Hit the nail on the head.
Im just seeing this thread but that pretty much sums it up IMO.
Up here for 30+ acres I’d go somewhere in that graphic that mreaves put up.
Just east of the Spine into the Northeast Kingdom gets a lot of snow, with many of the CoCoRAHS spots where people live recording some pretty enviable snow/depth combos. Maine has that far out feel though and better retention for the most part with more QPF heavy snow when it falls.
I’m biased but in terms of true skiing conditions, Sunday River has great snowmaking but I do believe the northern Greens have better overall surface conditions and more “powder days” per season due to the snow squall aspect....the random 8-10” fluffers and even daily 2-3” really go a long way into conditions. Especially behind rainers and cutters, the slopes can refresh themselves naturally pretty quick with a variety of ways on any westerly flow...from Lake Ontario or just cyclonic upslope, etc.
Get a big rainer followed by a freeze, a 4-6” refresher at Bolton/Stowe/Smuggs/Jay goes a long way in helping the conditions the day after...even if it’s fluffy snow, groom it and it definitely takes the edge off. I know JSpin is big on that aspect but it does make a difference in daily surface conditions.
Now we also miss the Sugarloaf two footers from a coastal storm but day in and day out for skiing conditions, it does seem to help to get more frequent snows....like a natural snowmaking system. That effect seems to decrease considerably south of I-89 and really drops off south of Sugarbush.