Mountain Rankings

The Difficulty ranking is a weighted average of the hardest trails at each resort. It shows how much of a challenge the mountain will present to advanced skiers. The color denotes how challenging the hardest trails at a mountain are. The longer the bar, the harder the advanced trails at the resort. Expect the toughest trails at a resort to have pitches (in degrees) that are very similar to the difficulty score. The score is primarily based on the hardest 5 runs at a resort. What this means in practice is that a resort with 1 standout challenging run will rank below a mountain that has a handful of not quite as hard runs.

The Difficulty scale is roughly from 0-60, where a mountain scoring highly presents extremely difficult terrain. Technically, the max possible score is ~100, but that would require a mix of terrible weather and deadly cliffs. The steepest terrain is primarily in the west, and as such western resorts dominate the top of the Difficulty list.

  • Beginner
  • Intermediate
  • Advanced
  • Expert
  • Extreme

1. Whiteface, NY

43.1

2. Smuggler's Notch, VT

42.9

3. Jay Peak, VT

42.4

4. Stowe, VT

40.7

5. Killington, VT

40.3

6. Mad River Glen, VT

39.4

7. Black Mountain, NH

39.0

8. Gore, NY

38.9

9. Magic, VT

38.4

10. Sugarloaf, ME

38.4

11. Hunter, NY

38.4

12. Sugarbush, VT

38.1

13. Sunday River, ME

38.0

14. Cannon, NH

38.0

15. Burke, VT

37.0

16. Stratton, VT

36.3

17. Waterville Valley, NH

35.9

18. Belleayre, NY

35.6

19. Bretton Woods, NH

35.0

20. Loon, NH

34.6

21. Saddleback, ME

34.5

22. Okemo, VT

34.4

23. Snow Ridge, NY

34.4

24. Hickory, NY

34.4

25. Windham, NY

34.3

26. Bolton Valley, VT

34.0

27. Berkshire East, MA

33.8

28. Plattekill, NY

33.7

29. Catamount, MA

33.3

30. Jiminy Peak, MA

33.3

31. Wildcat, NH

33.3

32. Mount Snow, VT

33.1

33. Attitash, NH

32.9

34. Blue Knob, PA

32.9

35. Whaleback, NH

32.6

36. Holiday Valley, NY

32.2

37. Middlebury Snow Bowl, VT

32.0

38. Bromley, VT

31.7

39. Pico, VT

31.6

40. Mount Sunapee, NH

31.6

41. Pats Peak, NH

31.6

42. Seven Springs, PA

31.2

43. Saskadena Six, VT

31.1

44. Tenney Mountain, NH

31.1

45. Hunt Hollow, NY

30.9

46. Camelback, PA

30.7

47. Mount Abram, ME

30.3

48. Ragged Mountain, NH

30.3

49. Pleasant Mountain, ME

30.2

50. Greek Peak, NY

30.1

51. Cranmore, NH

29.8

52. Dartmouth Skiway, NH

29.8

53. Mountain Creek, NJ

29.8

54. Granite Gorge, NH

29.8

55. Royal Mountain, NY

29.7

56. Thunder Ridge, NY

29.5

57. Gunstock, NH

29.3

58. King Pine, NH

29.1

59. Blue Mountain, PA

29.1

60. Roundtop, PA

29.1

61. Tussey, PA

29.0

62. Elk Mountain, PA

28.8

63. Black Mountain, ME

28.6

64. Liberty Mountain, PA

28.4

65. Montage, PA

28.4

66. Otis Ridge, MA

28.2

67. Whitetail, PA

28.1

68. Bousquet, MA

27.8

69. West Mountain, NY

27.8

70. Willard, NY

27.7

71. Hidden Valley, PA

27.4

72. McCauley Mountain, NY

27.3

73. Big Rock, ME

27.2

74. Crotched Mountain, NH

27.1

75. Ski Sundown, CT

27.0

76. Dry Hill, NY

27.0

77. Buffalo Ski Center, NY

26.9

78. Laurel Mountain, PA

26.7

79. Bristol, NY

26.4

80. Jack Frost, PA

26.3

81. Lost Valley, ME

26.1

82. Shawnee Mountain, PA

26.1

83. Wachusett, MA

25.8

84. Mount Peter, NY

25.8

85. Mohawk, CT

25.6

86. Bear Creek, PA

25.6

87. Big Bear, PA

25.5

88. Ascutney, VT

25.4

89. Big Moose Mountain, ME

25.1

90. Woods Valley, NY

24.9

91. Lyndon Outing Club, VT

24.8

92. Northeast Slopes, VT

24.6

93. Nashoba Valley, MA

24.6

94. Titcomb, ME

24.1

95. Campgaw, NJ

23.9

96. Big Boulder, PA

23.7

97. Blue Hills, MA

23.5

98. Ski Butternut, MA

23.3

99. Veterans Memorial Recreation Area, NH

23.1

100. Oak Mountain, NY

22.9

101. Brantling, NY

22.7

102. Mount Southington, CT

22.4

103. Peek'N Peak, NY

22.3

104. Ski Bradford, MA

22.2

105. Camillus Ski Hill, NY

22.0

106. Kanc Recreation Area, NH

21.6

107. Hermon Mountain, ME

21.6

108. Maple Ski Ridge, NY

21.5

109. Campton Mountain, NH

21.2

110. Mount Pleasant Of Edinboro, PA

20.8

111. Yawgoo Valley, RI

20.4

112. Mount Jefferson, ME

20.3

113. Arrowhead, NH

20.1

114. Cochran's, VT

19.8

115. Storrs Hill, NH

19.7

116. Abenaki Ski Area, NH

19.6

117. Powderhouse Hill, ME

19.5

118. Spruce Mountain, ME

19.1

119. Powder Ridge, CT

18.6

120. Lonesome Pine, ME

18.4

121. Mcintyre, NH

16.9

122. Ski Ward, MA

16.8