Four New Trails at Jiminy Peak

[Greg]

Thanks to Jimme for alerting me of these announcements:

Four New Trails at Jiminy Peak
The mountain crews at Jiminy Peak have been hard at work all summer clearing terrain and adding snowmaking for new trails, and improving existing trails for an even better skiing and riding experience for our guests. We haven’t added lights to any of the new trails for this coming winter, but hope to light at least Riptide/Willie’s Gulch and Outback for the following season.

First of all, two new trails have been cut off the back that go around and meet with either Left Bank or West Way. Round-a-bout runs from the top of the Berkshire Express, to the left after you disembark from the lift, around Glider, and then dumps into Easy Does It for an all-downhill slide for skiers and riders who want to go directly to Left Bank. No more skating! The great thing about the way this trail is cut is that it should collect a ton of snow. Outback runs from about 100 yards west of top of the Express, to your right as you disembark, out beyond West Way Chute and Azalea Path, and then comes back into West Way just about across from Lower Glade. It will be a wonderful alternate to the West Way Chute on busier days. Plus, the rock ledge on skier’s right on the West Way Chute has been moved back to make the Chute wider.

The decision was made to clear out most of the trees on Riptide and Willie’s Gulch to create a new top to bottom intermediate route on the west side of the mountain. While those were excellent glades, the reality of weather in the Berkshires (i.e. not a whole lot of natural snow some years) meant that they could only be open for a very small part of the season. Now that they are cleared, and snowmaking has been installed, more people can enjoy Riptide and Willie’s. A new trail has been cut where the old Canteen used to stand. Raccoon’s Den runs from the bottom of Willie’s Gulch out to 360/180. And, the trail that runs past Mountainside homes and the Mountain Operations building will open to the public this season, under the name Grouse Run, providing an alternate route to the base from Left Bank.

Experts can rejoice in this decision: a commitment has been made to have moguls side-to-side and top to bottom on Cutter! The crew has even added additional tower snowmaking guns so that the bumps can be top-dressed after a weather event, and not completely FLATTENED as has been in the past! How many times over how many years have we asked for this? It is so nice that it will finally happen! Also, there is talk of creating machine-made moguls on the top left of Grand Slam for intermediates to practice their bump style.

The final big change is an additional, new terrain park and half pipe on the Ace of Spades. The snowmaking coverage on the Ace has been expanded so that elements can be built from side to side, and should be open-able fairly early in our season. The lift operations folks have also committed to opening the Grand Slam Double for most twilight periods as well as for weekends and holidays to make everything a lot easier for park and pipe dwellers. We are bringing in a designer to work with our crew on creating an excellent park and pipe for 2004/2005, and we are adding more rails to both the big and little parks on Grand Slam.

Click here to see the new trails!
http://www.jiminypeak.com/misc/trails.html

I'm psyched to hear about the bumps on Cutter and the manmade fields on Grand Slam! It'll also be nice to have a few new runs down the West side of the mountain. All good news!

 

[riverc0il]

i wouldn't say all good news. i've never skied jiminy, but clearing out two glade trails to make way for an additional intermediate groomer doesn't exactly inspire me to drive out there. sometimes the snow doesn't fall and glades remain closed most of the season. my fav mountain cannon, had two trails that never opened this past year (one brand new, one only a year old) and cannon is in the whites! just cause you can't open them all the time is no reason to destroy them. granted jiminy probably isn't drawing many extra people in due to a pair of glade trails, but i really hate to see this type of "expansion" happen at any resort.

the addition of bumps is to be commended though. seems like expert trails took a step back with the glades, but then three or four forward with the bump addition. i thought the trend would be the exact opposite in the industry, flatten the bumps and try to add extra trails by thinning out glades.

 

[teachski]

IMHO- Jiminy has Stratton envy.

 

[jimme]

I'm sure the Stratton referance would be proudly accepted by Jiminy management. And it would be well deserved. While I perfer less "glitz", they have really done a great job expanding the cushy side of the "resort." The buildings are not Disneyesque like some areas construct , but are typical modern New England syle. It is an interesting small resort. I often hear several foreign languages if I'm there on a busy day and forget I'm only 40 minutes from home. I always wonder how they attract such a diversified crowd, but are not a major resort destination.

At one time I was concerned that Jiminy might let the glades grow in. They almost never opened them. Many days I thought they should have, but they didn't. Notice that it was stated that "most" of the glades were cleared of trees so I'm hoping there are some left. I'd rather see the trails cleared rather than grown in. The under brush was getting pretty thick the past few seasons; to me indicating they were not too concerned about them being open. I guess they could have done some serious clearing, but who knows? Maybe insurance is less if you don't offer tree skiing.

Jiminy does not cater to the Expert skier/rider very much. I think just enough to keep them interested when they are with less experienced skiers/riders. I have often heard that "this is the way the owner wants it" in response to the meticulous grooming and lack of bumps. Either way Jiminy is not considered an Experts mountain. If this makes sense- Jiminy errs on the side of safe skiing/riding. I have often seen trails closed that I thought other areas would have open. No such thing as "thin cover" at Jiminy, either open or closed. Why under the Grand Slam chair is not a run baffles me. Parts of Widow White's chair could be a trail and it's not.

