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let's talk about off map and sidecountry skiing at stowe...

KustyTheKlown

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i don't get to ski stowe as often as i like ($), and every time i go i am totally blown away by how top notch it is in every way, but especially terrain. there is so much there, and i feel like i only know a pretty small amount of it.

on sunday i skied the kitchen wall area for the first time and don't know how i've always missed it for so many years. it's right in your face and the resort boundary line on the map clearly indicates that area is game on.

i also hiked out from the gondola for the first time. i intended to ski hellbrook (from the traverse, not from the top of chin), but i fucked up a little, dropping too early into what was the middle of profanity, taking a break at taft lodge, and then winding up on the long trail back to chin clip woods and the traverse to angel food (which i've skied many times). was a little bummed to waste the hike and not ski hellbrook. is the "bottom" of profanity any different from the white blazed long trail back to chin clip?

so, what else is out there

i know the bruce starts from the very top of toll road but i don't really know anything about it, other than that it ends at the cross country center

i've heard of the "hazelton zone" and "the planets" but don't know exactly what and where they are?

and pretty much any in bounds tree skiing anywhere past the mountain triple is totally unknown to me

ive skied the back bowls but only via smuggs

what say you?
 

SkiFanE

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I can't help you much - haven't been in 20 yrs but the woods is what we loved about it. Seems you could drop in anywhere and come out just fine. In Maine - woods are so damn thickety and weedy - it's nearly impossible unless it's been trimmed. Whatever vegetation they have really helps. Someone told me once it's because people go in and trim - but seemed too widespread for humans to do. This winter at SR it's so much thicker in the woods this year since they weren't skied last year - amazing how fast that crap grows. So unless someone is trimming every summer at Stowe I - it must be the vegetation. Was always my favorite NE mountain - gosh those years are fuzzy so can't remember exactly why - but was always our first choice (tix were normal priced back then).
 

Not Sure

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Been a while but remember going around a big wooden fence off Octogon and down a steep chute into a nice gladed area . Not sure if it's still there but was really fun.
 

Tin

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What kind of douche writes an article like that? Christ

DHS is the man on Stowe. I used to enjoy a couple things in the downburst area but have not been there since it happened. No mention of...

b474592af24879285287e0a01b1f6e71.jpg
 

bdfreetuna

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What kind of douche writes an article like that?

He's a rebel.

Now based on my own experience if you go left at the top of Chin Clip through the woods you get to a variety of woods. There are some tight lines up top, it mostly all opens up into woods. I guess this is Angel Food depending on where exactly you are. You might have to walk back to the lift depending how far you go.

Most of the stuff at Stowe is pretty well known, in the days of the internet it's pointless to try and keep things that are pretty obvious a secret. Might as well share the love, and if you want freshies, get up early on a powder day.
 

KustyTheKlown

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I was in the downburst area Sunday and skied something that had a homemade sign, don't remember what it said, but it was in French
 

deadheadskier

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Most of the stuff at Stowe is pretty well known, in the days of the internet it's pointless to try and keep things that are pretty obvious a secret. Might as well share the love, and if you want freshies, get up early on a powder day.

Disagree. Tons of stuff at Stowe that I have never seen mentioned publicly and I'm not going to be the first to do so

I'm all about private messaging certain stash information, but never in public.

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bdfreetuna

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I should say most of the stuff on the EpicSki link seems pretty well known. Most of that involves obvious or semi-obvious entrances into the woods off marked trails.

This is sidecountry. Hike to or hitch-a-ride-back stuff I couldn't tell you a lot about anyway.

YouTube has a lot of it public anyway, and gives an accurate visual idea of what's actually involved. That's why I say our attitudes towards sharing are pretty irrelevant as all this stuff is in the public domain anyway.

If you have secret stashes beyond what can be found on EpicSki or YouTube by all means hang on to them.


I also think it helps people be safe entering backcountry when we share at least some reasonable and safer options. And the more people you send into Angel Food the less people will find your secret stash anyway.
 
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deadheadskier

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Fair enough. I didn't look at your link. Stowe has put so much on the map now it's kind of a shame. Before the big trail count expansion from the original 48 the only thing labeled on map was Tres Amigos and Nosedive woods.

I think Wildcat has a great approach to tree skiing. They shade areas where tree skiing is, but the entrances aren't marked. It's not a big mountain, but even with 40ish days there in the past five years, I'm still finding stuff.

OP check your private messages

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tnt1234

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Bruce trail is a must do - good skiing, nice windy trail, not particularly steep, or technical, just a great fun trail....but the best part is, after you cruise along the x-country trails (stay out of the tracks!) you end up at the Matterhorn.

With foresight - park your car at Matterhorn in AM, take shuttle to mountain. Catch last quad, Bruce trail to happy hour at Matterhorn....boom.

Also, no big secret, but river bed is a great, well know trail. Wouldn't be surprised if they put it on the map someday. Also not tight or technical, but a couple of little waterfalls, and cool twists and turns. Right side of chin clip, just below a cross over trail...forget the name, but hard to miss.

Kitchen wall is great, isn't it? I think there is a way to enter that area from above the traditional traverse, but I've never done it.
 

KustyTheKlown

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yea I watched some snowboarders drop from between the nose and chin into the kitchen wall area, gnarly

Dhs - cheers and thanks
 

deadheadskier

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yea I watched some snowboarders drop from between the nose and chin into the kitchen wall area, gnarly

Dhs - cheers and thanks
You can do so from either side. Chin side is called Epiphany Bowl. Nose side, the triangle trail. Both require significant hikes to get too. But you got to know where you're going or you could end up cliffed out on some massive cliffs that can't be dropped. I haven't done either in 15 years. Not sure I'd attempt either again without a local. It's easy to forget routes if you don't do them regularly

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MadMadWorld

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Bruce trail is a must do - good skiing, nice windy trail, not particularly steep, or technical, just a great fun trail....but the best part is, after you cruise along the x-country trails (stay out of the tracks!) you end up at the Matterhorn.

With foresight - park your car at Matterhorn in AM, take shuttle to mountain. Catch last quad, Bruce trail to happy hour at Matterhorn....boom.

Also, no big secret, but river bed is a great, well know trail. Wouldn't be surprised if they put it on the map someday. Also not tight or technical, but a couple of little waterfalls, and cool twists and turns. Right side of chin clip, just below a cross over trail...forget the name, but hard to miss.

Kitchen wall is great, isn't it? I think there is a way to enter that area from above the traditional traverse, but I've never done it.
Yes there is a way to get to the Kitchen Wall but it requires you to cliff yourself out, remove your skis and promptly throw them off. You will lose them and then have to post a thread on AZ.

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tnt1234

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Yes there is a way to get to the Kitchen Wall but it requires you to cliff yourself out, remove your skis and promptly throw them off. You will lose them and then have to post a thread on AZ.

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I think I remember that thread from a while ago....wonder if he ever found them....Wasnt someone going to go hunting for them for the guy?
 

KD7000

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Yes there is a way to get to the Kitchen Wall but it requires you to cliff yourself out, remove your skis and promptly throw them off. You will lose them and then have to post a thread on AZ.
Any time someone mentions Kitchen Wall, that's my immediate first thought.
 
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