I am looking for a place to spend about 4 days+ skiing right before christmas. It would be a family trip, Dad, mom bother and me. We were considering Snowshoe. I have never skied earlier than the middle of January. Are ski conditions good in the middle to late December, specifically for snowshoe? Would most trails be open? Is Snowshoe a good place to ski anyway? My parents also like cross country skiing, would there be a chance the cross country trails are open? Would a trip up to a resort in Vermont be better, in early december? Thanks for any answers. I didn't know how to find this sort of information, so I figured I'd ask other skiers. Thanks again for any replies.

If Vermont is an option, I would choose it. Particularly, if some of the group wants to Cross Country ski. Even in Vermont, there is no guarantee of snow on the ground in mid-December. Most resorts in Vt. will have, if they can, done plenty of snowmaking.

Mid-December can be iffy in really bad years..

As a longtime New England skier, I agree completely with what Otto is saying about Vermont. I would definitely be concerned about snow conditions.

My other concern would be price. The Christmas period tends to be VERY expensive in New England. I investigated renting a 2 bedroom condo at Sunday River in Maine with my brother and his wife. The cost would have been $1600 for two nights loding and two days of skiing for 4 people. Needless to say, we bagged that option and instead plan to take a day trip to Sunapee (new and greatly improved under the same management as Okemo) if I even go to Boston during that period. My wife wants to go to Timberline instead, and I'm leaning in her direction.

Interestingly enough, the conditions I experienced at Whitetail in early January were better than what I experienced at Stowe last year during roughly the same period. The reason for this is that Whitetail does a better job of covering its slopes with man-made snow than Stowe. Sounds hard to believe, but it is is true. Many Mid Atlantic resorts have better water supplies than New England resorts and more snow making coverage per square foot of terrain. In short, if we get cold weather, you can count on Mid Atlantic resorts to blow 6 inches per night on nearly every trail. The same cannot be said for many VT resorts. If we get cold weather West Virginia should have some decent skiing in December, but the weather will have to be COLD.

Pete, if you can wait until the last minute to plan the trip, that may be your best bet. Go where there is snow.

Other than that, you might consider Colorado. Believe it or not, you might find a cheaper package to CO than VT during this period--especially with air fares being so low and people being afraid to fly. Keystone and Loveland are already open.

John Sherwood

PS I am going to try and ski Snowshoe in later November if it opens. I'll be sure to write a first-hand report for DC Ski if I go.

Snowshoe is a real good alternative. This year they have some great Christmas packages on their website and when we went last year, we skiied and cross countried. The cross country runs are 2 miles from the Main Lodge. Cupp Run was open and that is the best black in the MidAtlantic Region, by far. Snowshoe has a lot to do up on the mountain, too. Snowmobile tours are great!

snowshoe is a very nice resort, so is timberline. Surprisingly this year, snowshoe and timberline are almost the same cost wise. I am pretty sure that timberline does not offer cross country or snowshoeing. I think snowshoe has better snowmaking. if you havent heard by now also, snowshoe has already gotten six inches, with snowmaking earlier this week. see ya later, and best of luck!