Powder Mag: A Skier Goes East

raisingarizona · Feb 5, 2017

I still don't get the idea that tighter trees = best trees. I mean, if they are too tight the skiing sort of sucks imo. I dig flow not awkward trees with lots of close out lines that force you to do short traverses or flow killing weird turns. Again, I fully support what ever you are into but what our personal preference is doesn't mean it's the "best" or for everyone.

gmcunni · Feb 5, 2017

deadheadskier said:
but to suggest the east is better for tight trees just isn't true.

alternative facts

raisingarizona · Feb 5, 2017

gmcunni said:
alternative facts

So hot these days.

jimk · Feb 5, 2017

I guess I get the discussion here trying to distinguish "tree skiing" from more open off-piste terrain with a sprinkling of trees. I'm not a great tree skier and therefore I prefer open glade type areas than real dense trees and bushes. I think if I had run gates as a kid it might have helped me in that regard.
Here is example of tree runs I experienced recently at Snowbird, they are nicely spaced glades next to designated runs like Mach Schnell and there is room to turn and bail out as necessary by hackers like me. Sort of like narrow trails that don't get groomed, maybe similar to stuff at MRG like Paradise or terrain left and right of midway down Chute.

jimk · Feb 5, 2017

As opposed to tighter trees, such as I recently skied at Park City off Pine Cone Ridge:

I went through Aspens? above, wished I'd found this opening instead, which I only spotted as I was leaving this section:

FYI, above pic shows connector gondola between old Park City and old Canyons resorts.

More open glades at MRG run near midway down Chute:

Tighter MRG trees lower on the mtn somewhere:

NYDB · Feb 5, 2017

Tin said:
Cliffs in tight trees? Come to Mad River or Stowe and I will teach you. Sometimes you just go and figure it out while in the air lol

Omg ....this guy is the biggest asshat on here. Don't.be. so. serious. son.

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Smellytele · Feb 6, 2017

jimk said:
As opposed to tighter trees, such as I recently skied at Park City off Pine Cone Ridge:

I went through Aspens? above, wished I'd found this opening instead, which I only spotted as I was leaving this section:

FYI, above pic shows connector gondola between old Park City and old Canyons resorts.

More open glades at MRG run near midway down Chute:

Tighter MRG trees lower on the mtn somewhere:

I would say none of those are tight trees. First few on your first post a runs with trees around them.

fbrissette · Feb 6, 2017

Siliconebobsquarepants said:
East Coast trees won't kill you! Just a guess but I would say there haven't been any tree well deaths East of the Mississippi.

My wife helped dug out a dead guy out a tree well at Mont-Tremblant 15 years ago. It is rare, but it does happen.

Not Sure · Feb 6, 2017

fbrissette said:
My wife helped dug out a dead guy out a tree well at Mont-Tremblant 15 years ago. It is rare, but it does happen.

Dang !wouldn't have thought that was even possible, must have been an incredible snow year. I could see an undermined steam bed collapse ,happened to me at Kmart in the 80's.

fbrissette · Feb 6, 2017

Scary thing. He fell and just sled off an intermediate traverse trail. He went down head first about 4-5 feet deep. Skis and boots still at the surface. He was a big fat guy skiing with a friend. The friend could not pull him out (obviously he did not have a shovel). Took several minutes before they could gather enough manpower to pull him out (not an easy task on soft snow). He had no pulse when they took him out.

If I showed you the spot, you would not believe it is possible to die there. I think this was a one in a million thing. I've seen huge tree wells in the Chic Chocs, but this is more like out west over there.

Scruffy · Feb 6, 2017

Ah, yes, the old East vs West argument, yet, again, and complete with obligatory ad hominem remarks - nice.

If you're sliding on white stuff, skiing is good no matter where you are. We adjust our tactics and sometimes our equipment. Be proud of your local skiing. I personally am real happy not many people from a more western state want so come east to ski; we already have way too many people skiing the limited terrain here-let them stay there; we can visit their mountains- it's a nice arrangement.

I just got back from 6 days of skiing Chamonix. They're having the worst snow drought in 35 years, but it was still awesome skiing. Got steep powder runs that you would need a good day out West USA to duplicate. It's all relative.

