Excellent Riding. The Zone features rails, hits, quarter-pipes, spines and the Super Pipe. The Zaugg Pipe Monster is unlike any other pipe shaping equipment available. It's specifically engineered to produce a world-class Super Pipe and cut walls in excess of 22-feet in height. The Pipe Monster creates a smooth compression so pipe enthusiasts of any ability level can expand their skills and learn more tricks in a monstrous pipe.

Okemo also has Terrain Parks around the mountain with tabletops, whalebacks, step-ups, hips, spines, banks, whoops, and quarters. The Mini Park consists of smaller hits that are suitable for beginners and students in lessons. All the terrain parks are groomed out with the Park Cat which enable Okemo to be creative with the features. Okemo's Parks and Pipes are ranked "Top 10 Overall Resorts" by Transworld Snowboarding.

Many find that Okemo is a pleasant mountain to ski because of the 97% snowmaking coverage and nightly grooming of most trails. It is particularly well-suited for intermediate skiers because there are a lot of cruising trails. Expert skiers may feel limited when the resort is compared to other Vermont resorts like Killington, Sugarbush, or Stowe; however, there is plenty of mogul and glade terrain and terrain parks to keep advanced skiers and riders interested.

There are four main areas at Okemo, each with at least one high speed detachable quad. The main mountain is serviced primarily by the Northstar Express Quad and two older fixed grip triples. The 1700 vertical foot cruisers, such as Chief, World Cup, and Jolly Green Giant are accessed from the Northstar Express. Lines accumulate often, starting early in the morning, on weekends and holidays in this area; the Green Ridge Triple can be used to reach the top of the mountain instead, although it loads at the middle of the mountain. Intermediate skiers and riders will particularly enjoy Sapphire, a classic New England cruising trail, with great views of the valley. The main area also includes runs directed at more advanced skiers, such as Searle's Way, Sel's Choice, Nor'Easter Terrain Park, Defiance, and the Dew Zone (Montain Dew sponsored halfpipe and snowboard park).

Solitude, to the right of the main mountain as one looks uphill, offers about 1100 vertical feet. The Solitude area also has its own base lodge, hotel accommodations, and private trailside homes. Most of the trails in this area are intermediate cruisers, though some blacks exist, such as Exhibition and The Plunge. The Solitude Express Quad usually has short lines, especially after the new Jackson Gore opened, as many skiers and riders go to the other high-speed quads instead.

The South Face area, to the left, has the highest peak on the mountain, faces the sun in the morning, and is served by a 1100 ft high speed lift. This area is known for its more difficult terrain, including most of the double-black diamond trails. While some of the main thoroughfares are groomed nightly in this area, trails like Outrage and Forest Bump remain natural. There are also mogul trails in this area, such as Punch Line, and Okemo makes sure to mark mogul trails. Okemo is also known for their bailout lanes, groomed sections on bump runs where one can escape from the moguls. While the Northstar Express Quad sees crowds early, the South Face Express Quad has short lines most of the time, save for crowded weekends in January and February in the middle of the day.

The final area, on the far right, is the still-developing Jackson Gore, complete with its own access road, lodge, ski school, and most other amenities also found at the Base Lodge. This area, served by two high-speed quads, has some of the steeper terrain on the mountain, as well as the standard green and blue trails. Lines are unlikely to be found here, although there is often excessive skier traffic on the Lower Limelight trail as skiers move from the main mountain over to Jackson Gore. A little-used alternative is Jack-a-lope or Moonshadow to Southern Crossing, although this goes to the base area only rather than the lift to the peak. Future plans for the Jackson Gore base area include more condominiums off to the right, with ski-in access provided by a new fixed grip quad and trail underneath it. There is also a plan to place a gondola that loads at Jackson Gore's base and unloads at the top of the main mountain. The proposed location for this gondola is shown on the trail map as a line of snow through the trees that goes through Solitude Village and Solitude's trails and continues to the main peak next to Upper Tomahawk, remaining to the right of the Green Ridge Triple.

As Okemo claims to have five areas, a fifth, smaller one would be Glades Peak, between the main mountain and the South Face, serviced by one fixed grip quad. It provides access to most trails on the mountain, including a couple that are exclusively served by its lift. As it is just an in-between lift, the Glades Peak Quad has barely any lines, and can be bypassed totally when access to the South Face is open through the Catnap trail.

