SugarBush/verses/Killington?

[happygirl]

Anybody want to list the pros and cons?

[freeheel_skier]

Pros I ski a @ SB
cons Killington is an hour south :D

Troll much? :P

[teleo]

When I was young, stupid, partying, going out to dinner - I based myself at K and drove to SB for skiing variety.
Now I'm not so young and have a kid - I'm based at SB and don't bother with K at all.

and yes, I'm probably still stupid, lest anyone bother with a snarky reply.

[Chewbarka]

Are you kidding me? Sugarbush is better in every single way. No Comparison!
After having a ski house at Killington for five years, we choose to buy at Sugarbush.
While Killington has a lot of terrain, the trails are always crowded even though the lifts are not. We have entire trails to ourselves at Sugarbush on most runs on the weekends. We may have to wait a little for a chair ride up, but the quality of the experience coming down more then offsets the wait. The terrain is skied out almost immediately at Killington. There is hardly any terrain left in it's natural state at Killington. Almost all their terrain has been widened to the point of having no soul. Killington lost it's soul when they destroyed Big Dipper. The people are not nearly as nice or fun loving! There are far more woods opportunities at Sugarbush. Other then bars and restaurants, there is nothing going on in that area. The summer is dead. The happy valley is even better in the summer then it is in the winter. And I LOVE the winter!
Did you ever notice that most skiers at Sugarbush are good skiers? Look at what comes down the hill at you while at Killington. They attract EVERYBODY.
Did you ever see a fist fight on the slopes at Sugarbush? You will at Killington.
Killington skiers love Killington with as much passion as we Sugarbush skiers love Sugarbush. The difference is Killington skiers never ski anywhere else and don't know any better. Sugarbush skiers have skied everywhere else and know that this place is the best!

[Strat]

Are you kidding me? Sugarbush is better in every single way. No Comparison!
After having a ski house at Killington for five years, we choose to buy at Sugarbush.
While Killington has a lot of terrain, the trails are always crowded even though the lifts are not. We have entire trails to ourselves at Sugarbush on most runs on the weekends. We may have to wait a little for a chair ride up, but the quality of the experience coming down more then offsets the wait. The terrain is skied out almost immediately at Killington. There is hardly any terrain left in it's natural state at Killington. Almost all their terrain has been widened to the point of having no soul. Killington lost it's soul when they destroyed Big Dipper. The people are not nearly as nice or fun loving! There are far more woods opportunities at Sugarbush. Other then bars and restaurants, there is nothing going on in that area. The summer is dead. The happy valley is even better in the summer then it is in the winter. And I LOVE the winter!
Did you ever notice that most skiers at Sugarbush are good skiers? Look at what comes down the hill at you while at Killington. They attract EVERYBODY.
Did you ever see a fist fight on the slopes at Sugarbush? You will at Killington.
Killington skiers love Killington with as much passion as we Sugarbush skiers love Sugarbush. The difference is Killington skiers never ski anywhere else and don't know any better. Sugarbush skiers have skied everywhere else and know that this place is the best!
You don't by chance work in Marketing, do you? (Not Sugarbush marketing, I just mean in general - that was a very nice pitch).

[Xskier]

The comparison is quite simple:

If you want the best ski experience go to Sugarbush.
If you want to party like you do in the city go to Killington.
If you want to have an ok ski experience and want any decent night life go to Killington.

[happygirl]

That is a very good pitch.

[djd66]

Similar story here,... long time ago, I worked at K on the Patrol. Then I rented there for 8 years as a weekender. I got introduced to the bush back when ASC bought Killington. We would drive 45 minutes (or so) b/c the skiing product at Sugarbush was SO much better. We mainly would do this on Saturday b/c Sundays at K are not so bad. After a while, I decided I wanted to just ski at the Bush. Got married, had kids and bought property in the valley. I've never looked back, and do not miss K at all. Sugarbush is such a better experience for my kids in so many ways. Be better here!

[WWF-VT]

Killington skiers love Killington with as much passion as we Sugarbush skiers love Sugarbush. The difference is Killington skiers never ski anywhere else and don't know any better. Sugarbush skiers have skied everywhere else and know that this place is the best!

+1

[shadyjay]

When I was based in CT, I had a pass to Killington... the ASC pass. You really couldn't beat the price ($350 then) and included Mt Snow (and the rest of the fam) with 16 blackouts (holidays you don't want to be at those mtns anyway). Convenience was the factor there, and the price, as Kmart is more easily a day trip from down south than the Bush. While Killington does have the nightlife and their lifts are pretty protected from the wind, they also have several drawbacks:
1. Most of their trails are connectors - with people coming into or xing the trail from all directions - very few good cruisers
2. The attitude of the people there is much different compared to the Bush, employees and guests
3. Too many ways to get lost - if you're solo, fine, but if you go with someone, a plan has to be made so that you don't end up 5 miles apart
4. Way too many people

Compare now to the Bush.

