Winter Getaways: Skiing the Northeast

By Stillman Rogers

When clients start thinking about an active winter escape, suggest skiing in the northeast, where this fast-growing industry thrives on dozens of mountains, and non-skiing family members will find plenty to keep them busy.
Skiing in America was literally born in the mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont, in a time when ski trains from Boston and New York plied the rails daily. Today’s skiers fly into Boston, Manchester, Portland or Burlington, and can hit the slopes the same day.
Snow-making technology and vastly improved grooming have eliminated snow-less winters throughout Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and upstate New York. Virtually all of the major ski areas—and most smaller ones—have snow-making that reaches 90 to 100 percent of their terrain. Advanced trail grooming insures the best possible skiing experience.
Western Maine offers three ski resorts that are perfect for clients who want top-rated accommodations and services but crave a wilderness experience. The best access to these is through Portland and Bangor airports. Sugarloaf (www.sugarloaf.com), the most northerly, is in the lightly settled Carrabassett Valley. On the second highest mountain in Maine, the resort has a 2,820-foot vertical drop, among the largest in the east. Its 54 miles of trails are divided between expert, intermediate and beginner for a wide variety of experiences. On-mountain facilities include lodging and dining.
Sunday River (www.sundayriver.com) lies close to the New Hampshire border near Bethel, with 50 miles of trails at various skill levels and a 2,340-foot vertical. Sunday River’s on-mountain lodging capacity is 6,000 beds. Saddleback Mountain (www.saddlebackmaine.com) at Rangely, one of the most striking places in Maine, is a secret of in-the-know skiers. The family-owned resort takes pride in the personal attention given to guests; book clients in smart new trailside condos or in the town of Rangely. Saddleback’s 66 trails run from a long ridge, with 67% ranked beginner or intermediate; the balance are black diamond.
New Hampshire’s White Mountains have a high concentration of ski resorts, most with on-mountain lodging and all with lodging nearby and reached through Manchester-Boston and Boston’s Logan airports. Many lodgings offer winter ski packages that include lift passes. Cranmore Mountain (www.cranmore.com) in North Conway was one of America’s first ski resorts and has the added attraction of the many outlet shopping malls nearby. Cranmore’s 2,000-foot vertical is covered by 54 trails, offering challenge while still being a great family ski area. Major new additions include high speed lifts, a new learner area and children’s center, as well as this winter’s addition of a Mountain Coaster ride. While there is no on-mountain lodging, there are attractive packages with area resorts, including the White Mountain Hotel (www.whitemountainhotel.com).
North Conway and Jackson resorts have the advantage of several ski areas within a few miles; Black Mountain (www.blackmt.com), Wildcat (www.skiwildcat.com) and Attitash (www.attitash.com) are good alpine choices, and Jackson Ski Touring (www.jacksonxc.org) offers 154 km of Nordic trails through spectacular mountain scenery.
Farther north, Bretton Woods Ski Resort (www.brettonwoods.com) faces the famed Mount Washington Grand Resort Hotel (www.omnihotels.com) and spectacular views of Mount Washington, with NH’s largest skiable terrain: 102 trails and glades over two mountains and a vertical of 1,500 feet. Lodging and dining are available on–mountain and in the grand hotel, as well as nearby inns and B&Bs (www.bbinnsmwv.com). Mountain View Grand (www.mountainviewgrand.com) ski packages can include lift tickets here or at nearby Cannon Mountain, along with a spa and family activities.
Loon Mountain Resort (www.loonmtn.com) lies in the Kancamagus Valley, just off of I-93, with towering peaks all around its own 2,100-foot vertical drop. It’s a good place for adults and children to learn, with 73% of its 55 trails rated novice and intermediate. The new South Peak area has added exciting new challenges, and on-mountain lodging is abundant.
Vermont (www.skivermont.com), also a pioneer in the ski industry, offers top ranked “ski hills” for all tastes. Sure to be on every “best” list is Okemo Mountain Resort (www.okemo.com). Its ski-in hotel and condo accommodations, multiple dining options and full range of winter activities from a spa to indoor skating rink make it ideal for families. More lodging, dining and night-life are close by in Ludlow, connected by a shuttle.
Okemo and its sister Mount Sunapee (www.mountsunapee.com), across the river in New Hampshire, are masters of snow making and grooming. A package deal with Sunapee adds more variety for a week-long stay. Skiing on Okemo’s 2,200-foot vertical drop and 119 trails, slopes and glades on two mountains is as good as it gets, and you can be confident that your clients will praise Okemo’s exceptional attention to guest services. The Okemo Mountain Coaster, opening this month, adds more fun. Clients can fly to Hartford, Boston or Manchester.
In northern Vermont, book ski vacations at Smuggler’s Notch Resort, rated as the top family ski area for 12 straight years by Ski Magazine readers (www.smuggs.com). The resort can arrange transport from Burlington Airport right to the slope-side lodging, so a car isn’t necessary. Smuggs’ covers three mountain faces, providing 78 trails with a total length of 27 miles and a vertical of 2,610 feet. The child care and teaching facilities here are outstanding.
Stratton Mountain (www.stratton.com), in central Vermont offers 2,000 feet of vertical and 14 lifts (including high-speed six-passenger lifts) serving 92 trails. A full-service resort like Smugglers Notch and Okemo, it has on-slope lodging and a variety of winter sports. Suggest that clients also try nearby Bromley (www.bromley.com) and Magic Mountain (www.magicmtn.com).
The giant of New York skiing is Whiteface Mountain at Lake Placid (www.whiteface.com), home to the 1980 Winter Olympics. Your clients can hone their skills in all the Olympic venues—skating, ski jumping, luge and more—as well as skiing and boarding on the 3,430-foot vertical drop. You’ll have no trouble finding accommodations in the 1,850 rooms; clients can fly directly into Lake Placid. Those looking for a more low-key experience might prefer Gore Mountain (www.goremountain.com). Also in the Adirondacks, Gore has 100 trails over a 2,300-foot vertical, with 60% of its terrain classed as intermediate.
All of these resorts are used to working with agents, so you can arrange child care and ski schools for children and beginning adults, in addition to packages that include the room, lift ticket and equipment (rental shops at all of these mountains carry the best and latest equipment).

