We’ve all asked the question at some point, what’s the longest run we can get in on the east coast? Who has the largest vertical drop?
Also included in this list are “True” vertical drops from http://mountainvertical.com/. If you have never heard of that term, I suggest you read about what that means here.
The blue arrow shows the advertised vertical drop, the purple arrow shows the “true” vertical drop.
1. Whiteface Mountain, New York
Advertised Vertical drop: 3,650' (requires hiking)
“True” vertical drop: 3,216 (#1 in the East)
Whiteface has the largest vertical drop in the East. The largest drop is from the top of the slides (4,650') to the base area (1,220'). The largest drop without hiking is from the top of the Summit Quad (4,386') to the base area.
2. Killington, Vermont
Advertised Vertical drop: 3,050' (requires hiking)
“True” vertical drop: 1,645' (#22 in the East)
Killington has the largest vertical drop in New England, Approximately 3,000 vertical feet from Killington Peak at 4240' to the Skyeship base at 1,160'. With that said, most of the run from the peak to the Skyeship base consists of traversing, so the “true” vertical drop is only 1645', covering the vertical of the K1 gondola.
3. Sugarloaf, Maine
Advertised Vertical drop: 2,820
“True” Vertical drop”: 2,410
Sugarloaf boasts an impressive 2,820 Vertical drop. With that said, much of it is comes from the Snubber chairift, which services a beginner area and some housing below the main base lodge.
4. Smuggler’s Notch, Vermont
Advertised Vertical drop: 2,610'
“True” Vertical drop: 2,088'
Smuggler’s Notch offers an impressive 2,610 vertical drop between Madonna and Morse Mountains, however the bottom ~500' of this is a catwalk between the mountains, so their “true” vertical drop is only the 2,088' you can ski in one shot on Madonna mountain.
5. Sugarbush, Vermont
Advertised Vertical drop: 2,600'
“True” Vertical drop: 2,552'
Mountainvertical.com and Sugarbush’s website both list Mt. Ellen to the base lodge as this mountain’s largest vertical drop. Despite this, they both disagree on how large the drop really is. Sugarbush claims it is 2,600', whereas mountainvertical.com claims it is 2,552. As a result, Sugarbush likely has a drop between 2,552' and 2,600'.
6. Gore Mountain, New York
Advertised Vertical drop: 2,537'
“True” vertical drop: 2,100'
When Gore added the Burnt Ridge Quad and later reconnected the former North Creek ski bowl to their mountain in the late 2000s, it extended their vertical by about 450'. With that said, you will mostly be traversing if you ski from the top of Gore Mountain to the lowest point at North Creek. The “true” vertical is what the advertised vertical was until 2008, from the top of Gore Mountain to the main base area.
7. Stowe, Vermont
Advertised Vertical drop: 2,360'
“True” vertical drop: 2,132'
Stowe has a vertical drop of 2,360, but 200' of this comes from the Toll House double, which is mostly a beginner/parking lift. As a result, their “true” vertical drop is the 2,132' serviced by the gondola.
8. Sunday River, Maine
Advertised Vertical drop: 2,340'
“True” vertical drop: 1758'
Sunday River is a large mountain and as a result is able to massively inflate their vertical with long traverses and catwalks. The largest drop obtainable here is a 3 mile trek from the top of the Oz chair to the White Cap lodge. When Oz isn’t running (which it frequently isn’t), their vertical drop is ~2,290.
Their “True” vertical drop is from the top of the Locke Mountain chair to the White Cap lodge, which requires no traversing.
9. Cannon Mountain, New Hampshire
Advertised Vertical drop: 2,180'
“True” vertical drop: 2,089
Like Gore, Cannon benefits in vertical drop from reopening and connecting to a previously defunct mountain. The advertised drop from Cannon mountain to the Mittersill base is 2,230', and the “true” drop from cannon mountain to the base of the Zoomer Chairlift is 2,089'.
10. Okemo, Vermont
Advertised Vertical drop: 2,100'
“True” vertical drop: 1902'
Okemo features a 2,100 vertical drop to the Jackson Gore base area, and features a still-impressive 1,900 foot drop to the main base.
