Sugarloaf: My favorite ski resort in the east.  Very nice slopeside lodging for ski in/out access. Great steep terrain, bumps, trees, and of course the above treeline skiing in the snowfields.  It is basically one big mountain which is unusual for a large east coast resort. If you're driving up from NJ/PA/NY etc for a ski vacation, I highly recommend the extra couple of hour drive one year to check out this Maine resort, it will be well worth it. Too bad it's in the middle of nowhere.

Sunday River: What they lack in vertical Sunday River makes up in width.  Spread out over an incredible amount of area (at least 5 different peaks), you can always find uncrowded lifts here. The Maine resorts don't get as much natural snow as some other areas in northern Vermont, but still offer some great skiing. Possibly not worth the extra drive as Sugarloaf warrants, but still a very nice resort overall.

NEW HAMPSHIRE:

Attitash: What can I say, expensive lift tickets and maybe worth half as much.  The biggest resort in NH, but Attitash/Bear Peak proves the old theory "size doesn't matter". :) While one of the closer major resorts to Boston and owned by American Ski Company, I'd recommend to keep driving up the road to Wildcat, Cannon, etc. Although if you want lots of cushy chairs, very nice grooming, and expensive slopeside lodging, this is your NH resort to goto. All the money ASC can throw at this resort can't change the actually mountains.

Cannon: Classic New England resort.  Thin, winding, steep trails makes this one of the better resorts in NH. Top to bottom tram makes for some nice vertical, although the tram does get a bit crowded sometimes. A true skier mountain.

Loon: Not much for the price, pretty average in all categories. I haven't been here in many years and can't comment on any upgrades but there are better choices nearby.

Waterville Valley: Spent more family vacations here than any other place.  Used to do the weekly SkiWee programs form about age 6-12. Some nice top to bottom cruisers. A great family place, but lacks the challenge and terrain for a higher ranking.

Wildcat: New 2000' vertical high-speed quad is a big plus.  Another classic New England ski area. Great trails and views of Mt. Washington. Visited when it was about -5F and still had a great time. Another true skiers mountain.

NEW YORK:

Hunter: New England like skiing close enough to NYC and Philly for a day trip.  Gets extremely crowded on weekends, but Hunter West is usually sparse and has some steep, bump runs.

Rest of NY: Haven't been to any of them awhile to make anymore comments on them.

VERMONT:

Bolton Valley: My "home" resort as from house to on the lift in 10 minutes. Great value for the terrain as a season pass is only ~$400 (8 visits pays for it!). Incredible amounts of snow as averages about 300 inches a year, more than any other east resorts besides Jay. Crowds are usually very sparse, even on weekends. Good amount of diamonds, but no Goat (Stowe) or Outer Limits (Killington) type of trails. Slow and outdated lifts, so on cold Vermont days, better like the cold wind or bundle up lots!

Bromley: Only south facing ski area in the east, ie, nice on very cold days! Cheap lift tickets and very family oriented. Lacking is steeps, this is a greta place for beginners and those in your ski group that don't like the cold Vermont ski weather!

Burke: Been here several times, but the last was over 15 years ago, all I remember was cold. :)

Jay Peak: Jay Peak receives a lot of hype for many reasons, and they deserve it. Under $40 tickets if you are a Vermonter or have a season pass from any resort, can't beat that! If you don't fall under one of those, no worries, still an average value (ergo, why tickets received a 9/7 rating). Great terrain, many 2000 vertical foot runs, lots of steeps, lots of cruisers, oh yeah, and tons of snow...more than many western resorts! One major problem with Jay though, its far out. Unless you live near there, which not many people do, its a long drive from just about anywhere being so close to the Canadian border. But Jay is amonst my favs, no doubt about it.

Killington: Many people complain that Killington is always crowded, I have been here over 70-80 times and have never thought it was that crowded.  Killington is so big that you could always find areas without crowds.  The Glades is rarely crowded with very nice runs underneath the chair.  I have never stood in a line at the Canyon Quad and that area has 5/6 steep bump runs leading to the chair.  While expensive, worth it.

Magic: Always having financial problems, so check to see if its open whatever year you want to go! :) Basically $39 lift tickets (online), one double chair, no crowds, and some old style New England trails with some great steeps mixed in. Obviously there are better choices nearby, but if skiing and value is what matters to you, this is the place to go in southern Vermont.

Mt. Snow: Main mountain is one big blue run.  A blue cruisers dream mountain, very wide, very groomed, very long. The one saving grace for Mt. Snow is the North Face and runs like Jaws of Death.

Okemo: Great grooming, if you like that sort of thing. :)  Not a single tough trail on the entire mountain, and really poor excuses for double black diamonds. One of the most expensive resorts in the east. This is one of the more "snobby" resorts on the east. Lots of slopeside lodging, but you'll pay for it. Lots if BMW X5's, Lexus RX470's, and NJ license plates in the parking lots. :)

Smugglers Notch: Very interesting resort, has such good goods and bad bads. Always one of the best rated family resorts in the US, so if that's what your looking for, does seem to have a great village for kids. 3 peaks, 1 mainly for beginners. On other 2 pekas, basically serviced by 2 slow outdated double chairs. Min 30m wait time on a weekend. Smuggs has to hold a record for lowest uphill capicity per acreage in the US. Great true vertical as each run is about 2k vertical. Will never visit again, if you're going to pay close to $60 per ticket, might as well visit Sugarbush or Stowe with a lot better laid out terrain and better lift system as it seems you have to traverse anywhere you go here.

Stowe: Front 4 are excellent steep trails.  If Goat actually has snow on it, one of the toughest trails in the east. While Stowe, the town, is known for its upper class clientel, the mountain itself has some very nice steep trails that seem more Wildcat like. Don't get me wrong, Stowe has their Gondola and cushy high speed chairs, but it does have an excellent mountain. Also has great 2000 vertical foot cruisers. Overall, incredible resort and great town.

Stratton: Where I first learned to snowboard in 1988, the best snowboarding mountain, but too flat for me for skiing. I think they win as the most expensive lift tickets in the east, maybe even in the US. Avoid around holidays as being the closest major Vermont resort to NYC and south, it gets extremely crowded.

Sugarbush: Has really turned into a nice resort.  Nice mix of steep and bump runs on both mountains. While I like Stowe a lot better and Bolton is a lot cheaper, Sugarbush has a nice mix of everything you can ask for.