Trails that have lost Character!

[ceo]

Actually, Double Bitter at Sugarloaf is on my list, because they ripped out the entire bottom half of it for a terrain park. Not that I object to terrain parks (though I wish they'd been around when I was a teenager), but I wish they hadn't put it on one of my favorite trails.

Binder is a similar case; the lower half is permanently closed, which makes me really sad. I assume that's so they can run supplies up to Bullwinkle's.

Agreed on Widowmaker; there used to be a great air point right by the bottom of the old #5 T-bar. (Misery Whip almost makes up for it, though.) But the real crime was when they blasted the Narrow Gauge Headwall.

 

[thetrailboss]

I don't doubt you, but it's tough to tell from the photos since it seems that the more recent one is taken from closer/zoomed in a lot more.

Edit: Well, I take that back. You can at least compare relative sizes of trails and see that some changes were made. Especially with FIS.

I agree with BMM. Wish I had skied there before 1991 or so when the work was done. As to Upper FIS, most of the widening seems to be unintentional thanks to snowmaking blowing into the trees and folks skiing the sides more and more each year.

Other nominees:

*Willoughby at Burke was significantly widened and regraded in 2008;
*Camper's Carry/Upper Bear Den (aka "Granny's") was also really changed around that time.

 

[Skimaine]

. . . Binder is a similar case; the lower half is permanently closed, which makes me really sad. I assume that's so they can run supplies up to Bullwinkle's.

Agreed on Widowmaker; there used to be a great air point right by the bottom of the old #5 T-bar. (Misery Whip almost makes up for it, though.) But the real crime was when they blasted the Narrow Gauge Headwall.

Totally agree on Binder. I had a friend who missed the trail closed signed and surfed it top to bottom on a powder day. I know what you are thinking - he really did think he was skiing an open trail. Lucky for him no snow-cats where coming the other way. Needless to say he noted that it was awesome run. They do use it to shuttle supplies and such to Barwinkles. About once a year, the Sugarloaf board starts a "Bring Back Binder" thread.

The Narrow Gauge Headwall used to be known as Jesus Christ Pitch or JC Pitch for short. Not so much anymore.

 

[billski]

this is kind of a funny thread. While I sympathize and agree with you all (I prefer narrow, winding trails), there is a whole cadre of money-paying customers who would have called those trails "scary" and "dangerous". funny how the world turns. Well, if it takes sacrificing a few virgins to bring the money in, I can go along with that. Just leave a few behind.

 

[skidmarks]

Stratton-Rimeline and Upper Standard

Two great trails became the stupid dual fall-line Upper Standard Super Trail.
Islands of trees separated the two runs and held the snow.

 

[Geoff]

You're all just a bunch of tree huggers.

"All of Stratton" gets my vote. I grew up skiing there as an every-weekender back when it was double chairs and no snowmaking on the upper mountain. They had cut the trails narrow, winding, and to take every possible advantage of what terrain they had. It wasn't steep but it was interesting. Today, it's a tilted dance floor with very little of that character left.

At Killington, Downdraft used to be my favorite gladed trail. I'd drive down from Burlington when everything farther north closed to ski it.

 

[riverc0il]

At Killington, Downdraft used to be my favorite gladed trail. I'd drive down from Burlington when everything farther north closed to ski it.

Downdraft is an excellent trail. Too bad it had the trees removed before I was able to ski it, I am sure it was even better. Probably one of my favorite trails at Killington.

 

[deadheadskier]

All of the Front Four at Stowe except Goat

wish I was alive to ski them in their original state. You can add Nosedive to that list as well.

/thread

 

[witch hobble]

Twister at Gore had a pretty major character change in order to accomodate NYSEF racing programs. Don't get me wrong, I love rippin', wide open turns down it. But it used to be so much more curvy when it was half as narrow or less.

 

[mister moose]

50 posts on this board, and no one mentions the demise of Chicken Point at Sundown?????

 

[SLyardsale]

Gregs revival of that character thread made me think of all the trails that used to have character, but have been widened and flattened over the years.

My nomination is Widowmaker at Sugarloaf. The trail used to be tight narrow and had all gnarly dips, drop-offs, no grooming, and very much lived up to it's name. Now it's mostly a blue square.

What trail(s) do you miss?

Widowmaker is a worthy nomination..

Narrow Guage widening was mandated by US Ski in order to continue to hold US Championships there...guess I can live with that in order to get the event.

The biggest scar at Sugarloaf was the tranformation of upper Wedge into White Nitro - now a mile wide, scoured granite counter top of a ski slope.

 

[4aprice]

I grew up skiing Smugglers Notch (then Madonna Mountain) in the late 60's/early 70's. Doc Dempseys glades was my introduction to tree skiing. Returned there for a weekend in 1994 with a college buddy and almost spent the whole weekend in there. I then returned a couple of years ago with the family and found the top section almost completely deforested. I was stunned. Someone may have told me it was due to a tree problem on the mountain but I'm not sure of that. They sure took a lot of character out of that trail.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[atkinson]

That first pic of Mount Ellen also shows the liftline cut above Inverness that has now grown back. I think it was called the 20th Hole Express.

John

 

[skiberg]

The entire North Face of Mt. Snow.

 

[jarrodski]

50 posts on this board, and no one mentions the demise of Chicken Point at Sundown?????

got photos?

 

[SteveInCT]

50 posts on this board, and no one mentions the demise of Chicken Point at Sundown?????

I skied there a lot as a kid in the 80s and don't remember that trail. Where was it? I remember the horn (which is no longer there), but no "Chicken Point".

 

[jarrodski]

I skied there a lot as a kid in the 80s and don't remember that trail. Where was it? I remember the horn (which is no longer there), but no "Chicken Point".

the very top of Nor' Easter. It's the steeper section heading towards the Sun Deck. Used to be pretty crazy according to the old owner of the mountain.

 

[SteveInCT]

the very top of Nor' Easter. It's the steeper section heading towards the Sun Deck. Used to be pretty crazy according to the old owner of the mountain.

Hmm.. maybe it was.. I was a kid and a bomber at the time so I probably wouldn't have noticed. Back then, I would constantly get warnings for going down Gunbarrel without making any turns. LOL. Yeah, I know.. I hate those kids now too!

Of course, maybe he is talking about the real old days when the place was called Satan's Ridge or when it first reopened as Sundown in the late 70s. I didn't start going there until the early 80s.

 

[mister moose]

the very top of Nor' Easter. It's the steeper section heading towards the Sun Deck. Used to be pretty crazy according to the old owner of the mountain.

It goes back a lot of years. I think it was blasted in the late 70's or so. There was a large rocky ledge that was fairly steep that was the first pitch of any consequence to the entire north side of the hill. It was maybe 50-80 vertical feet, but was steeper than blue steep, maybe easy black steep. Below it was the tri split to The Horn, Temptor, and Canyon Run (aka Miracle Mile) It was narrow at the top, and widened as it went down, with a high spine down the center part. Low intermediates would hang on the crest of the spine, dreading the few turns on the steep pitch it would take to get down.

While its existence was the epitome of "New England character", it's a good thing it got blasted as it was difficult to groom it's undulations, and low intermediates hated it.

Sorry, no pics of it. I don't know of any old pics. I talked to 2 of the founders 2 years ago, and couldn't find any old trail maps either.

 

[SteveInCT]

It goes back a lot of years. I think it was blasted in the late 70's or so.

Awesome history lesson and a very vivid mental picture! Thanks!