Badness Ski Report: Killington & Stowe
You can’t talk about East Coast skiing without mentioning both Killington and Stowe—two of the biggest and best ski areas in New England. Stowe delivers some of the rowdiest terrain on the East Coast, while Killington holds the crown as the “Beast of the East” and the largest ski area in the eastern U.S. In true Live Rad and Travel fashion, we hit both resorts for my birthday weekend. With peak February conditions and a near 70-year snow high, we scored Northern Vermont at its absolute best.
This is the Badness East Coast Ski Report: Stowe Mountain Resort & Killington Ski Resort
Mile: 62,007
Quote of the Blog: “Vermont: We have skiing, lattes, and no billboards. Life the way it should be.” - Peter Jennison
Song of the Blog: “I love Skiing” - The Hot Sardines
STOWE MOUNTAIN RESORT
Overall Score 8.25/10
Open Terrain 9/10
Technicality of Terrain 9/10
Lodges 9/10
Snow Conditions 8/10
Vibe & Apres Scene 9/10
Chairlifts & Access 7/10
Parking 7/10
Crowds 8/10
My birthday landed on a Friday this year, so Amity took the day off to give us a three-day weekend. We hit the road at the crack of dawn for a nearly three-hour drive up to Stowe, Vermont. These early mornings have become all too familiar—and still equally hated. But on the East Coast, if you don’t ski in the morning, the snow turns to ice. Leaving early meant we’d hit the parking lot around 9:15 a.m.
We had no clue about parking, so we just rolled up to the first open lot we saw and bit the bullet on paying. Luckily, we scored a great slopeside spot in an upper lot for only $20. It made the morning way easier—we geared up and hit the slopes with no hassle.
The ski gods must’ve known it was my birthday, because when we skied down to the gondola, it hadn’t started loading yet. The lifties were just finishing setting up the line ropes, and we ended up being first in line for the summit gondola. BIG win. After a short wait, we squeezed in and headed to the top. Huge props to Amity—she never once complained or acted nervous, even though the gondola services some of the steepest, longest runs on the East Coast. It’s no Alta or Big Sky, but skiing out here has seriously leveled up her confidence and skill.
Skiing off the gondola at Stowe is incredible. There’s terrain for every level and style, and this legendary snow year has opened up everything on the mountain and side-country. Honestly, the side-country access rivals spots I’ve seen out west—Montana, Colorado, Utah, even Canada. I may have drooled in the gondola a few times. Amity and I stuck to the main trails, and with the long runs and rolling terrain, carving at Stowe was awesome. The snow was perfect—recent storms softened up the tree lines just off the groomers, so I dipped into those while Amity cruised the corduroy.
We made it a mission to explore the whole mountain. After a few cold laps on the high-speed quad, we headed to Spruce Peak Village. To get there, you take a gondola over the parking lot. That side felt like a Colorado resort had been copy-pasted—tall lodges, a cute village, and an ice rink in the center. The terrain over there is definitely more family-friendly. We poked around and found a beer at the Spruce Camp Base Lodge. I also found a candy store—had to grab some birthday goodies. While it was fun to check out, the skiing was mid, so we headed back to the main side for a few final gondola laps. Being day one of three, we didn’t want to burn ourselves out.
Back at the car, we discovered Amity had made a mistake entering our license plate number when paying for parking and we’d gotten a ticket. It was a small typo—two letters mixed up—and we were literally the only Missouri plate in the lot. Classic Vail resort. We appealed it and won, thankfully. After a short drive, we got to our lodging for the night: the Innsbruck Inn at Stowe. It’s a cute, simple lodge just a few miles from the resort, and they had some snacks waiting for us before we headed into town.
We kicked off my birthday night at Alchemist Brewing, a super cool spot covered in vibrant art inside and out. The place was packed, but we lucked into the last table. Good beer, good music, great vibe—it honestly felt like being back in Whitefish for a second. The only downside: they closed at 6 p.m., so we moved on. We’d had reservations at a spot up in Spruce Peak Village but decided it was too fancy for our mood. Instead, we hit Doc Ponds, one of Stowe’s most popular spots. The wait was long, food was okay, but service was fast once we were seated. With two more ski days ahead, it was a solid end to an epic birthday.
