CONQUERING THE SLOPES
For downhill skiers, the choice is clear: KILLINGTON
(800-734-9435; killington.com) is king of the Northeast.
Legions of die-hard skiers are drawn here every
season by Killington’s 1,200 skiable acres and 3,000-
foot vertical drop. Encompassing seven mountains
and 200 trails, Vermont’s premier ski resort guaran-
tees plenty of variety for experts and beginners alike.
Killington’s 33 lifts and uphill capacity of 52,000 riders
per hour keep the crowds moving and well dispersed
across the resort. Your lift ticket is also good at nearby
Pico Mountain, where the vibe is low-key and the lift
lines are reliably short, even on holiday weekends.
There’s plenty of action for everyone, from the
bunny slopes to exhilarating wide-open intermediate
cruising to narrow white-knuckle runs made even
more challenging by moguls and steeps. Snowboard-
ers have plenty of dedicated territory in Killington’s
terrain parks,
SKIING
half-pipes and a
giant 430-foot long
Superpipe with
18-foot walls.
This part of
central Vermont
averages 250 inches of snow each
winter, but even
if Mother Nature
doesn’t cooperate, a high-tech snow-making operation—the most extensive in the East—ensures there’s
always a long season and plenty of powder.
The party continues off the slopes, too. With dozens
of restaurants and bars, Killington boasts the liveliest
après-ski nightlife scene in the Northeast.
Novices might consider JIMINY PEAK
(413-738-5500; jiminypeak.com), an intimate ski
area nestled in Massachusetts’ gentle Berkshire
mountains. With an excellent children’s program
and a wide selection of beginner and intermediate
trails, this is one of the best places in the Northeast
to learn to ski.
Snowboarders looking
for choice terrain should
take advantage of
New Jersey’s Mountain
Creek, which boasts
a top-notch superpipe.
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARDS
PHOTO COURTESY OF MOUNTAIN CREEK RESORT
BOARDING
STRATTON MOUNTAIN (800-STRATTON; 800-787-2886;
stratton.com) was the birthplace of snowboarding. (Its slogan: “Stratton had a half-pipe before the rest of the world
even knew what one was!”) This southern Vermont resort
was the original test area for Burton Snowboards, and it’s
home to the annual U.S. Open championships. Stratton remains a favorite for serious riders—in fact, the readers of Ski
Magazine rated its terrain parks as the best in the East.
The specialized terrain parks run the gamut from beginner courses to the professional-level Power Park. The Power
Superpipe, which has won a stamp of approval from Olympic
gold medalist Ross Powers, is a great place for daredevils to
strut their stuff. Stratton has built a solid reputation as a great
place for novices (adults and kids alike) to learn quickly. Multiple “terrain gardens” feature gently varying hills designed
to help newbies have a blast while building their skills and
confidence. Burton’s Learn to Ride instruction program is
designed to have you riding both park and pipe.
If you’re looking for a quick getaway from New York
City, you may be surprised to learn that there’s top-rated
snowboarding just an hour’s drive from the George
Washington Bridge. New Jersey’s MOUNTAIN CREEK
(973-827-2000; mountaincreek.com) boasts a huge network of terrain parks and a thrilling superpipe.
