Hi everyone,
I'm looking for suggestions on the easiest ski mountains to fly to and from the same day in the Northeast ( within 200nm of Montreal ). Key are proximity of the airstrip, winter servicing, shuttle availability and size of the mountain.
Thanks in advance.
Martin P. C-FWST
I am based at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, KAVP, which is located in the NE corner of PA. The A/P has two ILS approaches, is classified as class D with a 24 hour control tower and approach/departure, and the FBO is called Tech Aviation. I am fairly sure they can arrange overnight hanger space for you. The closest ski resorts are Montage Mountain (located about 5 miles to the north of the A/P, actually you will fly over the resort if you land on runway 22), Camelback Mountain (which is about 40 miles to the SE), Jack Frost and Big Boulder (which is located about 30 miles to the SE), as well as several other locations in the Poconos. Hope this helps.
Rutland, Vermont is a popular fly-in destination for skiing at Killington. Killington has good skiing, lots of restaurants, motels, transportation, etc. The airport has an ILS approach, 5000' runway and just about everything else that you need.
I have also flown into Morrisville Airport, which is very close to Stowe, Vermont. A much smaller airport, (3701') than Rutland, but excellent skiing. I don't think you can clear Customs in Morrisville.
I flew up to Miribel a few years ago to ski at Mont Treblant. The skiing was very good but the airport wasn't very convient for GA aircraft.(no 100LL).
David,
Thanks for the tip; I'll have a look next time I get to the area.
Andrew,
It's been many years since I've skied Killington and it's always been worth the trouble of driving the three hours each way. Now that I can fly there, I'll be waiting for the right weather to go. The Rutland airport seems to be some 18 miles from the hill and I can do the customs thing in Burlington which is halfway. Stowe may be worthwhile doing as well.
I've gone over the charts and your two suggestions appear to be the only convenient alternatives. Like Mt. Tremblant, most airstrips near the big ski resorts are summer operations only.
Speaking of Tremblant, the closest year-round airport is La Macaza, a privately held ( Tommy Hilfiger owner ) public airport which is currently being redeveloped to accomodate some of the bigger bizjets.During the summer, a small grass strip only a few miles from the village ia also open although they want $ just to land there. Mirabel is probably one of the worst airports for GA that I can think of and is about a 45 min. car ride removed from Tremblant. We have some good skiing within an hours' drive of Montreal, but New England offers some of the best skiing in the East.
Tailwinds and freshies !
Thanks all. While I have the latest charts, I came to the realization that they are not up to date and that most airports are actually paved and winter serviced contrary to what the charts suggest.Additionally, customs are available at most, namely killington, Stowe, Mt Snow and Saddleback. Sunday River and Sugarloaf require a customs stop at another airport. The most notable mountains without access by air are Smuggler's Notch and Sugarbush. I'll try to visit as many as possible this winter and post my experiences.
