat), classic New England narrow & winding intermediate runs (Sterling on Spruce Peak) , and ample beginner's terrain. Stowe's legendary Front Four (especially Goat) are in-your-face, double-black expert runs. Their blacks are also nice, with Nosedive being a personal favorite of mine. They also have gnarly, out-of-bounds hike-to terrain. They get good snow (averages over 300 inches per year) which doesn't get blown off the mountain like other NE resorts. The lift system is really fast, with long waits seen only on holiday weekends (typical at most resorts anyway). I prefer powder, but they groom their trails nicely, too.
Regarding things not directly related to the skiing itself, the on-mountain food is the best in New England. The scenery is great. The on- and off-mountain lodging is also very nice.
The only thing about Stowe is price. It is an EXPENSIVE mountain. Single day lift tickets approach $90. You can easily spend 40-50 bucks at lunch if you're not careful. Lodging is also pricey (although decent hotels for only ~120 per night are still around).
Overall, Stowe is tops in the east. But you pay for it, no doubt about that.
Stowe Mountain Resort
My recent trip to Stowe was the best Eastern ski experience of my life. The first day was a bluebird day. The second day was overcast, but snow started falling later in the afternoon. The third day we were skiing anywhere from 14-24 inches of fresh powder, and really dry, fluffy powder, too. It was spectacular.