Most underrated ski trails

[riverc0il]

Id like to add Kinsman Glade at Cannon, those whove done it know its bar none the best gladed trail in the east. Tight, steep and a solid 2000 vertical Id say. Maybe just a tad under.

I beg to differ, but I think we have disagreed on this issue before. It is a good glade and definitely long and steep. But it REALLY needs to be brushed out more and needs a TON of natural snow to ski well, as do all of Cannon's gladed runs. I wouldn't even put Kinsman Glade in the top ten for New England glade runs. Making it fair, that would be a top ten on the map cause goodness knows there are better tree runs on the mountain that are not marked.

 

[skibum1321]

Id like to add Kinsman Glade at Cannon, those whove done it know its bar none the best gladed trail in the east. Tight, steep and a solid 2000 vertical Id say. Maybe just a tad under.

Best gladed trail in the east is a pretty bold statement. I've never skied it but at the very least there will be differing opinions on the matter. And have you skied every mountain in the east to make that claim?

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

Empire at Whiteface also gets my vote.

It's a great trail, no question.

among Whiteface skiers it gets its due

True, but who else could it get it's due from? You can't rate a trail you've never skied.

but among the eastern skiing population generally, few know about it

A couple years ago there was as article in one of the ski rags that named Empire one of the 5 classic trails in the East.

(of course this board is not a representative sample!).

I disagree. Only a very small percentage of the people who post here have ever skied Whiteface.

 

[kcyanks1]

It's a great trail, no question.

among Whiteface skiers it gets its due

True, but who else could it get it's due from? You can't rate a trail you've never skied.

Lol. I meant that anyone who has skied it once, even if they are not Whiteface regulars or diehards, would probably consider it a great trail. I only skied it once, and haven't been to Whiteface in a couple seasons. I figure in total I've been to Whiteface under 10 times. So I might not be a "Whiteface skier," but since I had the chance to ski Empire once, it made my list.

but among the eastern skiing population generally, few know about it (of course this board is not a representative sample!)

I disagree. Only a very small percentage of the people who post here have ever skied Whiteface.

I figured that people here "know about it," even if they haven't skied them. Just the way I know about the trails at Smuggs that I inadvertently omitted from the poll, even though I've never been to Smuggs. Perhaps I'm even wrong that people here have generally heard about it, but I think it has occasionally been mentioned in threads like this one.

 

[Greg]

Bump

 

[JD]

I would say chin clip at Stowe. Before it opens, it's great. Also, Whirl Away.
Most overrated area at stowe, Angel food.

 

[Greg]

Might be interesting to discuss some of the most underrated ski trails. We all hear about trails like Rumble, Paradise (MRG), White Nitro, Outer Limits, etc., but what about a thread about some of those great runs that sort of fly under the radar? Two trails that I was really impressed with this Spring at Sugarbush, despite the thin cover are two natural runs called Lixi's Twist (formally known as just "Twist") and Moonshine:

Twist:

Moonshine:

Granted, the cover in those pics is what many folks would consider appalling (I actually loved them! :blink: ), but I could imagine both of those runs being really great with some good snow conditions.

Gotta bump this thread with some better pics from this season:

Twist:

Lower Moonshine:

Another underrated trail you don't here that much about is Lynx at MRG. Perfect pitch, tree spacing, etc. Just a beautiful trail:

 

[Marc]

When I went to Jay, the best conditions I found on the whole mountain were in Beaver Pond. Not as steep as I like for glades, but damn it was just fun to ski.

 

[BushMogulMaster]

Another vote for Semi-tough, Hammerhead, Black Diamond and Tumbler at SB ME.

Doesn't get much better than those.

 

[WWF-VT]

Semi-tough at SB North - Dips and dives just 30' wide through a beautiful forest canopy. Pitch and bumps getting too tough for you? It eases off the accelerator so you can catch your breath before turning a corner and then back at it. Best run in the East, IMHO. Only problem is cover, or lack thereof. It's low elevation and faces ESE with no snowmaking (both a blessing and a curse).

