After my family went home, the next day (Friday 2/11/22) I skied Okemo, about 45 minutes from my hotel in Manchester, VT. I drove to the Jackson Gore base to avoid crowds. I was able to park in the first row of the lower-level parking by getting there before 9am.

After evaluating the crowds that were already forming for the lifts, I made a plan to try to ski less-crowded routes based on intel shared by a local who frequents the resort. I stuck to the Coleman Book, Solitude, Morningstar, and Quantum Six lifts for the most part. Despite the crowds, I was able to ski right on to the Solitude and Morningstar lifts most laps. It was a gorgeous day, blue skies, little wind, relatively warm temps in the 30s, with beautiful views from up top.

I will say that, to me, it had a very “Vail Resorts” vibe. I’ve been to Breck, Beaver Creek, Park City, and Heavenly in recent years and Okemo felt a lot like those. It’s neither good nor bad, but the layout, amenities, and clientele were reminiscent of those other resorts to me. Compared to those other resorts, the cafeteria items seemed less expensive. With my epic pass 20% off, I got a cheeseburger, a locally brewed beer, and a rice krispie treat for about $20. I thought that was reasonable, as that’s what I’d pay in a local restaurant in my hometown. The burger was actually quite tasty (I DID bring a snack but I was SO hungry from a very small dinner the night before, I decided to supplement the cheese stick and dried fruit I brought!) The beer was a Long Trail Ale and it paired nicely with the burger and was refreshing after the morning on the mountain.

Conditions on the snow varied from delightfully soft and forgiving to chunky/choppy, already getting skied out on some trails by noon. Basically, it was good wherever there was lower traffic. I noticed from the lift, some of the black diamond mogul runs had bare spots, but I wasn’t skiing those so it didn’t affect my ski day.

I would definitely go back, perhaps if I was able to go midweek. There is a lot more of the mountain(s) I’d like to try out there. It’s a huge place!