Mad River Glen 1/30 and Stratton 1/31

[KustyTheKlown]

Mad River skied really well on Saturday. Got there at about 8:30 and was on one of the first few single chairs up. The upper mountain was skiing well and I decided to get quick upper mountain runs in on catamount, fall line, and chute, and took 3 midstation laps. then moved on to paradise, accessed via fall line. great snow in there. still obviously a little thin, but the 4" overnight drifted deeper in some spots and the skiing was spot on. worked the entire single chair side of the mountain, upper and lower, before shifting to the double at about 1 PM and methodically working every line and set of trees available. i pretty much skied every line at MRG, except for octopus garden. upper paradise was closed, but i ducked the rope and had some epic powder turns before the waterfall drop. it was sweet. one of the pics below is from top of paradise.

Stratton is a piece of shit of garbage and I hate it, but at least i got home by 6:30. totally crowded with gapers. it seems that no one who skis stratton is really a "skier". bmw test drives at the sundown base. the tester cars all had jersey plates. gross. 80 trails open, 80 trails groomed. woods were too icy to ski in the morning, and were too thin to care about by the time things softened up. skied pretty much every run available, yet somehow they all felt the same (because they were). had 15k vertical feet skied by 12:30, snow was quickly turning to mashed potatoes, and i had had enough and got out of there.

MRG pictures.







edit - still no clue how to flip pics on here. sorry. and it blocked my paradise pic because 5 per post

 

[bdfreetuna]

I'm going up there Wednesday after the 6-7" snow storm!

Looks great though. Was there a week or two ago and it was fantastic then as well. Cover wasn't even really that thin. Soft snow.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

am i missing something? last i checked (right now), wednesday is gonna be a rainy mess.

 

[WoodCore]

Stratton is a piece of shit of garbage and I hate it. Seems that no one who skis stratton is really a "skier".

Why so bitter Krusty! IMHO I'm a "skier" and I ski at Stratton.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

I'm not bitter. it's just the truth. I tried to give it another chance but it's just simply boring when the trees aren't in play. it's not steep. the trails are all groomed and are all the same. literally everything open was groomed. it's totally packed, and the clientele are not very good skiers. culturally, they just seem more like rich people who go skiing, and not like skiers. it's a gaper clientele. Im a very competent skier but I never feel like I'm the most skilled skier on the mountain, but that's how i felt at stratton. they are more into selling bmw's and real estate than skiing.

 

[mriceyman]

I'm going up there Wednesday after the 6-7" snow .

Cutter through the lakes.. Rain rain rain



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[WoodCore]

Valid points, but you need to see the "forest" through the "trees" when it comes to Stratton. I can help!

 

[KustyTheKlown]

I've skied every skiable set of trees at Stratton in the past. It's the only reason I don't have Stratton on the "unskiable" list with okemo and mount snow. It's just that any day where skiing every set of trees at Stratton is an option, skiing at magic is a better option.

 

[WoodCore]

I've skied every skiable set of trees at Stratton in the past. It's the only reason I don't have Stratton on the "unskiable" list with okemo and mount snow. It's just that any day where skiing every set of trees at Stratton is an option, skiing at magic is a better option.

I can't disagree.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

i did stumble across a barbecue grill and picnic set up in my one venture into the woods at stratton today. that was neat. i'll give them a +1 for unexpected beer and weed bbq woods party pad.

 

[yeggous]

i did stumble across a barbecue grill and picnic set up in my one venture into the woods at stratton today. that was neat. i'll give them a +1 for unexpected beer and weed bbq woods party pad.

This is what Cannon is for

 

[deadheadskier]

I've skied every skiable set of trees at Stratton in the past. It's the only reason I don't have Stratton on the "unskiable" list with okemo and mount snow. It's just that any day where skiing every set of trees at Stratton is an option, skiing at magic is a better option.

If you knew the trees weren't happening, then why did you bother?

I won't ski any of the major resorts in Southern VT on weekends any more. It's just not my scene with the crowds.

No matter where I ski though, it's about learning to have fun with whatever a particular mountain offers that day. I got very spoiled spending many years having Stowe as my home hill. I'd spend 80% of my winters there in the trees.

That all changed when I moved to Maine and now New Hampshire. Trees and technical terrain are still far and away my favorite terrain, but I only get that 30 -40% of the time living here. Committed to become a better carver and learning to have fun skiing fast.

If I didn't make that adjustment, I'd often be miserable skiing over here. Still pushing to get better at carving. I'd like to be able to bend them like Woodcore someday.

But anyways, at least you now know Stratton isn't what you're after on weekends. It is what many people are looking for though. That's a good thing! Keeps those folks off your preferred terrain.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

I knew what to expect for the most part, but didn't realize the woods would be SO thin. I have a max pass and stratton is on the way home and makes my final drive shorter. And I did do a lot of wide open fast skiing today, whenever the crowds would allow it. 16k feet skied from 830 to 1230.

 

[deadheadskier]

That's when it really sucks. When the crowds are so dense you can't even ski fast to make up for the boredom from lack of trees or bumps.

Like I said, I won't ski the majors in Southern VT on weekends anymore. That's the reason - crowds

 

[yeggous]

That's when it really sucks. When the crowds are so dense you can't even ski fast to make up for the boredom from lack of trees or bumps.

Like I said, I won't ski the majors in Southern VT on weekends anymore. That's the reason - crowds

I'm rapidly taking on your aversion to southern Vermont on weekends. It makes no sense.

 

[mriceyman]

i did stumble across a barbecue grill and picnic set up in my one venture into the woods at stratton today. that was neat. i'll give them a +1 for unexpected beer and weed bbq woods party pad.

Hey keep the stash on the DL .. Thats where we "refuel" throughout the day lol


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[Domeskier]

Looks nice. Any room for me in the Camaro on your next trip north?

 

[bdfreetuna]

Hey keep the stash on the DL .. Thats where we "refuel" throughout the day lol


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Hush hush

 

[Savemeasammy]

I've skied Stratton once - it was closing day for the sunbowl last year. I had always avoided it based on it's reputation. The conditions were not great - it was a refreeze day, but I could tell the mountain was decent. There are no sustained super steep runs, but I felt like the runs they had had character. It was a great place to ski with my family. Yes, it's crowded. Yes, it's gaperific. But, to their credit, the on-mountain product is solid, and they blow a ton of snow. I'm looking forward to making another trip. There is a ton of stuff that I wasn't able to ski...


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