Mad River Glen - 2/14/2018

[bdfreetuna]

Day 1 of a 2 day solo adventure. Family is in PA for the week. Unfortunately conditions did not pan out for me to take the epic powder chasing journey I had hoped for.

But MRG had $14 Valentine's Day tickets, I bought a few days ago in advance, figuring maybe things will soften up and corn up by then.

Well, they didn't, but it was a really fun day. Run of the day was Antelope / Catamount off the top. Whatever they had groomed skied really nicely. Most moguls were either closed or bulletproof. Later in the day they softened up a little as the temps rose so I did get some bump skiing in. Kind of technical but I enjoyed it. Makes you a better skier type of stuff.

Sun never really peaked out today -- although as I'm sitting up here in Stowe the sun is out here and it's warming up.

I brought clothes and overnight supplies not knowing if I'd stay up here for Day 2, and not knowing where, but Stowe is bragging about their awesome grooming on the website enough I figure I'll take them up for it. Hoping things soften up enough to get some less conventional terrain in play. Might corn up a bit tonight for tomorrow, we'll see. Good way to get some value out of my Ski VT passes at least.

Also MRG was totally empty when I arrived, must have been the 10th car in the lot. Almost as many Ski Patrol as regular skiers there today. People were having fun though, as much as some of the staff looked a little depressed.

Don't get a chance to get up there very often, last two times were on "bad" ski days (this year ice, last year total melt down). Always have a good time and the skiing is technical no matter what.

Their natural base is decent -- one big storm or a couple medium ones and it should be "good" again.

 

[bdfreetuna]

Forgot one. But as you can see the upper mountain is looking good. In this case looks are very deceiving!

I saw a few kids scratching their way down the bottom of Upper Glade (not open today). Asked them: "Would you do it again today?"

"No way!"

 

[chuckstah]

Forgot one. But as you can see the upper mountain is looking good. In this case looks are very deceiving!

I saw a few kids scratching their way down the bottom of Upper Glade (not open today). Asked them: "Would you do it again today?"

"No way!"

View attachment 23223

Thanks for the report. MRG is in my post holiday week plans along with Smuggs.

Sent from my LGMS345 using AlpineZone mobile app

 

[bdfreetuna]

I would not cancel those plans if things get refreshed or warmed up by then.

Even so, ski what you get, should be plenty of snow in some form or another

 

[kingslug]

Have to get there some time this season. I have never been there in 20 years except to climb it in July.

 

[VTKilarney]

"Whatever they had groomed skied really nicely."

That may be the first time this sentence has ever been part of a MRG trip report. At least you made lemonade out of lemons.

 

[cdskier]

Have to get there some time this season. I have never been there in 20 years except to climb it in July.

Same here pretty much. I've been saying that I need to get there for the past several years (I ski right next door nearly every weekend). So far I've been to the summit of MRG 3 times - once in the fall of 2016 on a foliage ride on the single chair, once this past summer hiking up the Jerusalem trail to the Long Trail to MRG and back, and once this fall hiking to Mt Ellen from the App Gap via the Long Trail. I really need to get there in the winter now! At some point I'll eventually spend some mid-week time in the MRV during ski season and that's when I'd like to ski MRG.

 

[bdfreetuna]

Skiing the bush and Mt Ellen isn't a bad fall of the chips, but I can't imagine not going to MRG at least half the time if you're up that way already!

Compared to the Bush it's a totally different scene. Midweek at least in my experience and that mountain(s) is yours to slay.

 

[cdskier]

Skiing the bush and Mt Ellen isn't a bad fall of the chips, but I can't imagine not going to MRG at least half the time if you're up that way already!

Compared to the Bush it's a totally different scene. Midweek at least in my experience and that mountain(s) is yours to slay.

Yea, I love Sugarbush so no complaints there about that being my home mountain.

In order to ski MRG at least half the time you'd probably want to buy a pass if you go that often. An MRG pass is more expensive than my Sugarbush pass. Now you've more than doubled my skiing cost. There's also some significant risk involved in buying a pass due to the dependency on natural snow. At least at Sugarbush quite a bit of terrain is covered with snowmaking to ensure skiing even in lean snow years.

I've also become a bit spoiled by knowing how to avoid crowds and lift lines at Sugarbush even on weekends. Not sure if I'd be happy at MRG on weekends with some lines for their lifts. That's perhaps the biggest reason I want to visit midweek and can't really see myself committing to being there on weekends no matter how much I enjoy the vibe or terrain (which I'm quite sure I would definitely enjoy that aspect at least when there's snow).

 

[bdfreetuna]

I don't go to MRG on weekends anymore, as a rule. Funny the same rule applies to Stratton and Mount Snow. But the single chair line can get rediculous and the double chair doesn't move real fast either.

Probably worth buying their 3 pack next year just for a slight change of scenery though.

 

[cdskier]

I don't go to MRG on weekends anymore, as a rule. Funny the same rule applies to Stratton and Mount Snow. But the single chair line can get rediculous and the double chair doesn't move real fast either.

Probably worth buying their 3 pack next year just for a slight change of scenery though.

If I knew I could make it up there for 3 midweek days, then that would definitely be a good idea and pretty good value too.

 

[kingslug]

I did that climb/ hike to SB..killer..took all day. Wasted most of the group. Downclimbing Castlrock was insane.

 

[cdskier]

I did that climb/ hike to SB..killer..took all day. Wasted most of the group. Downclimbing Castlrock was insane.

I hiked down CR once in the summer too...definitely does a number on your legs and is steeper than it seems while skiing.