My favorite aspect of Sunday River that wasn’t mentioned is their “boundary to boundary” policy which allows skiers to ride any terrain within boundary, makes for some of my favorite tight glade skiing in Maine
@@PeakRankings Vail is 3x bigger than Killington, but Killington receive way less snow and had to make their own snow, hence they are smaller (or should I say that's the main reason), so it is really unfair
Lol. If you’ve only been to this East coast “resorts “ you’re doing yourself a disservice. They’re fine for what they are but vail , mammoth , squaw , whistler - they’re simply superior in almost every way. ☮️🏂😎. 5/10 is accurate
@@PeakRankings I think that ranking East Coast resorts with their own criteria rather than the same as western resorts, might be a good idea - there's little overlap between the two regions
Also worth noting is that Sunday River is considerably lower in elevation than its rivals (base elevation of just 800 feet) and closer to the ocean. This means temps are consistently warmer than say Killington (higher and inland) or Sugarloaf (higher and further north). Sometimes this means nicer conditions, but in my experience, this often means more thaws, winter drizzle, and earlier melt come springtime.
Another superb and accurate assessment. Sunday River is a very, very wide mountain. As mentioned, always has had fantastic snowmaking because it had too. They definitely receive less now than Sugarloaf, and these two mountains are like polar opposites of each other. Whereas Sunday River is a great intermediate and family destination with a wide footprint, Sugarloaf has great and long top to bottom, centralized skiing, with better natural snow and far more expert terrain.
As a regular Sunday River skier, I would agree with almost all your comments but have issue with your number scores. You gave it a 5 for grooming/snow making and I would have given it a 9. The other factor is they have put in 2 new high speed lifts, a 6 pack and 8 pack, so that has really improved any choke points. I would have expected SR to rank just under Killington and Sugarbush, but for different reasons (Kton size and varienty, Sugarbush for challenge and terrain). Good review though and you captured the place pretty well. They do have a lot of glades, but not always open unless enough natural snow.
Selling point is the size and the snow making. It makes Sunday River such a reliable experience compared to some of big east coast mountains that can't accommodate their crowds(which are also usually larger) nearly as well.
Good vid, I’d disagree with the assessments of the glades. Saying a “handful of glades” is understating the volume of tree runs there, although some often closed due to lack of snow. I’d sharply disagree with the facilities assessment. Only Killington has more in the east, and if you know how to navigate Sunday River properly, you can access a lodge quickly.
I live around 2 - 3 hours from there and we stay at a hotel around 5 minutes out I’ll have to check the name. But it is most definitely my fav place to ski
Sunday river has some good trees and sneaky spots when there is a good storm. On a pow day you can find fresh snow all day. I don’t usually go otherwise.
I think Sunday River tops almost all NE resorts. I like that the lifts are slower, keeps the trails open for fast and more aggressive skiing. And I would argue the expert terrain is pretty tough, yes the trails are wider and a lot is groomed, but it’s also pretty dang steep. Shockwave for example is an ungroomed double black off White Cap, that may have been the hardest run I’ve skied. I also appreciate the size and have never felt lost or gotten confused, although I do like the feeling of being out on the mountain with no plan or direction, just out for an adventure
Good video! I will say that Sunday River is a really nice mountain to hit with a group of friends who are not all at the same skill level. As you mention, most lifts serve a variety of terrain, so it's easy for your group to work a single lift for a while and keep everyone happy. Also, the Blind Ambition glade is enormous, and is an amazing playground for beginner glade skiers, or more advanced skiers who want a chill experience. There's nothing else quite like it in the east. In general, I always enjoy the terrain at SR, because its sheer size and variety will allow you to find whatever you're in the mood for. There are solid bump runs, easy trees, blue cruisers, decent steeps, gnarly ungroomed lift lines, etc., etc. I'm a fan.
The locals call it "someday bigger" and it is so true. The width is annoying. The prices for food and bev is insane, and it is the least hype mtn of all time. Nothing going on ever. This place feels scammy. I would go to sugarloaf if I was traveling and skiing in Maine. They also lie like crazy about snow totals.
I've been binging your videos the last couple of days. Fantastic work. As a skier from Califoria now living in Montreal, I'd love to see you do some reviews on some Québec resorts. I know you did an article on Tremblant, but Le Massif de Charlevoix I feel is a really amazing east coast mountain that needs to be checked out !
DONT BE HATIN ON LUNCH AT JORDAN BOWL BUBBA!! :) I WAS ON THE TRAIL CUTTING CREW FOR BLIND AMBITION BACK IN THE 90S..BEST GLADE SKIING TRAIL ON THE EAST COAST!
also known as "Someday Bigger" by western maine locals... any plans to hit saddleback/sugarloaf this year? both are better than SR in just about every way in my book Edit: finished the video, can see that youve ranked them and agree w me
The mountains vertical drop is counted from the highest point of elevation at the resort to the lowest point of elevation which is different from continuous vertical drop. So at Sunday River 1,700 vertical feet is the max continuous.
It's great when 2/3 of their lifts aren't shut down for the day due to wind! The wind was pretty strong there in the morning when I was there, but by afternoon, there was virtually zero wind at all, yet they never opened any of the summit lifts except for Locke. Lame af. Literally most of the best terrain there was inaccessible for the whole day, unless you wanted to do some serious hiking.
Your east coast mnt rankings at the end is not up to par. Jay peak challenge rating should be a 6 if killington is a 6. Whiteface is the most challenging on the east coast, maybe North America (challenging being key word)… east coast mnts I’d say whiteface, jay, killington.
We haven't gotten enough footage of the Snowfields and Brackett Basin at this point, but we have a written review here: www.peakrankings.com/content/sugarloaf
I disagree with your size, diversity, challenge, and navigation scores. I believe a finally tally of 60 is more accurate. However, I may be biased towards more optimal conditions as I never went during peak times (family vacation home nearby). Despite the score, still a must try resort.
We may have jumped the gun on putting Jay there and are still finalizing the score/review 🙈 although we can confirm that Jay Peak's official score will only change in the upward direction
Go to either Sugarloaf in Maine, or Whiteface in NY for way better terrain, and especially Sugarloaf - it has trails that will test even World Cup skiers. Weekdays are best - zero lift lines amd and ridiculously low ticket prices. The bang for the buck is better than anything you will get out west.
I've grown a little weary of Sunday River's claim of being situated on "eight separate mountain peaks". In reality, the resort is built on a long ridge and every little knob is excitedly referred to as a mountain peak. Please knock it off, SR.
Wow, another hit the nail review... everything is on point! Even I lived in NJ, I went to Maine twice the past 2 years as Sugarloaf and Sunday River are really worth the visit during Thanksgiving & Christmas holidays (albeit the long lines)
Week days are best - almost no lift lines, and the ticket prices are extremely low. I'm going to Sugarloaf next months, and my ticket cost for 5 days is only $179!