Savemeasammy · Feb 6, 2017

To continue derailing this thread...

IMO, what I enjoy most about eastern tree skiing is the fact that the terrain itself hasn't been smoothed out and altered by heavy equipment. You really get to enjoy the dips, rolls, drops, etc in a way that you can't do on some of the wide-open boulevards.

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ironhippy · Feb 6, 2017

I only like tight tree skiing because there is a better chance of untracked snow in the tight stuff.

i'd prefer more wide open glades, but the goal is usually the least amount of tracks.

fbrissette · Feb 6, 2017

ironhippy said:
I only like tight tree skiing because there is a better chance of untracked snow in the tight stuff.

i'd prefer more wide open glades, but the goal is usually the least amount of tracks.

Agreed. Least amount of tracks and least amount of ice. When I have first shot at fresh powder (typically after skinning up early), I never ever pick tight trees. First choice is always open glade. When I'm on chair 25 on a pow day, I'll head for a tight glade which I know will be untracked.

Jully · Feb 6, 2017

ironhippy said:
I only like tight tree skiing because there is a better chance of untracked snow in the tight stuff.

i'd prefer more wide open glades, but the goal is usually the least amount of tracks.

Where tight trees really shine for me is a few days after a storm. Soft, quiet, uncrowded, and isolated are some of my favorite 'tight' glade runs. Its nice to escape the crowds on trail, especially if you're at a larger resort.

fbrissette · Feb 6, 2017

Scruffy said:
Ah, yes, the old East vs West argument, yet, again, and complete with obligatory ad hominem remarks - nice.

If you're sliding on white stuff, skiing is good no matter where you are.

Obviously, I'd rather ski a small eastern hill on a good pow day than a monster western mountain on a bad refreeze day, but all conditions being equal, anyone who says he'd pick an eastern resort over a major western one is either ignorant, lying or trolling. I've skied the east all of my life, and I've been lucky enough to have regularly skied out west and in the Alps, and I cannot think of a single positive skiing feature out east that is not better out west (even tight trees).

The only reason we ski the east is that's it's close to home. If I had a Whistler/Blackcomb or a Big Sky equivalent within 90 minutes by car from home, I would NEVER EVER ski Jay Peak again, even though I love the place.

Domeskier · Feb 6, 2017

fbrissette said:
Obviously, I'd rather ski a small eastern hill on a good pow day than a monster western mountain on a bad refreeze day, but all conditions being equal, anyone who says he'd pick an eastern resort over a major western one is either ignorant, lying or trolling.

Give me 300 meters of seeded bumps with convenient lift access and I couldn't care less about how much vert or acreage a resort has. I'm sure a lot of park rats feel the same way about their rails and half-pipes and crap. I don't dispute the claim that Western resorts are better. It's just that the type of skiing I like to do simply doesn't require those advantages. With the exception of less boilerplate in the troughs, but your thought experiment posits all conditions being equal.

fbrissette · Feb 6, 2017

Domeskier said:
Give me 300 meters of seeded bumps with convenient lift access and I couldn't care less about how much vert or acreage a resort has. I'm sure a lot of park rats feel the same way about their rails and half-pipes and crap. I don't dispute the claim that Western resorts are better. It's just that the type of skiing I like to do simply doesn't require those advantages. With the exception of less boilerplate in the troughs, but your thought experiment posits all conditions being equal.

Out east, bumps are icy roughly half the time. Same thing for landing in parks. I'll grant you that if you are a park rat or hardcore bump skier, differences are less important.

The big vertical is irrelevant since you often only ski the upper lifts in the western resorts. The sheer variety of terrain (open bowls, chutes, steeps, glades of all sort) , the snow quality and absence of ice is where the big western resorts shine the most compared to the east.

Scruffy · Feb 6, 2017

fbrissette said:
... anyone who says he'd pick an eastern resort over a major western one is either ignorant, lying or trolling.

Who said that?

fbrissette · Feb 6, 2017

Some pretty much implied it.

Powder Mag: A Skier Goes East

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