UVM ski pass?
- Thread starter lexich
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this is not the case. i know last year they ran busses for all of the three ssc passes. the three major passes are sugarbush, stowe, and the triple major (bolton, jay, and mad river).
each pass has its pros and cons. stowe is by far the biggest, and has the widest and most creative selection of park features. it was my impression that most kids went with the stowe pass, so it's easy to find rides. however, in my experience, stowe is the most crowded and has the worst conditions
as far as the triple major, there is good and bad to each of the mountains. jay gets great snow, but it's the furthest from burlington (about 1.5-2 hours depending on weather). i've never been to bolton, but i've heard that the park is decent, they do have night skiing, but the mountain is small and the conditions don't tend to be great. and as for mad river, its reputation pretty much speaks for itself.
i've always gotten the sugarbush pass. sugarbush has two peaks, but i only go to the smaller one. it's not very big, and that's a problem for a lot of people. the park also isn't very big, but they do have a park lift and there's never anybody there (especially during the week) so it's easy to lap all day, and they have a decent amount of features in spite of the size. the bigger peak has slightly worse conditions, no park, and lots of gapers.
this is all of the information that comes to mind, but hit me up if there's anything else you need to know. it really comes down to personal preference/what your friends want to do. choose wisely, but if you get it wrong you've got three more years to get it right. welcome to uvm!
each pass has its pros and cons. stowe is by far the biggest, and has the widest and most creative selection of park features. it was my impression that most kids went with the stowe pass, so it's easy to find rides. however, in my experience, stowe is the most crowded and has the worst conditions
as far as the triple major, there is good and bad to each of the mountains. jay gets great snow, but it's the furthest from burlington (about 1.5-2 hours depending on weather). i've never been to bolton, but i've heard that the park is decent, they do have night skiing, but the mountain is small and the conditions don't tend to be great. and as for mad river, its reputation pretty much speaks for itself.
i've always gotten the sugarbush pass. sugarbush has two peaks, but i only go to the smaller one. it's not very big, and that's a problem for a lot of people. the park also isn't very big, but they do have a park lift and there's never anybody there (especially during the week) so it's easy to lap all day, and they have a decent amount of features in spite of the size. the bigger peak has slightly worse conditions, no park, and lots of gapers.
this is all of the information that comes to mind, but hit me up if there's anything else you need to know. it really comes down to personal preference/what your friends want to do. choose wisely, but if you get it wrong you've got three more years to get it right. welcome to uvm!
chuck_testa
Active member
OK i live up there and know exactly what mountains to get passes to. Bolton valley is the cheapest I think. But overall that place isn't good. Mad river glen is the second cheapest. I love that place. Short lift lines, sick ski lines. Their drops, tree hits, and even some jumps built around the mountain. Sugarbush is pretty cheap if you get a mount ellen only pass. Mt ellen is better and shorter lift lines by a lot and has the park. and well I hate stowe. expensive, crowded rich people who think they own the place. Some trails are sick there but overral I hate that place.
maximiliaan
Active member
LOOK AT COOCKIE!
Lemuel
Active member
This for sure.
Stowe = gaper college kid trap
Triple Major = Hardcore all mountain skier pass
Bush = The most fun
They are all good, but I will never pay for a pass to Stowe again. I would take triple major in a heart beat, because it is the best, but everyone thinks that Stowe is so awesome and good. I'm happy I went to Sugarbush, at the end of every single day, I said "this was the best day this season."
Stowe = gaper college kid trap
Triple Major = Hardcore all mountain skier pass
Bush = The most fun
They are all good, but I will never pay for a pass to Stowe again. I would take triple major in a heart beat, because it is the best, but everyone thinks that Stowe is so awesome and good. I'm happy I went to Sugarbush, at the end of every single day, I said "this was the best day this season."
joel.wolter
Member
Get the triple major and become friends with Champlain College students and they'll let you borrow their Sugarbush/Mt Ellen pass which they get for $30.