The next morning felt like sleeping in since we didn’t start at 6 a.m. We had breakfast at the hotel, and it was surprisingly great—fresh blueberry pancakes, real eggs, real maple syrup. We noticed a plaque for “Billy Kid,” a Stowe ski racer who got second at the national championships in Innsbruck, Austria. Turns out, that’s the origin of the lodge’s name—Innsbruck Inn at Stowe.
This time, we went for the free parking lot and took a shuttle to Spruce Peak. Super easy. We did a few warm-up laps on the mellow terrain before heading back to the main mountain. It was warmer and more crowded, but we didn’t mind taking it slow. Our only real mission today? Waffles at the top of the Mount Mansfield gondola. They were nearly as good as the Waffle Cabin classics—chocolate-covered Belgian waffles just hit different in New England.
Today, I was on a tree-skiing mission while Amity carved the groomers. Stowe’s glades are legit—some wide open, some tight, some pre-cut lines, and a few mogul fields tossed in for fun. It was sporty and playful. One of our favorite things about Stowe is how good the skiers are. People make turns, keep distance, stay in control—unlike some other spots where you’re constantly dodging Jerry’s. I will say that we did find ourselves having to do a lot of flat ground traversing, walking without out skis on, and actually had to walk a staircase up from one lift to another. Not the best layout we have seen on a ski hill.
On one of our final gondola rides, we picked up a new term: “Two-Skip” or “Three-Skip.” It’s a way of saying you’re almost done skiing without saying “Last Run” (which is cursed, obviously). You say “two-skip,” take one more run, and skip the next. Never tempt fate with the L-word. We fully embraced the three-skip today.
We wrapped up by heading far skier’s right to hit “Toll Road,” a long cat track that brings you back to the free lot. By then, the snow had turned to huge, wet flakes—sticky, messy, and kind of hilarious. But it was free parking, and part of the adventure.
Final thoughts: Stowe Mountain Resort is the real deal. Mount Mansfield is having its second best snow year on record, and it showed—everything was open and skiing great. The resort has something for everyone: serious skier terrain on the Stowe side, and relaxed resort vibes at Spruce Peak. Great snow, playful lines, and solid infrastructure. I don’t know when we’ll be back, but I’ll definitely be asking Amity to plan another trip. This was an incredible place to spend my birthday. Thanks, Amity!
KILLINGTON MOUNTAIN RESORT
Overall Score 8.25/10
Open Terrain 9/10
Technicality of Terrain 7/10
Lodges 8/10
Snow Conditions 8/10
Vibe & Apres Scene 8/10
Chairlifts & Access 8/10
Parking 9/10
Crowds 9/10
We left Stowe fairly early in the afternoon and hit the road toward Killington for the final leg of our adventure. The drive was super easy and took us through some really cool and unique Vermont towns. Along the way, we saw several covered bridges, the Ben & Jerry’s factory, and a handful of small ski hills. We made it to Killington before sunset, but the storm was just starting to roll in. What had been a stretch of nice weather quickly turned into a cold and windy winter storm.
Once in Killington, we headed to our hotel to try and check in a little early. We were staying at the Summit Lodge, just a five-minute drive from the ski hill. The Summit Lodge was one of the more unique places we’ve stayed—Bavarian-themed with big, open rooms for relaxing and a full-service Irish bar and restaurant downstairs. The quirkiest part? The hot tub. To get to it, you had to walk through the bar and restaurant, which meant people of all ages were walking around in robes and swimsuits, dripping wet. Of course, we had to participate. Watching Amity grab a beer from the bar in her robe had me dying laughing. After a solid soak, we cleaned up and went out for dinner.
With no set plan, we drove toward the resort to see what the town had to offer. We ended up finding a great spot called The Foundry, right next to our hotel—walking distance, which was clutch. It was a classic mountain-town restaurant. Not fine dining, but super solid, and the food was amazing. By this point, we were both cooked and ready for bed, so we headed back to the hotel to rest up for our last ski day. When we walked back in, we discovered that the Irish band in the bar was absolutely cranking—a 10/10 loud show going strong until around 10:30 or 11 p.m. We considered joining, but since we’d dropped over $250 on tomorrow’s lift tickets, we wanted to get up early and make the most of the day. In hindsight, we should’ve just stayed up and joined the party—because we didn’t fall asleep until they wrapped anyway.