The New Vail, Unveiled

By Risa Wyatt

In 1963, a ski patroller from Aspen by the name of Steve Boyd drove down I-70 to check out a new ski area. Shortly afterwards he changed jobs to patrol at the upstart. “I came to Vail because they wanted to do everything the best,” explains Boyd, who now volunteers as a mountain host. Over 40 years later, “The Best” still rules as mantra at Vail, which encompasses the most skiable acres (5,289) in the United States.
For this winter season, Vail (www.vail.com) is finishing major reconstruction projects. How major? The price tag tops $1 billion following a demi-decade during which building cranes seemed to outnumber the chairlifts. Dubbed the “Vail Renaissance,” the revitalization encompasses everything from redesign of the base villages, to new luxury hotels, to social networking on the mountain.

Upgrades and New Accommodations
Just like Baby Boomers, Vail faced a midlife crisis as it headed into the new millennium. The ski area opened in 1962—a time when The Beverly Hillbillies and Bonanza were hit shows on TV. Most of the building projects center on the glamorous remake of the Lionshead base area. The westernmost of the three portals to the ski mountain, Lionshead had been a meandering concrete hodgepodge that looked more like a flatland strip mall than a ritzy ski resort.
The updated Lionshead started taking shape in 2008. Forming a focus for skier activity, the cobblestoned Vail Square features an ice-skating rink and new luxury hotels. First property to open was the $250 million Arrabelle (arrabelle.rockresorts.com), a RockResort with 36 guest rooms and 50 condominium accommodations. Its high style, high-alpine design features peaked rooflines, wooden balconies, and a clock tower. At the spa, treatments incorporate mountain ingredients such as a massage infused with aromas of fir and pine.
Two hotels will open for the 2010-2011 season. The first Four Seasons in Colorado, the 121-room Four Seasons Resort Vail (www.fourseasons.com/vail) is located at the entry to Vail Village. Accented by hickory wood and limestone, most of the 121 rooms and suites come with gas-burning fireplaces. An outdoor heated pool offers stunning views of Vail Mountain, while the spa emphasizes therapies geared to high altitudes. Although the property is not ski in/out, it has a dedicated ski concierge at the Vista Bahn Express lift. The hotel is accepting reservations starting December 11, 2010.
Set on Gore Creek near the Eagle Bahn gondola, Ritz-Carlton Residences (www.legendarylodging.com; 877-525-9631) features 71 accommodations. Many will be in a rental pool, with layouts ranging from two to six bedrooms. Located just west of Lionshead, the property also offers a fitness center, outdoor pool and hot tubs, ski valet, great room, library, and more.
Other Vail hotels have undergone recent renovation. In 1968, Bob Lazier, an enterprising ski bum, scraped up enough money to buy Tivoli Lodge (www.tivolilodge.com), in a prime location next to the Vista Bahn lift. In 2006 he totally rebuilt it into a chic boutique hotel.
Vail Cascade Resort, Spa, and Condominiums (www.vailcascade.com) recently completed a $30 million transformation of public and private areas, including an infinity-edge pool, hot tub, and outdoor fire pits overlooking Gore Creek. The 292-room property also has a huge fitness center and spa plus 40,000 square feet of meeting space.