1. While there are a few connectors, there are more cruisers. There are less chances of collisions because fewer trails intersect each other. Sure, there's Lower Jester crisscrossing Lower Organgrinder, but that's basically it.
2. You can easily start up a conversation with anyone - employee, other guest on chairlift ride, etc. There's more comrodary (sp?).
3. All the trails at LP go down to a single base area. All the trails at ME go to a single base. There's no fear of going down a trail at ME and ending up at LP, unless you take Slide Brook.
4. Even the busiest weekends are only a fraction of the people at Killington. While Killington may be spread out, everyone seems to flock to the same areas (the K1 gondola).

I had already bought my ASC pass when I moved to Vermont in '05 so I had to make the 2-hr (or so) trek from Hinesburg. I went just enough times to pay for the pass, but I think I had more days at Sugarbush that season. When season passes went on sale in the spring of '06, it was a no brainer which mtn I'd choose... the Bush... and I haven't looked back since.

[muddy_hollow]

When I was much younger, every time I made the trek up from my Mom's house to K it was always greeted by crowds and some pretty inconsiderate skiers. VT had the 18 year old drinking age of the time, which made going out a bit of fun. I'm not saying that the Bush doesn't get a couple a**holes, such as the day-passers who forget that zippering on the line is the norm or the dipsh*t boarder who clipped both my wife and daughter and then took off without even an apology.

I'll reiterate the points made before, the bush has: better terrain, generally a population of well skilled skiers, and an overall vibe of friendliness. K is good skiing but seems to be cut-and-dry business to me... plus to many Yankee fans :shock:

There's also something to be said about the type of people who travel to SB. There is NO easy route in, short of Rte. 100 down from exit 9 on 89. People who travel to SB each weekend are committed (or committable); Rte 100 from exit 3 or the Roxbury Gap are neither convenient nor an easy ride... add in a snow storm and you have to be out of your mind.... Traveling to SB on a snowy Friday night through the back ways and byways the extra hour+ rather than going to K must mean something about the resort.

The other one I really like about SB is that there seems to be more longtime Vermonters who choose to ski here..... something to say about the locals knowing where to go.

My name is Mud.

[Dawn Patrol]

What the heck is 'zippering on the line'??


The BEST thing about SBers is that they NEVER generalize!

[Long Island Boarder]

spent a week at Sugarbush in the beginning of Feb. Had a great time at Mt. Ellen not to mention we had the whole place to ourselves. Very nice people all around and 2 adult tickets for $50.00 made it a bargain.

[barkbiter]

Ms. Dawnies every post also mentions her little whiny Claybrook issue. Can you please reserve that for the appropriate thread ?

[Lostone]

That's his sig line. It is in every post he makes, automatically, regardless of the thread subject. It is a standard feature of most message boards.

[HowieT2]

Ms. Dawnies every post also mentions her little whiny Claybrook issue. Can you please reserve that for the appropriate thread ?

you must be obsessed too.

[Hawk]

I won't disagree with the basic idea that SB is better because it is. All of the reasons that have been communicated are valid in my book with a few exceptions. These are my observations based on my 40 to 50 trips from the last 20 years. Mind you the people that I go to K with are expert freestyle type skiers and love adventuring around the mountain.

Saying that SB has better skiers is not entirely true. SB has in general a larger core of intermediate and expert skiers that are more courteous. What K has that we do not is a huge group of hardcore bumpers and free riders. The free ride park is massive and impressive at Bear. Those are some very skilled skiers and there are loads of those folks. I would venture to say that SB has only a fraction of the highly talented skiers that K has. I think the general impression of K having bad skiers comes from the large mass of teens and twenty something skiers that descend upon the mountain every weekend. The "adrenaline Crowd" is larger and the beginner crowd is larger.

The other thing I disagree with is that Killington gets tracked out faster than the Bush. Not including the trails I think that like any mountain you just have to know where to look. The people I ski with a K bring me on the "powder tour". With some creativity and knowing where to go there are lots of places to get lost. Killington is a big place too. The thing they have going for them is that there is no slide brook bus. The back country is just that with no easy ride. That makes some places there much more untracked.

Now I would never buy a pass but it still is a nice place to visit and get some variety. Especially on weekdays. :wink: