Most challenging blues

[riverc0il]

Most blues at MRG are up for consideration since most of MRG's blues are not groomed and bump up. By default that makes MRG blues more difficult than most as very few areas leave blues to bump up. Most blues at Burke are more challenging than average blues. I am still beside myself that Taft Slalom at Cannon is a blue, I think Vista Way is too and those are both good pitch and bumped, Vista Way often has particularly nasty cover and I would put Vista Way right up there with Quacky as one of the hardest blues in New England. Rocket at Cannon is pretty steep for a blue as well.

 

[BushMogulMaster]

Quacky can be challenging at MRG.

I didn't think that Moonshine is all that hard, but Birdland (Sugarbush's version) can be a very dark blue. I don't remember Rim Run ever being particularly challenging either.

While we're talking about miscolored runs, Pushover would not be a green at Mount Ellen, but there just aren't many greens at LP, so it seems that they looked for a light blue and called it a green.

Moonshine is easy as pie when it's groomed. But it's rarely groomed, and often has some of the best bump lines at LP. Which I absolutely love, btw. But for your average intermediate skier, it can be quite challenging with wall-to-wall bumps.

Lower Birdland is pretty challenging. Not much to Upper Birdland, though. Rim Run is not challenging in the least. It's an average blue run.

Why do you say Pushover wouldn't be green at Mount Ellen? I don't think it's any more challenging than North Star or Walt's. But you're right... LP is definitely lacking in the green arena. Although, it has better first-timer terrain than ME, IMO.

 

[Cannonball]

Gotta agree with Riverc0il about the blues at Cannon. The funny thing about Vistaway is that I think the trail sign is actually a "Blue Diamond"!?!?

 

[WWF-VT]

Moonshine at Sugarbush is rarely groomed and a challenging mogul run. If you want to bail out midway it intersects with Lower Twist and winds up on the Mall.

 

[deadheadskier]

Some blues at Stowe seem considerably steeper than the blues I've been on at most other NE mountains. Lord and North slope both have some pretty steep sections and there's one head wall on Main Street that is probably the steepest blue I've been on (A Stowe instructor told me they needed a winch cat to groom that section). I thought some of the blues at Sugarbush were relatively challenging though I don't recall the names of specific trails.

Stowe's blues can offer some challenge


More so than Lord or North Slope though, my vote at Stowe would go to Gulch, simply because it's ungroomed.

Blue Runs that are consistently designated as Mogul runs are pretty rare in the east. I'm not really sure I know of any other that have bumps 90% of the time.

 

[millerm277]

Blue Runs that are consistently designated as Mogul runs are pretty rare in the east. I'm not really sure I know of any other that have bumps 90% of the time.

Vagabond (or what's left of it), at Killington never sees a groomer (and almost always has moguls), but it's a natural snow run.

 

[deadheadskier]

Vagabond (or what's left of it), at Killington never sees a groomer (and almost always has moguls), but it's a natural snow run.

fair enough

rivercoil makes a good point concerning MRG. I guess I neglect to remember that there is anything but Black runs at MRG. All Blues at MRG certainly take the cake in this arguement, but MRG is an anomoly

 

[Euler]

One More Time and Uncles at Mount Snow

I'll second Uncles. Skied it today with "thin cover" and was floored that it could rate a blue.

 

[ckofer]

Gotta agree with Riverc0il about the blues at Cannon. The funny thing about Vistaway is that I think the trail sign is actually a "Blue Diamond"!?!?

Interestingly, Cannon has a great green area which is separate from all of the other skier traffic. It lacks lots of intermediate cruisers. I like it this way. Let them eat cake at Loon.

 

[ironwalker]

3d at sunday river.seldom sees at groomer

 

[riverc0il]

Interestingly, Cannon has a great green area which is separate from all of the other skier traffic. It lacks lots of intermediate cruisers. I like it this way. Let them eat cake at Loon.

I agree with the Tuckerbrook are being separate being great. That area has some of the easiest blues around, for the record Gotta disagree that Cannon lacks intermediate cruisers. Rocket, Garys, Middle Cannon, Middle Ravine, Gremlin, Upper Ravine, Upper Cannon, and Tramway are all good intermediate cruisers.

 

[ComeBackMudPuddles]

At Whiteface I'd vote for Paron's Run and Lower Cloudspin (the section of Cloudspin that used to be referred to locally as "Victoria" before all the upper/lower trail naming madness gripped the industry).

 

[Mark_151]

Well, I don't know what it's normally like, because it was my first time there, but last Friday, I found myself on a bumped up, scraped and deserted Cheetah at Wildcat, and it gave me quite a bit of a challenge.

 

[bvibert]

I've only skied Moonshine at Sugarbush once, but it was the most challenging blue I've been on. With side to side bumps that'll intimidate most intermediate or lower skiers. Interestingly it was also probably one of the most fun blue square runs I've had...

Greg's suggestion of Nor'easter at Sundown I scoffed at, at first. The more I think about they do seed some pretty gnarly bumps which makes it real intimidating and challenging. When you take into consideration that it's at a hill in CT it's questionable if it should be a blue at all, at least when it's bumped up... No bumps and there's not really much challenge.

 

[learn2turn]

Seems to me Kings Landing at 'loaf is pretty steep for a blue.

Most of the blues at Stowe's Mt Mansfield area, certainly the ones off the quad and the upper part of the ones off the gondi are significantly steeper than most blues at most mountains in New England. I would bet that most of the blues on Mansfield are at least as steep as many of the blacks at a place like Sunday River. If Stowe used the same rating system, there would be few if any blue trails from the top of either side of Mansfield. Remember, ratings are only relative to the area you are at.