most difficult trail in the east

[Conrad]

For most difficult run in the East, I would venture starting with the back side trail at Sugarloaf (High Rigger) and then continuing down the side of the mountain's incredible chutes (technically out of bounds) and then finishing off with a long run through Brackett Basin (Formerly Cant Dog Glade). But that is more than one trail so it might not be what everyone is looking for.

 

[C-Rex]

Here is Avalanche at Denton. I'm gonna go ahead and say Nope to this being a very difficult trail.View attachment 7295

BTW I've skied back sides of some moguls which were probably 90 degree pitch .. perhaps that is what they measured at Denton?

Maybe they measured from the vertical plane instead of from the flat. Looks more like 24 deg than 66.

 

[bdfreetuna]

Here are the facts on Avalanche at Denton:

SKI DENTON
Avalanche @ Ski Denton: 500 vertical over 1002 length = 26.52*.

307 vertical over 500 length = 31.55*.
​

164 vertical over 200 length = 39.35*.
​

94 vertical over 100 length = 43.23*. And this is high resolution. This is hugging skier's left of the top part of the run.

Taken from this awesome site:
http://ski-degrees.synthasite.com

^^ All your answers are here.
​

 

[jrmagic]

Black Line is a good contender but it's drops are fairly small, although there are several steep pitches. Magician looks like it could be a good contender as well although it was still closed so I did not ski it.

Upper Magician has a sustained 45 degree pitch for 250-300 yards the rest of the trail below broomstick is much mellower. The top gnarly sectionof Black Magic is also closed and only open from the traverse at Witch. I'd agree with Rivercoil and say that Red Line has more pucker factor than Black Magic/Black Line. Having skied slides 1 and 3 at Whiteface, I woudl agree they rank up at the top in the east.

 

[BenedictGomez]

imho, i don't think anything in the east coast comes close to the slides. depending on which day you pick you are literally risking your life. for example, if you take slide 1 on a bad day, you have 10-20+ feet waterfall in front of you with no bail out unless you hike back up. all of my trip there required mandatory jumps over ice, rock ledges and etc with very sketch landing. of course this all depends on condition, but. the first time i was there i couldn't believe this was east coast trail.

I've never skied The Slides, but is this account really true?

That seems different from most trip reports I've read and pictures I've seen that seem to suggest that a decently advanced black or DDskier should be okay in there. Risking your life seems a bit dramatic. And I've seen pictures of that waterfall, and I have a hard time believing the highest possible drop point is a true 10 feet, let alone 20 feet, but perhaps I'm mistaken?

EDIT: Completely unrelated, but Whiteface posted a picture of a guy doing a back-flip off a cliff in there (which looked avoidable) that was maybe 12 foot tall I'd guess. Awesome picture sequence on their facebook page if you havent seen it.

 

[MadMadWorld]

I've never skied The Slides, but is this account really true?

That seems different from most trip reports I've read and pictures I've seen that seem to suggest that a decently advanced black or DDskier should be okay in there. Risking your life seems a bit dramatic. And I've seen pictures of that waterfall, and I have a hard time believing the highest possible drop point is a true 10 feet, let alone 20 feet, but perhaps I'm mistaken?

EDIT: Completely unrelated, but Whiteface posted a picture of a guy doing a back-flip off a cliff in there (which looked avoidable) that was maybe 12 foot tall I'd guess. Awesome picture sequence on their facebook page if you havent seen it.

A lot of BS if you ask me. Are there some decent size drops in there? Yes. Are they avoidable? Completely.

 

[MadMadWorld]

Does anyone know if there are any skiable lines from the ridge on Whiteface? Never heard of anyone skiing but always thought in a good year it could be possible. Looks similar to Jay's ridge with some serious cliff bands.

 

[Puck it]

Define skiing?

 

[skifree]

if find any green trail on a weekend to be the most difficult..like long john at mt snow. if you don't take someone out or vice versa its a miracle....always stay black!

 

[kingslug]

Could we put the whole Denton thing to rest...its silly..really.

 

[Smellytele]

Define skiing?

That was 8:30 of wondering what to do and 1 minute of skiing

 

[polski]

if find any green trail on a weekend to be the most difficult..like long john at mt snow. if you don't take someone out or vice versa its a miracle....always stay black!

Yeah, "most difficult" depends on conditions. I skied Upper Magician once and the pucker as I went over that headwall subsided real fast once I realized the 3' of fresh that had fallen the previous few days would act as a natural brake. Under those fairly rare conditions it wound up not actually being too terribly difficult.

 

[C-Rex]

The inferno park at Mt. Snow can be pretty difficult if you do it they way they intend. 60-70ft tables and 30 foot high rainbow rails definitely create some pucker moments.

 

[gladerider]

A lot of BS if you ask me. Are there some decent size drops in there? Yes. Are they avoidable? Completely.

i am assuming you are speaking from experience? if you are, i need to take your lead next time i go in there. last time i was in there was i think 3 years ago, there were no bailouts on the sides. i hope a local can jump in to provide how it is in general.

 

[MadMadWorld]

i am assuming you are speaking from experience? if you are, i need to take your lead next time i go in there. last time i was in there was i think 3 years ago, there were no bailouts on the sides. i hope a local can jump in to provide how it is in general.

I have skied the Slides quite a few times and have done lots of backcountry tours through the High Peak slides. Again, I stand by my statement and would be happy to show you around.

 

[bdfreetuna]

Could we put the whole Denton thing to rest...its silly..really.

No problem, I put it to rest a page and a half back via photographic evidence and scientific data!

 

[riverc0il]

Upper Magician has a sustained 45 degree pitch for 250-300 yards the rest of the trail below broomstick is much mellower.

You'll have to back up that 45* claim with some proof. That is approaching Tuckerman Headwall steepness (50ish depending on the year). Magician is steep but not 45* for 300 yards steep. The hardest part of Magician is escaping without base damage. Red Line is overall the more challenging trail for its length and consistency.

 

[riverc0il]

I've never skied The Slides, but is this account really true?

Slide 1 is pretty mellow as far as pitch goes. There are some frozen waterfall and ice issues, maybe a few small drops depending on your line. The interesting aspect with the Slides is that they don't get opened when conditions are bad. So it is really hard to compare the Slides to anything else because you are generally skiing them (if you can get there when they are open to ski them) in pretty good condition.

 

[BeefyBoy50]

Of course there's more difficult runs down huge cliffs and stuff thats why I said in bounds but yeah that does look pretty impress on the cannon cliffs.

 

[bdfreetuna]

Slide 1 approaches 45 degrees for quite a way. However that still falls short of a decent section of lower Ovation at K so it's not like it's way steeper than anything else out there.

Slides 3 and 4 I'm sure could take the prize though.