For Powder Hounds
Of course, winter sports enthusiasts come to Vail because of the mountain, the “home slope” for Olympics gold-medalist Lindsey Vonn. The front face flaunts notch-in-the-belt cruisers such as Riva Ridge and Born Free. But what launches Vail into the skiing stratosphere are the Back Bowls—vast ridges, chutes, and snowfields that swoop across seven peaks. New for this season, a high-speed quad chairlift will speed access to the popular Sun Up and Sun Down Bowl areas.
So visitors can schuss through these snowy expanses like a local, Vail has added new “Adventure Sessions”—not lessons, but explorations. Expert guides lead small groups of skiers and riders to hidden powder stashes and bump runs, giving tips about technique along the way (about $130 for the day-long program).
New this season, Vail is bringing social networking to snow country. Skiers and boarders can share on-mountain experiences with the EpicMix online and mobile application, which uses radio frequency (RF) chips embedded in season passes and lift tickets. With the app, guests can track vertical feet skied, know when Facebook friends are on the mountain, send private messages, and more.
Family fun awaits at Adventure Ridge, where activities include tubing, ski biking, kids snowmobiling, and nature snowshoe tours. Additional tubing hill lanes and a new enclosed lift will provide an easier tubing experience and faster lift times. Vail is also one of the first resorts to require that children age 12 and under who participate in a group lesson wear helmets.

What’s Next at Vail?
Excitement is building for 2015, when Vail and its sibling resort Beaver Creek will host the World Alpine Ski Championships. Looking into the future, an entirely new village and ski portal—to be called “Ever Vail”—is on the drawing boards for an 11-acre site in West Vail. Plans for the $1.5 billion project have been awarded the highest rating possible—Platinum—under the LEED rating system.
Vail is located 35 miles east of Vail/ Eagle County Airport (EGE) and 120 miles west of Denver International Airport. This winter, EGE will be served by four major airlines—American, Continental, Delta and United—with non-stop flights from ten major airports: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/Kennedy, New York/LaGuardia and Newark. For details, visit www.FlyVail.com.

What’s New Elsewhere in Colorado
Aspen/Snowmass (www.aspensnowmass.com): Over the past seven seasons, the fab four-mountain phenomenon has invested more than $138 million in on-mountain improvements. At Snowmass, a 12-foot halfpipe will join the 18-foot superpipe for people still honing their skills.
Beaver Creek (www.beavercreek.com): Now in its second season, Kids’ Ultimate Four offers a semi-private group lesson for children ages 3–12 years with only four children per instructor. The outdoor deck has expanded at Mamie’s Mountain Grill, which offers a DIY (do-it-yourself) grilling concept with burgers, steaks, and more.
Breckenridge (www.breckenridge.com): For upscale lodging, the ski-in/out 1 Ski Hill Place, a RockResort, opened this past summer at the base of Peak 8. On mountain, a new 22-foot halfpipe and redesigned terrain park will debut in December.
Copper Mountain (www.coppercolorado.com): The $6 million in capital improvements includes increasing snowmaking capacity by 25 percent and expanding parking facilities.
Crested Butte (www.skicb.com): The resort recently unveiled its new Mountaineer Square base area village with the Lodge at Mountaineer Square, Adventure Center, shops, and restaurants. This season it’s adding intermediate terrain and increasing snowmaking.
Keystone (www.keystoneresort.com): During holidays throughout the winter, Keystone hosts the Kidtopia festival complete with disco tubing and a humongous snow fort.
Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort (www.durangomountainresort.com): Last season’s Legends expansion added 30 percent more expert terrain. This year they’re glading a new section on the front of the mountain.
Steamboat (www.steamboat.com): Visitors can catch some rays at the new Burgess Creek Terrace and Umbrella Bar located slopeside in the base area. The resort’s four progressive terrain parks will feature 30 new and refurbished rails/features.
Telluride (www.tellurideskiresort.com): Geared to families, the Eco Adventures program offers activities such as snowmobiling through the forest to hot springs, beginner to expert ice climbing, and the first helicopter ski operation in Colorado. A new bridge and staircase improves access to the hike-to Gold Hill terrain. 
Winter Park (www.winterparkresort.com): Development continues at the recently completed Village. The on-mountain Lodge at Sunspot restaurant is being refurbished.