The opening of the Grand Slam double is good and bad. Good for the park users, good for easy access to Grand Slam, Ace Of Spades and John Handcock trails. With the exception of the Terrain Park access the easy access to the other two trails is the bad part. Without the Grand Slam chair in operation you had to hike back to the main chair after a run down J. Handcock or Ace. This really kept skier/rider traffic to a minimum and left Ace as one of Jiminy's best powder runs after a dump. Now after a run down these trails you can get back on the lift and take Grand Slam to the main lift.

Anyway, my "home area" has just grown a bit and I'm totally stoked about getting back there this season!

Jimme :beer:

 

[Greg]

Re: Glades. I understand that the appeal of tree skiing as a natural skiing experience, but I wonder if any ski areas have considered snowmaking in or near gladed areas? Kind of defeats the purpose, I know, and they probably would need to clear them enough to allow a groomer between the trees to spread out the snow, but it might be a way to get a base down that will support natural snow longer. Kind of a synthetic approach to tree skiing, but it might work for areas like Jiminy that don't receive huge amounts of natural snowfall. From an operations standpoint, I'm sure it would be a nightmare to get a groomer in and around trees, but it would certainly add some variety to an otherwise wide open run.

Also, I'm wondering how the manmade bumps on Grand Slam are going to go over. That's a pretty busy run at times, and it may make for a lot of congestion. I would love to see them concentrate on building manmade mogul fields on trails like the Foxes and North Glade which they tend to let bump up already. I Emailed Sally from Jiminy to see if they plan to expand the manmade bump approach to other trails, but she's out of the office most of this week.

 

[riverc0il]

next to intermediate bump runs, the most under utilized trail type is intermediate glade. i think more areas really should consider the type of run greg suggests: clearing out enough trails to allow a groomer through and limited snowmaking, but no more. i don't understand the rational of never having any trails in the middle of trails.

oh wait, liability

 

[sledhaulingmedic]

When I last skied Jimminy, they still had the Mueller Centerpole. I can't even imagine what it's like now. I have a feeling that a return there would be like going kback to "Crotched", which in no way resembles where I used to ski "back in the day".

I like glades, bump runs, of all pitchs, chutes, anything with natural features. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the direction the sport is heading. I can apreciate that parks and groomers are fun for a lot of skiers and riders, but just not for me.

I guess I'm just old school. (I guess that's good, because if it comes back in vogue, I'll just be old)

 

[Greg]

I like glades, bump runs, of all pitchs, chutes, anything with natural features. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the direction the sport is heading. I can apreciate that parks and groomers are fun for a lot of skiers and riders, but just not for me.

What are yor thoughts, Sled, on manmade bump runs? I never knew they existed until I went to Loon this year. They had a number of manmade bump runs. For an intermediate bumper like me, the spacing really helped me to find a rhythm. I like natural terrain too, but I really hope these "artificial" mogul fields are something more areas adopt.

 

[jimme]

When I last skied Jimminy, they still had the Mueller Centerpole. I can't even imagine what it's like now. I have a feeling that a return there would be like going kback to "Crotched", which in no way resembles where I used to ski "back in the day".

I like glades, bump runs, of all pitchs, chutes, anything with natural features. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the direction the sport is heading. I can apreciate that parks and groomers are fun for a lot of skiers and riders, but just not for me.

I guess I'm just old school. (I guess that's good, because if it comes back in vogue, I'll just be old)

You'd probably get nauseous as you walk from the parking lot and can't see the lifts 'cause they're blocked by the "village". Condos to the left, Condos to the right, turn around there's more in back of you accross the street! High Speed Six passenger lift whips you to the top in 5 min! None of us are kidding about the Strattonesque* feel of the area. Coffe shops, pizza shops, big banner ads hanging from the buildings. It would be fun if you had friends to ski with, but based on your tastes, you would probably not feel comfortable there. The only time they do not groom is during a heavy storm. I'm not downing the place, just calling it as I see it. My guess is that JP is very, very different from when you last skied there. When was that?

* I skied Stratton around '74 or '75. Went back in 2000 and thought Disney bought the place. What a shock. :lol:

Jimme

 

[sledhaulingmedic]

I'm far from the best in bumps, and I really like a bumped up Blue run, but they are very few and far between.

Bump farming is not a bad idea, when done appropriately. Wachusett's been doing it for years and it gives a start to a bump field that would otherwise get slipped away.

Funny you mention Stratton in the 70's. I skied there a couple of times in the mid-'70'2 when a friend of mine was at the Stratton Mountain School. I didn't go back until 2001. Not the same place.

I know the polished, comercialized approach draws a lot of skiers and riders and therefore makes more money, I just find it a very bland experience.

 

[Greg]

All things considered, I still think Jiminy is a great area. Even though the drive is about 1:45, I still consider it my "home" mountain. I'm always able to get in tons of skiing off that 6 pack. If the wait gets long there (not usually more than 10 minutes + another 5 to the top) I'll hit the Q1 or Widow's quad. Jiminy has some of the best (in terms of pitch) terrain in Massachusetts. Only Berkshire East is comparable based on the Mass areas I've skied. I visit usually half a dozen times each year, and if the mogul approach takes hold, I'll be frequenting even more.