Years ago I went to Belleayre and had a good time. It wasn't worth a long-distance trip but as a daytrip from NYC it's absolutely worth a shot.

Huntah dude. Go with Joey and his Mets Starter jacket and hit the BQE.

Vermont.

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Im planning on going to Whiteface next week as they’re expecting some snow. 5 hours from the city but worth it. Best in NY in my opinion

mt snow, hunter

Belleayre and Plattekill are both within that 3 hour driving range. I don't know if either will have super challenging terrain for your crew, but they're nice spots. If you go midweek tickets are cheap and it's not too crowded. They get slammed on the weekends.

I live in Maine so I have no clue what current conditions are there. Full disclosure.

It’s not a great snow year/week so options are a bit limited. That being said, I’ve tried almost all the areas -3hrs from NYC and here’s my take.

Mass My rec would be Catamount within 3 hrs. Went there last weekend and really enjoyed it. It’s smaller and doesn’t have high speed lifts but has some pretty steep runs, low lines on a Sunday, and enough interesting terrain to have a good time. Also nice views, and a more relaxed atmosphere.

NY Hunter - will be very busy. The biggest most mountainy mountain but the crowds make it not great. Also lots of weird zig zag double fall line runs.

Belleayre - went there for first time recently off of people’s recs to avoid crowds. However It was still very crowded on a Saturday and honestly a little too boring as it’s on the flatter side. They did have a lot open though.

Windham - I did the majority of my local skiing there the last two years as I used to have an ikon. If it’s not crowded and snow is good, it’s probably my favorite since you can get a lot of skiing a short amount of time w/ the high speed lift. Also lots of run options off main lift with some steeps to mix things up. Maybe this year it will be less crowded because of all the stupid “windham club” thing they are pedaling.

NY

Windham is the place to go if you want rarified air.

Mt. Peter

Gore. Any day of the week. 

Just went to Gore today. It was amazing. They really are having a great season. We've been skiing there the last 4 years, and this is one of the best. A lot of trails open with many options for natural moguls or glades, if that is your thing (it isn't our thing, but we saw many out ripping it today!). Have fun!

I live in the Poconos and I'm strongly considering a ski3 pass for next year. Dislike crowds, like long runs. Seems like it might be worth it

You missed my favorite, it's a hidden gem called Big Snow. Views are the best and 10x better than Vermont skiing with only <1hr drive

Mt Ellen at Sugarbush and Pico at Killington are also great

Killington, Loaf and Bush are the good ones. Sunday River is next best but is more like five small hills side by side versus a big mountain. It's good for old people and families. Loon ok. Stratton meh and Windham sucks for multiple reasons. Unfortunate for those from NYC that the closest Ikon option is a dud that requires reservations.

If you're willing to drive to Maine, do Sunday River

I love the European vibe at Tremblant

Mont Sutton

Where in New York? Location matters.

Only folks with no real strategy or understanding of where to get the stoke complain about the Northeast. A 1000ft vertical small mountain with a 12-15” midweek dump is some of the most fun you can have on skis.

I do understand folks who are stuck only hitting weekends. If their luck is bad they may not get much powder all winter and it’s skied of quickly at big places.

One important thing storms are fickle and can move and change last minute or hit one part of Vermont hard but skunk another of ski Vermont but hit main hard …

Oh and one other independent you should pay for if it’s good conditions is Saddleback Maine

Of the Epic Northeast mountains, Stowe probably has the best expert terrain. Problem is, everybody knows it, and it's having crowd issues; it's one of two Epic mountains in the region that charges for parking to try to limit traffic, or at least encourage car pooling.

(For context, before Stowe was purchased by Vail in 2017, a season pass was $2,313. After they were purchased, a season pass became the then-standard Epic pass price of $899; or even cheaper if you purchased a regional pass. They've been struggling to keep up with demand since then.)

Ikon seems way better to me in Northeast and most stay open well past Epic Resorts.

Killington + Pico, Sugarbush, Stratton, Sugarloaf, Sunday River. Many of these are not only some of the best skiing, great glades etc but also open into May.

Blue Mountain also Ikon in PA is a fun little place and you can make night skiing leaving a bit early from work. It’s a fun layout and feels bigger than 1000ft vert. Great snowmaking. It’s often my last couple days of East Coast skiing.

You could round it out with a couple Epic Day passes purchased before Sept 1 bringing the price way down for Epic Resorts like Stowe.

Jay Peak gets 275-350 inches a year so you can storm chase and just pay if you can make it that far. Another sleeper is Bolton Valley, near Stowe, great on a storm ski and reasonable tickets. Also has a patrolled backcountry. Depending on how much you ski I’d skip the epic day passes and get Ikon and fill in just buying lift tickets at Bolton Valley, Magic Mountain(southern vt) , Jay, Mad River Glen.

The tip of all tips? Maybe? Pico is beside Killington, owned by Killington and on your Ikon. On a 8+ powder day head straight to Pico. It’s 2,000ft of pure powder bliss with 15% of the skiers. Learn the glades and run nice powder all day. Sugarbush is a bit like this also.

If you have a flexible spontaneous work schedule you can get real powder days if you are willing to storm chase, car camp etc. I get an average of about 10ft of powder days a year but have total flexibility. But getting one great midweek multi day storm a winter can make the East feel very different over being a weekend warrior.

If you ski moguls or want to learn many of us show up for the mogul weekends at Big Snow the indoor place in NJ but very near NYC. Great place to meet ski buddies also.

Check Miramar.org - NYC ski club

Stratton is awesome

Whiteface

Hunter or one of the other Catskills resorts is probably the closest decent skiing to nyc that or mount snow if you want Vermont

If you’re weekday focused, can’t go wrong with either. Epic will just give you more options if you travel

Ski 3’s value proposition: costs more, but lower crowds (weekday crowds are non existent) and slightly closer drives. Bellearye is slightly closer and much less crowded than Hunter; Gore is slightly closer and much less crowded than Mt Snow/Okemo; and Whiteface is 1 hr closer and much less crowded than Stowe

Epic Northeast proposition: Cheaper, VT is Snowier than NY, and Stowe is an S Tier Icecoast Mountain

If you want to go really upstate, check out Whiteface. It really does have some killer terrain, and if you wait until January the famous Slides may be open. As for staying, Lake Placid is one of the coolest little ski towns in the country with a lot to offer. It’s definitely a lot further out of the way, but was always my favorite place to go when I lived in the area

to start.....how do you define upstate NY? serious question because some people consider the catskills as upstate, while others consider half the adirondacks as upstate.

i grew up skiing Gore Mountain. dont live in ny anymore but i still enjoy that place, has a lot of variety for everyone. mid december is going to be tough unless it gets cold early and it snows. Killington, VT is your best bet for conditions that early. but even then, if it doesnt get cold or snow, mid december is a bit a coin toss on what you will get.

Definitely second Holiday Valley. Not the most vertical, but a lot of fun terrain with a good atmosphere. Great town area too. I’m from CNY and we always try to do a weekend out there every year.

r/icecoast will have local reviews for NY resorts.

yeah im from western ny so it’s one of the best resorts for a reasonable distance that i know :)

and yes, i thought the friendliness to beginner and intermediate skiers would be a good suggestion since op mentioned it!!