Which one this weekend and why ????   Thanks

never  been to either but i heard stowe is pretty good. if i had the choice i would go to stowe although i heard its rather expensive

ive only been to stowe but its my fav mtn on the east coast. lots of varied terrain that's very accessible

Stowe, no question. Smugglers is a total family/kids vacation resort type place. Lots of little kids. If you're really core you can hike over the top of Spruce Peak to Smugglers. But I don't know anyone who's every actually done it. They're back-to-back, but the road is closed in winter -- right in front of Stowe. It's a long drive around the other way. Anyway, there is no comparison. Stowe is as close to "epic" terrain as you'll get on the East Coast, with Jay Peak a very close second (or tied), but for different reasons.

Stowe has serious steeps. The infamous "Front Four" double-blacks (there are actually five of them, but who's counting?) are sick. Liftline is basically a groomer, but it's like dropping in off the roof of a building. Next to it is Goat...not for the faint of heart. Super narrow, rock ledges and streams and trees, and wicked steep. The others are similar to Liftline, but rarely get groomed and offer serious bumpage.

If you're not into the double-blacks, no worry. The other great thing about Stowe is the length of the trails. There are top-to-bottom runs that go on for miles. Literally. When/if you get bored, there is a gondola over to Spruce Peak, which is interesting if nothing else. There are a few very fun runs, but the layout is weird and they really market the place to families and kids, mostly in an attempt to keep 'em off the serious stuff over at Mt. Mansfield ("Stowe").

It's IS spendy, but it's worth the small difference in price. There are deals around...me and some friends are staying next weekend at Stowedrift, only $230 for a 4-bedroom apartment with full kitchen.

(As I finish this I realize you posted it four days ago...but I'll post it anyway just in case anyone else is wondering the same thing as you).

im trying to plan for this weekend .... Sugarbush or Stowe??? wifeys legs got a taste of what whiteface can do this past weekend so its just me and my buddy ready to get fuuuuuucked up sat night and ride sunday

Yes Smuggs image is a family resort but the kids all stay on morse mountain. Smuggs has serious expert terrain as difficult as anything you'll find in the east. they now have a ton of glades and the only triple black dimond in the east. i worked there 5 years ski patrol. the problem is they don't groom a lot so much of that terrain is probably closed currently due to warming and then freezing. better off going to stowe.

triple black you say? whats the pitch on that?

I was just at Stowe last week and used the 3 days for $99 deal out of Transworld (?) best deal ever.  Great time, if my back wasn't messed up a bit it would have been even more fun.  There was still lots of snow and the longest lift line I ran in to was a few minutes at the gondola, everything else was just about a straight shot to the lift.

Posted by njkayaker

Posted by effin_stoked
triple black you say? whats the pitch on that?

Smuggs claims it is 54 degree. 620'

February 08 I did the 55 Chutes at Homewood at Lake Tahoe. "55" as in 55 degrees. It was insane scary at first...we stood there checking out all the angles for a good ten minutes before we dropped in. But the snow was deep and soft. The freakiest part, which you don't see out here on the Ice Coast, were the warning signs. "Expert Only. Unexploded Ordnance May Be Present." Nice. 55 degrees ain't bad enough, I gotta worry about hitting bombs. But damn, it was fun!

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thats nice to hear about stowe ben, we decided its stowe this weekend and got a place at the inn on the mountain, ive never stayed so close to a lift, day #20 of 08-09 goin out with a bang, i cant beat 20 days a year, maybe someday

http://snowboard.colonies.com/forums/topic/50130/

[Edited by effin_stoked on 3/23/2009 at 9:13 AM]