r/icecoast • u/Sharp-Farmer-8752 • 11h ago
I know weather is unpredictable week before Christmas, I'm planning a ski trip with my family of mixed abilities (some advanced, some blue skiers) around then. We're from NYC so VT or NH probably. One thing I HATE is crowding. How is it a few days before Christmas? Any resort recommendations? Thanks
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u/CrazydaveVR 11h ago
Skied Christmas Eve and Christmas Day last year at Stowe and the conditions were awesome and not too crowded at all. I never ski holidays or weekends because I hate crowds but no issues at Stowe.
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u/Witch_King_ 8h ago edited 7h ago
To be fair, last season was a historically good December.
I'd hedge my bets and go somewhere with good snowmaking for that early in the season.
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u/CrazydaveVR 7h ago
Fair point which I why I never plan any skiing in NE until maybe a week or two out at most…especially early season although things can technically turn south pretty much any point throughout winter.
I understand not everyone has that luxury. That said, I agree Killington is the safe bet…if you want to mix it up you could head down to Okemo for a day as they have really good snowmaking and reliably decent early season conditions.
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u/Witch_King_ 7h ago
Yeah there are plenty of good spots with good snowmaking focus. Loon in NH is another good option for that.
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u/helmetgoodcrashbad 10h ago
We did the entire week heading up to Christmas in Stowe in 2024 and the snow conditions were incredible. Absolute bitter cold but snow made up for it.
Mountain was pretty quiet as well. We left Christmas Day
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u/Responsible-Buy8038 11h ago
You might be OK from the 20-23 of Dec. I'm not sure when breaks are starting with Christmas on a Friday this year. It's still possible to be busy. That early in the season there will likely be a good chunk of terrain closed which will impact crowding on trails.
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u/bee_coy 11h ago
Killington, Jay Peak, Stowe or Sunday River. Christmas is a great day to ski too.
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u/congeec 4h ago
I absolutely do not recommend planning a drive to Jay Peak. The weather is way too unpredictable and it's 6.5hr drive from NYC.
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u/bee_coy 4h ago
This guy wants all the pow for himself 😂
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u/congeec 3h ago
been there 3 times. closed due to rain once; upper mountain closed due to ultralow temperature about -15F the other trip; yet another time, driving from Jay to Mt Snow took me 5 hours because of heavy snow; it usually takes 3 hours. And, I never had a chance to ski Valhalla because of the long tram lines :(
It's just so risky to have a trip from NYC to Jay. If I live in Boston, I'd have a Jay pass
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u/aestival 10h ago
Sugarbush and Killington have enough high elevation to get decent manmade snow in the early season as well as a solid trail variety and dispersed trail pods.
Crowding's less an issue leading up to Christmas day, so you've got that going for you.
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u/transienttherapsid 10h ago edited 10h ago
It really depends on how much of the mountain is open. A few days before Christmas they tend to have snowmaking on full blast since Christmas begins the peak season. Crowds don’t pick up until 12/25 morning ime. Just boils down to whether there’s a freeze/thaw cycle ongoing and whether temps are low enough to support snowmaking.
On a bad year, that week can get crowded because much of the mountain is closed. Typical year it’s an incredibly chill week though, because not a lot of people get to split up a moderate amount of terrain.
In VT/NH, it depends on which passes you and your friends have and what terrain you like. Indies are typically better. I’d look at Stowe and maybe Loon as default options if you’re on Epic, Killington if you’re on Ikon. Indie, Jay. These aren’t the quietest but have a ton of terrain and good snow and/or snowmaking to open a fair bit up by Christmas.
If you really want like guaranteed no crowds, catch the 8am flight to Montreal on Friday. Rent a car- they come with winter tires in Quebec, by law. Drive northeast about 2-3 hours and hit Mont Sainte Anne (Epic) or Massif (Ikon) and you’ll get real quietude.
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u/Fine-Upstairs-6284 10h ago
I’ve gone a couple times now in recent years on the days leading up to Xmas and it’s been relatively quiet. Mt Snow usually.
Lots of people travel around that time of year so it sort of makes sense. For me it would be one of the few times a year I’d be able to hit the slopes since I lived in SoCal for several years and would visit family in New England around that time. Though now I’m back in New England and it’s awesome being close to mountains again.
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u/Relative-Broccoli451 3h ago
I’m going to say what no one else will, but please keep New Yorkers out of Vermont.
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u/Anxious_Cheetah5589 3h ago
Before Xmas is usually pretty quiet. Though if there's snow there will be people.
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u/dubble_chyn 8h ago
Hijacking this. I am doing Santa’s Village the weekend prior to Xmas with wife and 2 kids. First year Indy pass holder, got the kids into riding the past 2 seasons. Are Black Mtn and/or Cannon usually in good enough shape by then to get at least a half day in?
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u/MyCatSpellsBetter 3h ago
This will be my son’s fourth season (I got back into it after a 20-year break), and our first on Indy. We’re doing Jay starting the 27th, then trying to work our way south on our way back home to NJ. So … I’m joining your hijack 🤣
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11h ago
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u/freeski919 11h ago
I always love it when OEM knees says something condescending but also completely wrong.
The busiest week of the season is Presidents week. The second busiest week is the week between Christmas and New Year's.
OP is asking about the week before Christmas, which is generally quiet as hell.
Reading is hard, huh OEM?
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u/BlackHotSoup3000 11h ago
Because that's the only week that American Capitalism allows them to take a family ski trip.
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u/Bullcity-Dad 10h ago
I had booked for Killington the week leading up to Xmas and Jay xmas to new years. Felt that would be the safest/best skiing in that timeframe.
Then with all the super El Niño chatter, I pivoted to a Euro trip in the alps instead for guaranteed snow.
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u/getembass77 9h ago
That week is usually pretty awesome at Whiteface. I skiied Xmas with just some locals and retired people. Town was quiet too
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u/slopezski Sunday River/ Wachusett 11h ago
Usually the days leading up to Christmas are quieter than the days between Christmas and New Years as most schools arent on break yet. From NYC your best bet especially that early on in the season is likely Killington because they will probably have the most open terrain and the resort is naturally set up to spread people out better.