We woke up bright and early the next morning. Unsurprisingly, the hotel was silent—either because everyone had been partying all night or because the temps had absolutely tanked and were in the single digits. We scored free parking close to Killington Mountain Resort, which was a huge win. We geared up quickly, headed inside to warm up, and grabbed our tickets. Our first chair of the day was Ramshead—and it was brutally cold. Amity was not thrilled from the start. There may have been some tears on the lift (especially when it stopped a second time). We bombed a quick run down to the K1 Lodge to warm up. That would become the theme for the day: ski a couple runs, head inside, regain feeling in our fingers and toes.
Eventually, we took the K1 gondola up to the summit. While riding up, Amity mentioned this was the most she’d had to carry her skis in a weekend—and I agreed. Gondolas are great for sheltering from the wind, but taking your gear off and hauling it through lift lines every time gets old fast. The upside? No crowds. The cold kept people away, so we had zero lift lines all day—a major bonus when you’re trying to get the most out of a pricey ticket.
Skiing from the top of Killington was so cold we barely stopped for a photo. But the payoff? Empty slopes and a stunning sun halo from ice crystals in the air—one of the most beautiful runs of the season. One thing we loved about Killington was how many lodges are located at the base of each chair. The K1 Lodge is massive—one of the nicest we’ve seen, complete with an escalator (because…why not?). We hit the K1 Pub for poutine and beers—because how do you say no to a Canadian classic topped with Vermont cheese?
One of my goals was to ski the Superstar run—the same one used for the FIS World Cup GS race. We found it after lunch and made a few laps. Amity skied part of it before opting for a less steep, less icy option. I couldn’t help but imagine Mikaela Shiffrin blasting by me, holding a better edge as I pinned it down the slope. The lift never had a line, so we got a bunch of laps in. Bonus points: the skiers here were solid. No one was out of control, and people respected each other’s space. That made it easier for me to open it up and ski aggressively, and it helped lower Amity’s stress levels, too.
Now, one downside to Killington: a lot of flat terrain. Tons of skating and skooching between areas. I get it—it’s the largest ski area on the East Coast—but it still could’ve been designed better. On top of that, they were blowing snow in March! As Montanans, we couldn’t believe it. Snowmaking in November or December? Sure. But March? It made the already sticky flat spots even worse, and it didn’t help the bone-chilling temps.
Despite the cold, we did a great job covering the mountain. We called our final “two skip” around 3 p.m. On a normal day without paying for a ticket, we probably wouldn’t have even put boots on. But we powered through the tears, frozen fingers, and icy runs to take on the Beast of the East. We knew it was legit cold when we passed multiple Waffle Cabins and didn’t stop at a single one. We ended up skiing about 15 runs—massive win for a single-digit day.
Back at the car, we cranked the heat and stripped off gear as fast as possible. It took Amity days to feel warm again. On the way home, we made a quick detour to Quechee Gorge—a tip from Ashley Seefeldt. Unfortunately, it was closed by the time we got there, but we still caught a cool glimpse from the road. Totally worth it.
We’re stoked we made this trip happen. Killington truly lived up to its name as the “Beast of the East.” The weather tested us, but the Montana grit kicked in—and we conquered it.
I wouldn’t say I’ve always dreamed of skiing Killington and Stowe, but I’ve definitely always wanted to be able to say I have. And now I can. Knowing that we now never know where we will be in 6 months, I’m confident we will be back. The both scored the same rating at 8.25 out of 10, but each resort had its own flavor of awesome. Killington is massive and has a solid nightlife scene. It’d be epic to catch a World Cup race there. Stowe? Total legend status. It the snow is right, the backcountry there is legit. If someone tells me they grew up skiing Stowe, I’ll have mad respect for their skills.
Thank you, Vermont, for a couple of killer resorts—and thank you, Amity, for the best birthday weekend. Live Rad!