upslope

Which New England mountains are on which pass, with the snow numbers attached.

Which pass is right depends less on the resort count than on how far north you're willing to drive. Ikon and Indy both reach the snowy northern Vermont mountains; Epic's New England footprint is concentrated in southern Vermont and New Hampshire, where snowmaking matters more than natural snowfall. The tables below carry each mountain's average annual snow so you can compare on the number that actually decides your season.

Ikon Pass · 7 New England mountains

Alterra's multi-resort pass. In New England it carries the Vermont heavyweights plus Sugarbush and Sunday River. Snowiest on this pass: Sugarbush at about 269″ a year.

ResortAvg snow/yrVerticalAcres
SugarbushVT269″2,600 ft581
KillingtonVT250″3,050 ft1,509
PicoVT250″1,967 ft468
SugarloafME200″2,820 ft1,240
StrattonVT180″2,003 ft670
Sunday RiverME167″2,340 ft884
LoonNH160″2,100 ft370

Epic Pass · 7 New England mountains

Vail's pass. Its New England footprint is the Vail-owned mountains — Stowe, Okemo, Mount Snow, and the New Hampshire cluster. Snowiest on this pass: Stowe at about 314″ a year.

ResortAvg snow/yrVerticalAcres
StoweVT314″2,360 ft485
OkemoVT200″2,200 ft667
WildcatNH200″2,112 ft225
Mount SnowVT156″1,700 ft588
AttitashNH143″1,750 ft311
Mount SunapeeNH130″1,510 ft233
CrotchedNH85″1,000 ft100

Indy Pass · 11 New England mountains

Two days at each of a long list of independent mountains. In New England that means the character hills — Jay Peak, Magic, Bolton Valley, Black. Snowiest on this pass: Jay Peak at about 359″ a year.

ResortAvg snow/yrVerticalAcres
Jay PeakVT359″2,153 ft385
Bolton ValleyVT312″1,704 ft300
SaddlebackME225″2,000 ft600
BurkeVT217″2,011 ft270
Magic MountainVT175″1,700 ft205
CannonNH160″2,180 ft285
Waterville ValleyNH140″2,020 ft265
RaggedNH130″1,250 ft250
Black MountainNH125″1,100 ft143
Berkshire EastMA120″1,180 ft180
Pats PeakNH90″770 ft111

Independent · 7 New England mountains

No multi-resort pass — these mountains sell their own tickets and season passes. Snowiest on this pass: Smugglers' Notch at about 319″ a year.

ResortAvg snow/yrVerticalAcres
Smugglers' NotchVT319″2,610 ft1,000
Mad River GlenVT250″2,037 ft115
Bretton WoodsNH200″1,500 ft464
BromleyVT145″1,334 ft300
GunstockNH120″1,400 ft227
WachusettMA85″1,000 ft110
CranmoreNH80″1,200 ft170