As your skis collected dust this summer, Eastern resorts were busy making big changes for the 2000-01 season. We found new high-speed lifts, new halfpipes and terrain parks, new glades, and snowmaking improvements at most resorts. Needless to say, we're pumped for the coming season.
MAINE
>Sunday River
Another glade in Jordan Bowl ups the tree-skiing ante.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
>Attitash
5 acres of advanced glades on Bear Peak add 20 percent more tree skiing.
>Bretton Woods
High-speed quad; more expert glades; base-lodge upgrades; "Bold and Beautiful" season pass program-$199 midweek pass, also good at Cannon Mountain.
>Cannon Mountain
"Bold and Beautiful" season pass program-$199 midweek pass, also good at Bretton Woods.
>Loon
8 acres of glades off Bear Claw trail add 50 percent more tree skiing.
>Waterville Valley
Daytime, lift-accessed tubing in Lower Meadows area.
VERMONT
>Ascutney
Debut of North Peak: 4 new trails (1 among the steepest in the East) with a mile-long, high-speed quad, upping vertical from 1,530 to 1,800 feet.
>Bolton Valley
2 Bombardier groomers replace decrepit 30-year-old cats.
>Jay Peak
2 replacement tram cars eliminate bumpy rides and have music; mountaintop snack bar and ambassador station.
>Killington
30 percent more snowmaking capacity.
>Mad River Glen
The Mini Single handle-tow lift serving new Callie's Corner beginner area; Stark's Nest lodge renovated; snowshoe trails; computerized ticket system.
>Mount Snow/Haystack
Haystack now open weekends and holidays only, allowing resources to go to Mount Snow during the week.
>Okemo
Super Pipe (400' long with 14'-high walls) replaces Zone halfpipe; another terrain park runs from summit to midmountain.
>Smugglers' Notch
40 percent increase in snowmaking capacity.
>Stowe
AAA (Attitude, Awareness, Accountability) program to promote skier etiquette.
>Stratton
Second Long Trail House opens with 75 condominiums and underground parking.
>Sugarbush
Expansion of base-area Gatehouse Lodge-no more lunchtime bottlenecks; "Ski the Valley" lift ticket also good at Mad River Glen.
NEW YORK
>Gore
World Cup-format halfpipe has base made of earth so it can open earlier.
>Holiday Valley
Yodeler Lodge: a $3-million, 20,000-square-foot base lodge.
>Ski Windham
State-of-the-art groomer means even supersteep Wedel can be groomed.
>Whiteface
Free shuttle from Lake Placid to Whiteface.
PENNSYLVANIA
>Blue Mountain
Terrain-park groomer to help fine-tune the bumps and jumps.
>Camelback
Expanded night-skiing terrain-32 of 33 trails will now have night skiing.
>Seven Springs
35,000-square-foot skier-services building adds space, plaza area, and easier access to slopes.
>Whitetail
The Night Club Card offers cheaper night skiing.
MASSACHUSETTS
>Brodie
30 percent increase in snowmaking capacity.
>Jiminy Peak
A 6-passenger detachable lift that will get you to the top in 1/3 the time.
QUEBEC
>Tremblant
Westin Hotel in the village with 126 units of ski-in/ski-out lodging.
>Mont-Sainte-Anne
Carte Blanche ticket for Mont-Sainte-Anne, Stoneham, and Le Massif-6,000 feet of combined vertical and 106 trails within 1 hour of Quebec City.
>Silvercreek
700-vertical-foot intermediate trail; 20 acres of glades; and Highland House with 78 more rooms.
