At only 650 feet of vertical on paper (I get a hair under 600′ looking at a topo), Suicide Six was the smallest area on The List. It was added arbitrarily as it falls significantly short of my 1150′ minimum. Middlebury College Snow Bowl, Dartmouth Skiway, and Whaleback also fall short of my arbitrary minimum number. However, unlike those other diminutive areas, Suicide Six skis even shorter than its already inflated vertical suggests and can’t quite make up for its lack of stature. It is no wonder that the area thrives as a resort amenity rather than on its own merits.

But for a resort amenity, it is a jewel of an amenity. Suicide Six is enormously family friendly with a great learning area (J-bar and Double) and plenty of mellow green circle and low level blue square terrain from its lifts. The Face looks like an imposing wall to less skilled skiers, but the trails curling around the mountain fit the bill.

Upper level skiers will bore quickly with Suicide Six’s limited offerings. While The Face and other front facing trails (Crystal, Plunge, and Scratcher) all have rather steep sections, the steep pitch relents after only about 150 vertical. Additionally, trail differentiation is lacking in this expert area as the five expert runs tend to feel like one super wide trail with a few variations hidden in patches of trees.

My visit was complicated by an event being hosted by Suicide Six for Special Olympics Vermont. A worthy event for sure but one that made exploring the mountain challenging. Races were being conducted for all events including nordic, slalom, giant slalom, and snowboarding and all of these races were being held on the same day. The result was three entire trails being taken off line for gate setup. This unfortunately included what looks like the two best cruising trails on the mountain, Skyline and Bunny’s.

I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of grooming at Suicide Six. Most of the black diamond terrain was left ungroomed except a few passes down The Face. Even a mega wide blue square off the backside of the mountain (The Gully) only had one groomer pass. A dad wanting to have some ungroomed turns in between runs with the family would do well here, especially on a low key powder day. It might get old quick, but at least there is something there with pitch if only for a short stretch.

Suicide Six is a bit of an oddity. It seems to do well as a niche area, a resort amenity rather than a singular focus. Nearby Quechee Club also features a diminutive 650′ vertical add on ski area which is less well advertised and not part of Ski Vermont. Somehow these areas work despite not having the grand resort and larger ski areas of Bretton Woods (to a greater extent) and the Balsams Wilderness (to a lesser extent). The ski area certainly fits the bill if you are looking for the experience that the Woodstock Inn offers and also want a little low key family skiing time as well. Otherwise, it misses on a few important marks.