The greatest vertical drop in the eastern United States, and the mountain that held the alpine events of the 1980 Winter Olympics. The runs are long and the pitch is sustained in a way few eastern hills manage. It is owned by New York State rather than a resort company, so there is no real estate at the base and the ticket prices reflect that. The Slides area at the top opens when conditions allow and gives genuine expert terrain.

Lake Placid, ten minutes away, is the village. It hosted the Games twice, in 1932 and 1980, and the bobsleigh track, the ski jumps and the speed skating oval are all still there and open to visitors. That combination of a serious mountain and a town full of Olympic history is not available anywhere else in the east.