Another vote for Semi Tough. Plenty of cover in the later half of this season. Does not get a lot of traffic and Tin Woodsman gives a good description

 

[riverc0il]

When I went to Jay, the best conditions I found on the whole mountain were in Beaver Pond. Not as steep as I like for glades, but damn it was just fun to ski.

I actually think Beaver Pond is the most over rated trail at Jay, not under rated. Fantastic if you are in there for first tracks on a powder day, but it sure goes quick. The high traffic level detracts from the experience. Great trail, certainly not under rated as it is the most popular glade at Jay.

 

[JPTracker]

I actually think Beaver Pond is the most over rated trail at Jay, not under rated. Fantastic if you are in there for first tracks on a powder day, but it sure goes quick. The high traffic level detracts from the experience. Great trail, certainly not under rated as it is the most popular glade at Jay.

If you go to Beyond Beaver Pond by going up the trail that goes up the ridge and follow it to the ski area boundary, it is great and a lot more difficult trail. When you come down the hill just before Beaver you keep your speed up then shoot up the trail just to the left of Beaver and follow the ski area boundary. Its about a 5 - 10 minute hike but well worth it.

 

[riverc0il]

Been there, not really worth the hike as it is only more difficult and more interesting than regular Beaver for a very short drop. Definitely the better option though but I still remain unimpressed with that area in general.

 

[Marc]

Well, I only had one day to make my judgement, and I'm certainly not plugged into that scene like you are Riv, so I can't say how it's generally rated.

It was strange though, Beyond BP and BP were def. the best and least tracked out the day I was there. And least crowded. We went over and skied Timbuktu, which was all tracked out and very crowded.

Of course now that I think of it, we skied Vallhalla and the snow conditions were almost as good as BP and same with Green Beret.




IDK, clearly the only solution is for me to go back there and ski it several more times.

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

Robin's Run/Liftline at Smuggs....and Smuggs in general is mostly overlooked as a great mountain

 

[downhill04]

I don’t know if this is and overrated or underrated trail as I only made my first trip to Sugarloaf this past season. I’m not going to go out on a limb and say it is the best glade in the east, but Cant Dogg at the loaf is the best glade that I have skied in the east. This glade has a little bit of everything.

 

[Zand]

Fall Line at MRG... Paradise gets all the mention but Fall Line is a great trail as well.

I'm probably forgetting about 20 trails right now but I can't think right this time of year.

 

[snoseek]

I don’t know if this is and overrated or underrated trail as I only made my first trip to Sugarloaf this past season. I’m not going to go out on a limb and say it is the best glade in the east, but Cant Dogg at the loaf is the best glade that I have skied in the east. This glade has a little bit of everything.

there is some really steep stuff in that neiborhood.

 

[jerryg]

I think Bubblecuffer and Upper Winter's Way are pretty underrated as far as eastern steeps go. Their narrow, super-steep, and have classic New England cuts. Many people are intimidated by almost any run off Spillway X-cut as you sometimes have to drop down from from an icy cornice to an unforgiving trail. Obviously Gondi Line and White Nitro are exceptions as they are wider and have snowmaking, but the terrain up there ranks with anything in the east for toughness. All the way at the end of the X-cut you can ski Ripsaw, which isn't all that steep but with the twists, drops, and all-natural terrain; it's quite a ride.

At Sunday River I would say that Shockwave is the most underrated expert trail for overall terrain quality. It's steeper than White Heat, much narrower, has plenty of ledges and stumps, and nice twisting fallines.

 

[mattchuck2]

I've skied Empire, and it's not underrated. It's rated just fine (as demonstrated by that top 5 ranking that HPD mentioned). It's not that long of a trail, and if there's one joker on it who doesn't know how to ski (which seems to happen a lot), it sours the experience. Early on a powder morning, just as Patrol drops the rope, however, it's epic.

I find Bubblecuffer at Sugarloaf to be underrated, too. That was always one of my favorite trails at the Loaf, but everyone always talks about Nitro.