New ski area concept
June 20, 2009
21 posts
14 users
5k+ views
I was thinking of some of the comments made by many in the forums and it occurred to me that most folks would/could be perfectly happy skiing without cut, groomed runs. I mean, all I would need would be a chair dropping me off at the top of, say MPC, in a heavy snow year, and I could make turns where ever I could to get back to the lift and have a blast doing laps. The most fun I have as a skier anyway is to go off piste so why not have someone do it western style in the east?
Random logical thought or pure lunacy??
It exists and goes by the name of Jay Peak.
It also happens to be about 5 miles from Canada - by no coincidence. I like the dream though!
It also exists a lot closer. Whitegrass...only without the lifts.
Here's another one,
Magic . So what you are talking is Whitegrass with a lift but without the pinheads??
A lot of folks that post here but not enough customers that will pay for the experience or snow to support it south of Vermont.
Before Jay, there was Mad River.
A lot of folks that post here but not enough customers that will pay for the experience or snow to support it south of Vermont.
Before Jay, there was Mad River.
That's right, every lift served ski area has groomed trails because they cannot afford to ignore the center of the customer base. If you had only ungroomed off piste type terrain you couldn't pay the bills. Mad River has beautiful trails, the best in the east IMHO and a dozen or more are groomed on any given day. During my 5 weeks there this past season I was surprised to find that MRG's grooming is very well done, as well as anybody. From Christmas til early Feb. there was little snow and conditions were often abysmal on the ungroomed runs. I was grateful for the groomers. Jay also has many groomed runs.
As someone pointed out, the closest you can get to this dream is Whitegrass.
Oh, well. It's a summertime dream
to have 2000 ft vert with glades and ungroomed. You're right, whitegrass is the closest thing to it in the mid-atlantic. I guess one can use the lifts at CV to do what I'm dreaming of which is all off piste. T-line has some areas as well which can be accessed. But good luck trying it at other mid-atlantic ski areas. Maybe I'll install a double at the Bonner Mountain Resort Hotel someday. That'll serve about 400' vert. There's some sweet glade skiing there but we've lacked ample snow in recent years to do it.
Silverton, CO. exactly what you describe, but maybe not what you want to ski. be careful what you ask for....
I think Blue Knob has a few runs like this...when there is snow on them. However, we need to add about 4,000 to 6,000 feet in elevation to any mountain around here to achieve the snow consistency. If we only lived here in the Mid-Atlantic a couple of ten million years ago before the Appalachians eroded to the rounded mole hills that we have now, we'd never have to leave the area.
Where's the 'way back' machine when you need it.
WVA is full of those opportunities- the gaslines that crisscross the areas between Roaring Plains and who knows how far south they go. Skin up, ski down. The secret to western pow-skiing is that, with only the fewest of exceptions, the very best of it is backcountry anyway. The backcountry of West Virginia beckons! Get thee to a pipelinery!
even with Whitegrass or a pipeline, we are still talking about areas that have some bushwhacking and/or thinning done. Eastern forest growth != western forest growth.
It sounds like what you'd want/need is a CCC-type race trail. If done right, it's a relatively low impact to the mountain.
There is talk about a race being held on the Thunderbolt trail next year.
We've talked about Laurel Creek Club's lost ski area a few times. Anyone know what the snow coverage is like there? That would be a good place for Your idea as there are slopes cut, but a minimal number and of course a lift line.
Take a look at Mt. Bohemia in Michigan. Same concept.
http://www.mtbohemia.com/
Gotta love their promo video: http://www.mtbohemia.com/videos.html
That's awesome!
Interesting place. I'd like to visit but probably won't because it is so far from anything. I deputized my Chicago son to go check it out but he declined. It's a 12 hr. drive from Chicago. He says he can be in Jackson Hole in 15. I am not entirely sure of either of his figures but you get the point.
Mt. Bohemia is relatively new. They have no fixed buildings, only yurts, and in the beginning women were free every day of the week, which should tell you a lot. Reminds of an exchange on Telemark Tips. A young woman asked, "If telemarkers are mostly men, what are the odds for a girl meeting men?" Answer: "The odds are good but the goods are odd."
There is talk about a race being held on the Thunderbolt trail next year.
Apparently there is going to be a summer footrace on the Thunderbolt. See (especially) the 2nd paragraph here;
http://list.uvm.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0906C&L=SKIVT-L&D=1&T=0&O=D&P=909 I've had the Thunderbolt on my list for years, but haven't done it, the effort to get there is about as much as northern VT and the snow is unreliable. Friends who have done it all say that it is the best of the CCC trails in New England, better than Bruce and Teardrop at Stowe. I've done both of those and they are great. Now that I am retired I'm in a better position to pounce if the snow is right.
Interesting place. I'd like to visit but probably won't because it is so far from anything. I deputized my Chicago son to go check it out but he declined. It's a 12 hr. drive from Chicago. He says he can be in Jackson Hole in 15. I am not entirely sure of either of his figures but you get the point.
I'm from the Chicago area, and I always wanted to check Mt. Bohemia out, but as pointed out by Denis (or his son) the math doesn't quite work. Even getting to Northern Wisconsin or Michigan's Upper Peninsula from Chicago is a long haul, and Bohemia is quite a bit further. Maybe if it was open back when I was in school at UW-Madison I would have gone for it.
Mount Bohemia has been on my radar for years... well, maybe not on the radar. Kind of off the side of the radar but like any good radarman, you know it's sitting out there. Just hard to think of an excuse that would take me to the U.P. instead of westbound. Still, should I ever find myself near the region, for whatever reason- and by "near" I mean within a few hours, not necessarily Houghton- it would definitely be worth checking out. Their annual brochures are a hoot.
Mt Bohemia. As I watched the video I couldn't believe that the place was real, but then again, that's the type of place I dream about. Makes me want to get a group together to brush out cherry bowl glades which used to be like that.
Maybe I'll start another thread to see if ther is any interest in doing that.
I'm sorta sorry I posted the link becuase I think you all could get to A-Basin faster--in a car.
I've had the Thunderbolt on my list for years, but haven't done it, the effort to get there is about as much as northern VT and the snow is unreliable. Friends who have done it all say that it is the best of the CCC trails in New England, better than Bruce and Teardrop at Stowe. I've done both of those and they are great. Now that I am retired I'm in a better position to pounce if the snow is right.
Denis,
Have you checked out the Meathead's first film, Epoch? About skiing the highest peaks in Mass, NY, VT, NH and Maine. Skiing is OK in the film (actually not too much skiing), but the history and the vibe are fantastic. You'll love the video if you haven't seen it. (You can borrow it from me if you want since I'm right on down the road. PM me.)