Although the East Coast ski experience has been known to be icy, Okemo does a credible job in controlling the issue with frequent snowmaking and grooming. One can see where fresh snow was blown in the last 24 hours and what trails have been groomed by checking a map at any of the ticket offices each morning. After a significant snowfall, Okemo tends to leave several trails ungroomed so skiers can experience the fresh powder. These trails are marked as ungroomed so skiers that do not enjoy thick powder can avoid them.

There are also designated snowshoeing trails on the map, in a couple of different loops on the lower part of the mountain. Like the ratings for skinng the trails, these routes also range from easier to most difficult, determined by how steep each trail is. The ratings vary along each route based on what trail it takes to go back in the opposite direction.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Retrieved on 2007-07-27

General Information: (802) 228-4041
Okemo Mountain Resort Properties: 1-800-78-OKEMO (786-5366)
Okemo Mountain Lodging Referral Service: 1-800-78-OKEMO (786-5366)
24 Hour Snow Report: (802) 228-5222
Golf/Nordic Center: (802) 228-1396
Resort Fax: (802) 228-4558
Lodging Fax: (802) 228-2079

Email: info@okemo.com
Website: www.okemo.com

GPS Coordinates:

Jackson Gore Inn:
N 43 ° 25.392”
W 72 ° 43.00”

Okemo Mountain Base Area:
N 43 ° 24.121”
W 72 ° 43.041”

Okemo Valley Golf and Nordic Center:
N 43 ° 24.93”
W 72 ° 42.114”

To Okemo from Points West (N.Y., N.J. or Western, Mass.)
Take I-87 North to New York Exit 23, then follow I-787 North to Troy, NY to Exit 9E toward Troy NY and Bennington, VT. Follow NY Route 7 East to NY Route 279 (the bypass) to VT Route 7 North to Exit 4. Take VT Route 11 East to Londonderry, VT, to VT Route 100 North approximately 15 miles to Ludlow. In Ludlow, take left on Route 100/103. Follow signs to Okemo Mountain Road, 1 mile on left.

To Okemo's Jackson Gore entrance from Points West (N.Y., N.J. or Western, Mass.)
Take I-87 North to New York Exit 23, then follow I-787 North to Troy, NY to Exit 9E toward Troy NY and Bennington, VT. Follow NY Route 7 East to NY Route 279 (the bypass) to VT Route 7 North to North Clarendon, VT. Take right onto VT Route 103 South. Follow 103 South for 17.5 miles. Prior to the VT Route 100 intersection, take a right off of VT Route 103 onto Okemo Ridge Road (opposite the VFW Post on the left). Take first right off of Ridge Road and follow signs to Jackson Gore base area parking, or to the Jackson Gore Inn.

From Rutland, Vt.
Take VT Route 7 South to North Clarendon, VT. Take left onto VT Route 103 South. Follow 103 South for 17.5 miles. Prior to the VT Route 100 intersection, take a right off of VT Route 103 onto Okemo Ridge Road (opposite the VFW Post on the left). Follow signs to Jackson Gore base area parking, or to the Jackson Gore Inn.

From points North
Take VT Route 100 South from Plymouth, VT. At VT Route 103 intersection in Ludlow, take right onto Route 103 North. Take immediate left onto Okemo Ridge Road. Okemo's Jackson Gore entry sign will be on your right. Follow signs to Jackson Gore base area parking, or to the Jackson Gore Inn.

From points South
Take I-91 North to Vermont Exit 6, then VT 103 North, 24 miles to Ludlow. Mountain Road entrance is on the left.

From points East
Take I-89 to New Hampshire Exit 9, then NH 103 West to VT 131 West to VT 103 North, 2 miles to Ludlow. Okemo Access Road Entrance is on your left. Or, as an alternate from Boston, take MA 2 West to I-91 North to Vermont Exit 6, then VT 103 North, 24 miles to Ludlow. Mountain Road entrance is on the left.

From NYC:
Shuttle service from New York to Okemo Mountain Resort is operated by Adventure Northeast Inc. For reservations please call (917) 861-1800.

Airline Service
Service is available through Albany, N.Y.; Boston, Mass.; Burlington, Vt.; Hartford, Conn.; Lebanon, N.H.; Manchester, N.H. and Rutland, Vt. Carriers servicing gateway airports include American Airlines, Continental, Southwest, jetBlue, Delta, US Airways Express operated by Colgan Air of West Lebanon, N.H.) and Continental Express operated by CommutAir of Rutland, Vt.

Rail Service
Passenger train service is available through AMTRAK on the Ethan Allen Express passenger train from New York City’s Penn Station to Rutland, Vt. 1-800-USA-RAIL.