Enjoying Closed runs on days with big dumps.

Have to post this to see where others stand... Closed run's happen for many reasons. Sometimes justifed, sometimes not. but ofcourse that doesent mean they arent ridable. Sometimes that fact that they are closed can even be a benifit... Take this weekend dump. Went to smugglers on Sat.. They didnt update or open more trails from all week at mountain opening.. after checking one closed trail glade "It was good" went to every almost gladed closed trail at Smugglers Notch that we could get to. Most were veryridable, few were a little rough. 3 or 4 were off the chart fun but were all closed.

MidnightJester said:

Have to post this to see where others stand... Closed run's happen for many reasons. Sometimes justifed, sometimes not. but ofcourse that doesent mean they arent ridable. Sometimes that fact that they are closed can even be a benifit... Take this weekend dump. Went to smugglers on Sat.. They didnt update or open more trails from all week at mountain opening.. after checking one closed trail glade "It was good" went to every almost gladed closed trail at Smugglers Notch that we could get to. Most were veryridable, few were a little rough. 3 or 4 were off the chart fun but were all closed.

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Skiing/riding on closed trails is not a good idea at all. This statement is not true:

Closed run's happen for many reasons. Sometimes justifed, sometimes not. but ofcourse that doesent mean they arent ridable.

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There is a reason why they are closed. There could be hazard(s) that you can't see or that aren't obvious. And if you get in trouble patrol does not sweep it. In Vermont it was one thing but out here if you duck a rope you can be in serious trouble.

I generally pay heed to closed trails if they are roped off.

I generally do not pay heed to closed woods if they are roped off. It's so easy to get into woods from various entry points anyway it's always possible to say you just skied off the trail in-bounds and that's where you ended up (if you get caught).

The whole point of skiing woods is variable terrain and obstacles anyway so I don't see the problem.

Trails, though, are sometimes closed for good reason related to the mountain trying to preserve or work on conditions to allow it to properly open.

No such thing as a closed trail. They are either open or "reserved".

deadheadskier said:

No such thing as a closed trail. They are either open or "reserved".

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Ski a closed trail and get caught. Hard to ski the next closed trail when you pass is pulled. Closed for a reason, most reason is to protect your safety. Don't be an idiot, plenty of fun on open terrain.

deadheadskier said:

No such thing as a closed trail. They are either open or "reserved".

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Wrong. Sugarbush opens a lot of trails that are marginal and would likely be closed at other mountains. If a trail is closed it is legit. I rode up with a patroller today and asked him about a few closed trails and he gave valid info on why they were closed. They typically won't give you are hard time for poaching but will acknowledge your stupidity for choosing to duck ropes.

You've got your opinion, I've got mine

Sugarbush has best trail open policy in the game. Magic is pretty good about it too from what I have seen (trails open with multiple full width exposed waterbars).

Respect to both those players.

I've skied trails at Plattekill that I wish were closed. They're pretty liberal with the ropes.

If a run is closed, I'll enter using my own path by going through the trees on to the trail. Makes me feel morally good that I didn't duck. Did this at Smuggs a lot! Very rarely do I actually duck a rope; I've done it 5 times this season out of 12 days so far.

I hiked over to castlerock today. It had great powder but there were open water bars and one nasty headwall. Definitely not safe to have open to the general public.

Have to admit that while I don't normally duck the ropes, I have done so in the past if I'm absolutely certain the trail should be open and patrol just hasn't gotten around to opening it. If I have a season pass, then I would never duck a rope.

WWF-VT said:

Wrong. Sugarbush opens a lot of trails that are marginal and would likely be closed at other mountains. If a trail is closed it is legit. I rode up with a patroller today and asked him about a few closed trails and he gave valid info on why they were closed. They typically won't give you are hard time for poaching but will acknowledge your stupidity for choosing to duck ropes.

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+ 1. I recall that if it was closed at Sugarbush you did not want to be there. They definitely pushed the limits and we appreciated it. I'd walk a little bit if needed to enjoy some good snow, especially in the spring.

HowieT2 said:

I hiked over to castlerock today. It had great powder but there were open water bars and one nasty headwall. Definitely not safe to have open to the general public.

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And they were allowing folks to hike over, with a patroller at the top of the 'Rock, right? See, that is different because Patrol is out there and monitoring things. With closed terrain they generally don't.

bdfreetuna said:

Sugarbush has best trail open policy in the game. Magic is pretty good about it too from what I have seen (trails open with multiple full width exposed waterbars).

Respect to both those players.

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At the risk of blowing people's minds, Bretton Woods is extremely flexible when it comes to this.

Edd said:

At the risk of blowing people's minds, Bretton Woods is extremely flexible when it comes to this.

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Gaper

deadheadskier said:

Gaper

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See? DHS can't even process what I said so he's lashing out. Give him time.

ss20 said:

If a run is closed, I'll enter using my own path by going through the trees on to the trail. Makes me feel morally good that I didn't duck. Did this at Smuggs a lot! Very rarely do I actually duck a rope; I've done it 5 times this season out of 12 days so far.

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I'm glad you found a reason to feel morally justified in breaking the rules. But the fact is that every area I've ever been has woods policy that you have to enter and exit from an open trail. So if you go through the woods to cut into a closed trail, you violated the woods policy AND you are still on a closed trail whether you ducked or not.

The problem with ropes is different areas use them in different ways. Most areas are over cautious and refuse to open runs that have unseen obstacles such as waterbars or a buried rock or three. The better policy in these conditions is bamboo and signs. Let skiers make their own decisions. Some areas are really good about this and a rope means CLOSED and for VERY good reason.

All ropes have a reason for sure. No ski area wants to have ropes up but patrol can often be too cautious with their reasons, whether through internal patrol practice or ski area management direction.

Do I duck ropes? Absolutely. And I don't try to justify it, I'm being selfish of course. But I do weigh the consequences in my mind... are others not as skilled and knowledgable going to follow me? Will I or someone that follows me get hurt? Will that mean patrol has to drag a sled down a suspect trail, maybe causing damage to themselves or their skis? Etc. Having my pass pulled... whatever. It is almost ALWAYS worth it. And that means to me that the rope shouldn't be up.

For what it is worth, I don't like having to resort to the practice and generally don't duck if I can't help it. But sometimes, I just can't help it and the skiing really is that good. But I don't make a habit out of it and rarely go for the duck.

Think about this explanation a Patroller gave me once. "We don;t close them because you can't ski them, we close them because we cannot safely evacuate an injured person." So if you poach, remember you are on your own and they are not responsible for your safety or lunacy however you want to describe it.

In NYS, There are protocols for marking hazards - Man made objects under 6', that includes fencing when the bases get high enough. Every X number of feet on the side of the trails. Can you get a sled down it. I seen one incident end with a organ harvest.