Bristol Mountain, NY reviews?

[dank]

I know this is a little further south than most of the resorts discussed here but I'm looking for some honest reviews of Bristol Mountain in New York. They have a nice little trail map that allows you to watch a video from the skiers perspective as they do some of the runs. In most of these videos the terrain looks pretty flat, even on the 'black' runs. Just looking for someone who has been there to clarify if this is true or maybe the video is deceiving.

Unfortunately I'm in Ohio, so if I'm gonna drive 8 hours it better be worth it.

 

[cweinman]

Bristol is pretty decent in terms of the ski hills in central NY. It has a good variety of runs, a pretty nice lift setup, and a few steeper trails. Plus, it's about the tallest thing in this area of the state (1200 vertical). I was out there once last year while their conditions were okay. They have a pretty decent snow making system, but the lower elevation can really hurt them sometimes in terms of weather (they had a really hard time getting going this season I know).

Nothing in this area of NY is particularly steep though, and you need to keep that in mind. I've also skied Holiday Valley once and personally enjoyed it more than Bristol. It's not a very tall place (only 750 vertical), but it's sprawling, and does have some really nice trails to ski and a really good lift setup to handle the amount of people there. It has a legitimate headwall trail that is extremely short, but a ton of fun to ski down (serviced by its own lift). It's also probably quite a bit closer to you in Ohio.

Just for reference, I usually ski at Greek Peak locally (I have a college student pass for $130 since I'm a graduate student), and go out all over the place to ski otherwise (Catskills, western NY, Vermont).

No matter what, definitely hold off a bit until we get more snow out here. The ski areas are just really getting going with machine made now, and the next few weeks are going to bring a ton of lake effect into the area until the lakes cool down (I heard Ontario is still at 43 degrees which is insane for this time of year).

Hope that helps, and feel free to ask any other questions.

-Craig

 

[dank]

Craig, thanks for the info especially comparing Bristol to Holiday. I have not done Holiday either but have heard it can get really crowded on the weekends. The vertical is what really caught my attention at Bristol and was trying to determine if it was worth the extra drive time. I usually head north into Michigan for my weekend trips but you can only do those places so many times. Thanks again.

 

[MoneyShooter]

Just rode Bristol yesterday and ski there 20+ times a year. In recent years they have made a lot of improvements and its turned into a great place to ski. The snowmaking is fantastic and with the forcast for more cold and snow I figure it'll be in great shape soon. As for the trails, there are a couple fairly steep runs and room to let it rip. They also have some mogul runs and you can always find fun riding with jumps and bumps along the sides of trails. If you're looking for night life than Holliday Valley is the place to go and they usually get more snow being on the eastern end of lake erie. Maybe I'm biased but I prefer Bristol due to the difference in vertical btwn the 2. What ever you do get out there and ski, life(and winter) are short...

 

[cweinman]

Dank,

I think it really will just come down to what you want and either place could keep you happy. Ellicottville where Holiday Valley is has the feel of a bonafide ski town. You also have Holimont right there which is open to the public during the week I believe (I have not skied there however).

I have heard Holiday Valley can get pretty nuts on weekends also, but I think Bristol can too. I skied both of the midweek (I try to avoid weekend skiing as much as possible), and found them to be really enjoyable.

I'd say just flip a coin, figure out how many days you are going for, and decide what all you are interested in. Bristol does have longer runs on average than Holiday Valley, but I did find Holiday Valley's terrain to be slightly more varied. Holiday Valley also has tree skiing (albeit just a little bit) when they have the snow pack (and they get a hell of a lot of snow off of Lake Erie, much more than Bristol gets from Ontario).

Just make sure to head out once they are both operating with most of their trails, both are currently really bringing their count up (Bristol seems to have the slightly more aggressive snow making).

If you are nuts, you should just drive to VT. The NY thruway is nice this time of year :wink: .
-Craig