Most snowboarders will laugh at the thought of “comparing” the East Coast to the West Coast. The western mountains are drastically bigger, and they get a lot more snow. The runs are longer and there are wide open bowls full of cliff drops with perfect landings. You can explore endless tracts of backcountry terrain with chutes, couloirs, and other lingo that you don’t really hear back East. As majestic as all of that may all sound, I still love East Coast riding;even when I am out west I miss the nostalgia of the East Coast style skiing/ riding that I grew up on. Fast, icy groomers that wind down the mountain, tight tree runs where you never know when you’ll trip on a root or hit a rock, and endless side-hits along every trail. I think this is what makes East Coasters so talented and creative with their riding or skiing. We were born to constantly adapt to everything from variable, icy conditions, to thin snow cover, or all-around boredom from a lack of powder forcing us to get creative in the park; even using our backyards, making things for jibbing out of anything you can imagine. I’ve seen old sailboats used as wallrides, all kinds of pvc pipe creations, and my personal favorite – the picnic table. When you go out west and meet some of the best snowboarders on the planet, chances are they came from the northeast. Not saying there aren’t exceptions, but speaking as a Northeasterner myself, the best riders I know came from here because we have character. A West Coast native may think differently and say, “You’re all just a bunch of park rats who don’t know how to ride big mountain.” Here on the East Coast, we hit the park to get through to the powder days. Your average winter out west you don’t really need that as much, but I think all our park riding, tight glade navigating, and barebones mentality make it easy for us to transpose on the big mountains.. We finally break out of our East Coast cocoon and spread our wings on the wide open spaces and endless powder. Enough ranting about who’s better, in the end it’s all about having fun, and if you’re lucky, scoring some deep powder along the way. Here are some of my favorite spots in the Northeast:
For Park:
I’ll start with the two obvious ones; Loon Mountain in New Hampshire and Carinthia (Mt. Snow) in Vermont. Many riders will agree that these two are the best parks on the East Coast,if not the whole country. Loon’s main attraction, Loon Mountain Park (aka LMP) is nearly a mile long park run featuring a rail section at the top, jumpline through the middle, a stair set at the bottom, and one of the only superpipes in New Hampshire at the very bottom. One thing you’ll notice at loon is that every jump and lip will look like it was built by the ancient Egyptians, with perfect corners and precise alignments. They pride themselves on quality over quantity. Loon die-hards will tell you that this is what makes them better than Carinthia. While I believe they both have quality and quantity, Carintha has just about any mountain beat when it comes to quantity. An entire side of the mountain is dedicated for park – with just about anything you can imagine from jumps, wallrides, variety of rails, wooden rails, etc, (and a superpipe too!). Some honorable mentions would be Sugarbush, VT, the closest thing to a skatepark on snow. Also Nashoba Valley, MA which is the home mountain of legendary skier-turned- snowboarder Willy “Easy-Breezy” Young, aka “Cheeky Charlie.”
For Powder:
It’s five am and you just slapped your bedside alarm clock; you’re ready to go because you slept in all your gear! It’s finally a powder day in the northeast! Where now shall you go? If you’re like most people, you have either an Ikon or Epic pass to narrow down your choices, but let’s say the world is your oyster, and you can be anywhere in New England riding some East Coast pow. Let’s start with two independent mountains: Cannon, NH and the notorious Jay Peak, VT. While known more as “skier mountains,” these two places have the type of terrain you want to ride when the snow gets deep. Both resorts have a big mountain feel with trams going to the top, along with challenging steep slopes and glades to explore on a powder day. Going up to Jay Peak, you also can’t ignore nearby Stowe, VT and Smugglers Notch, which have incredible riding for powder days (look up “100 North snowboard movie.”) Also if you feel like still going after the day is done, you can always hit Bolton Valley, which is the only night skiing in Vermont open until 10pm. Bring a headlamp for nighttime tree riding! An honorable (but very far) mention would have to be Sugarloaf, ME. This place is huge and feels like a WestCoast mountain. Its “front face” at the very topis above the treeline.
Backcountry/ Splitboarding:
If you’re one of those “screw the resort man, i’m getting a splitboard” type of rider, this section of the article is for you. While it may not be wide open like the west, there are still many places in the east to explore. New Hampshire’s Mount Washington or “The Big Hill,” as they call it, has many modes of downhill travel from the top. Nearby peaks such as Mount Adams, which houses the famous “Tuckerman Ravine,” a massive bowl of snow, ice, cliffs, danger, carnage, grit, and willpower. An East Coast pilgrimage destination in the springtime, the ravine is as gnarly as it gets anywhere. The best part about going to Tuckermans? Riding down the long, windy “Sherburne Trail” to the trailhead parking lot!, Over in Vermont, there’s Mt. Mansfield. Home to Stowe resort. Tons of backcountry to explore around there and Smugglers’ Notch, along with Bolton Valley, which has many trails for splitboarding and East Coast backcountry splendor. More does exist out here than just Washington and Mansfield, you just need to explore and get creative. More backcountry ski trails are popping up throughout New England. Look up “Granite Backcountry Alliance” to volunteer and cut trails in the off-season, to gain intel on every secret spot in the East! •
For tips and suggestions on snowboarding out west, check the online, expanded version of this article at motifri.com/best-v-ice. You can find Tom and all his wacky adventures on instagram @tom_dett