Triple major is the best though you get the best of all world, Jay Peak is the shit with a great park and great woods, Bolton is close (20 minutes) with a decent park sometimes and night skiing, and nothing beats a big powder day at Mad River Glen.
Can't get a better deal for $300.
Triple major is the best though you get the best of all world, Jay Peak is the shit with a great park and great woods, Bolton is close (20 minutes) with a decent park sometimes and night skiing, and nothing beats a big powder day at Mad River Glen.
Can't get a better deal for $300.
VT_FLO
Active member
there are busses to stowe, jay peak sugarbush and bolton every weekend, also mad river most of the time too.
Smugglers notch and Jay peak have the best back country (that i've ridden in vt) but if you're not a hardcore rider then bolton and stowe will be more your speed.bolton has night skiing, if you get the triple major its a pass to bolton, jay peak and mad river glenn for 50$ cheaper than the stowe pass. Stowe is where all of the rich trust fund kids go and that's where you'll really get the bro-skier theme going on.
I use the triple major and ride bolton nights several times a week when I can. It was really handy to be able to just drive up after class and ski till whenever and then go to the big mountains, etc jay on the weekend for cheaper than stowe.
if you're a park rat you'll be all over stowe though. They have good terrain as well but the atmosphere is 100x snootier than any other resort. It's kind of like how the mountain in the movie Out Cold would have turned out if the owner actually sold it.
I'm a big fan of the more family-esque places than the "I eat caviar out of a hookers butthole" kind of places.
smugglers notch has the most rustic feel but the lifts take forever. They also have the best terrain and the powder stays fresh there the longest IMO. I also grew up on it and know all of the backcountry/good cliff drops.
Smugglers notch and Jay peak have the best back country (that i've ridden in vt) but if you're not a hardcore rider then bolton and stowe will be more your speed.bolton has night skiing, if you get the triple major its a pass to bolton, jay peak and mad river glenn for 50$ cheaper than the stowe pass. Stowe is where all of the rich trust fund kids go and that's where you'll really get the bro-skier theme going on.
I use the triple major and ride bolton nights several times a week when I can. It was really handy to be able to just drive up after class and ski till whenever and then go to the big mountains, etc jay on the weekend for cheaper than stowe.
if you're a park rat you'll be all over stowe though. They have good terrain as well but the atmosphere is 100x snootier than any other resort. It's kind of like how the mountain in the movie Out Cold would have turned out if the owner actually sold it.
I'm a big fan of the more family-esque places than the "I eat caviar out of a hookers butthole" kind of places.
smugglers notch has the most rustic feel but the lifts take forever. They also have the best terrain and the powder stays fresh there the longest IMO. I also grew up on it and know all of the backcountry/good cliff drops.
Alright so everything on here is true for the most part. As a freshman you will probably rely on the buses at least a little bit. Buses run every every weekend second semester excluding spring break. Depending how it is going you may or may not see buses at the end of first semester. These buses go to at the very least stowe and Jay every weekend. Usually there is a bus to the bush depending on numbers and on special occasions buses may run to Bolton and Mad but this is extremely rare. UVMFST and UVMST the freestyle ski and snowboard teams run vans pretty much every day to stowe, so to access those you either need to be on the freestyle ski team to use those vans or freestyle snowboard team to use their vans. However, everyday tons of people drive to the mountain so it isn't terribly hard to get a ride. Oh and another incentive to by the triple major is that they were open until May 15th this year. Also jay is not 2 hours away by any means, it usually takes me 1:15 to get there and rarely do they have lines. Stowe takes about 45 minutes, bolton about 25 minutes, mad river and sugarbush are in the same direction at about an hour respectively. The UVMSSC sells passes all fall for a discounted price; last year triple major was 269 if you also bought the uvmssc membership, which I believe was 20$. Stowe was in the mid to upper 300's I believe and Sugarbush was between the two, although I stand to be corrected.
.MASSHOLE.
Active member
Do a lot of people go to Jay on Pow days via their own cars? And how expensive are Jay day passes?