MRG: why do you LOVE it....

[polski]

Magic has nothing on MRG. Many people call Magic the "MRG of SoVT" and while I understand the parallel being drawn, it does do a disservice to MRG. And I consider Magic an exceptional mountain, so that is by no means meant as a put down of Magic but rather giving MRG the respect it deserves.

I guess I would look at this as a spectrum, with MRG anchoring one end (old-time vibe, world-class terrain etc) and corporate cookie-cutter Resorts at the other. Magic is a lot closer to the MRG end of the spectrum but certainly not its equal for many reasons, including the history and its location/elevation & thus natural snowfall - Magic needs pretty substantial snowmaking, MRG usually does pretty well without. OTOH, my impression is there are times when Magic has an important advantage over MRG -- if both had equivalent powder dumps, MRG is likely to get tracked out considerably quicker because it gets so many more skier visits. Of course that's a double-edged sword for Magic ...

 

[riverc0il]

I like the spectrum idea but I would put MRG in its own unique bubble outside the spectrum. Good point on Magic's double edge sword. Because of their lack of snow making and lack of natural, most folks consider Magic only on powder days which does not help the mountain either.

 

[4aprice]

4aprice, if I may jump in, I'd say the whole family can ski there in terms of ability level (though some may find daunting the fact that you have to take the Sunnyside double up and then ski down a bit to get to the Birdland "beginner" chair). But it's also not for everyone in terms of overall experience e.g. resort "pampering."

Believe me, my wife and both my kids could ski almost everything off the single chair at Mad River. But you hit the nail on the head when you talk about the overall experience. Hey I'm not saying that I think they should change anything there and I don't think she would either. I just don't see her enjoying that mountain. And I will add that she's a trooper and not high maintainance either. Different strokes for different folks.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[kcyanks1]

I'd word that a little differently - MRG brags that the Single actually is the fastest fixed-grip lift in the country. The new Single is even faster than the old because it has fewer chairs on it. Uphill capacity is unquestionably quite limited though, by coop bylaw.

You are correct, I was being careless with my wording.

 

[scharny]

Milk Run is a 40-year-old Mad River tradition: The first 25 people who show up when the ski patrol performs its early-morning mountain inspection are allowed to ride the single. The only stipulation is that if even one chair is skipped, Milk Run is over and the dillydallier and everyone behind him or her are not allowed on.

Unfortunately I think they stopped the Milk Run some years back (after that book was published).

I had a pass at MRG for 3 seasons (2001-2003), but I never heard of Milk Run until just now.

If they still did the Milk Run you can bet I'd be pulling into the lot at 6:30 every single powder day whenever it was humanly possible for me to do so. What a cool tradition.

 

[billski]

Really Bill? I've skied Mad River several times but to me its a place to hit with the boys. I cannot see my wife enjoying it at all. That's not to say she's a bad skier, she' actually quite good but she looks for a different experience. She likes to be somewhat pampered, not likely to happen at Mad River. I would hate to see it ever change but I don't think its for everyone.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

I'm talking about the skiing Alex. All levels. If you are coming there for anything else, I agree you're at the wrong place.

 

[billski]

This.

Never understood young whipper-snapper language.....

 

[bvibert]

Never understood young whipper-snapper language.....

I'm pretty sure that word has been around for a long long time...

 

[billski]

Bump. Who had MRG on their to-do list last year, and... did you do it?

 

[gmcunni]

side question - i like MRG but don't know it well. 20ish years ago i was skiing there and came across a fence-like barrier that said "Advanced Skiers Only", anyone know what trail that is/was and if the sign still exists?

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

because MRG gets "it"
-a crowd of 'skiiers' who get 'it'
-terrain
-vibe
-what ya see is what ya get, no foo-foo bs

its everything a ski area should be....an nothing more

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

my wife and i hit mrg last year...she crushed everything and loved it, paradise and that area included....all smiles all day...she loves mrg..

 

[djspookman]

terrain
people w/ same mindset.
FUN

 

[snowmonster]

Bump. Who had MRG on their to-do list last year, and... did you do it?

Yes. I ski it when I can.

 

[amf]

I like how the areas they have restricted or roped off are to protect the vegetation, not you.

 

[neil]

Change it to "ski/ride it if you can" and then maybe I'll love it.

 

[eatskisleep]

We were in the Nest and the patrolers were busily trying to get fires started for us. As the head of patrol was getting the heaters on, one of his minions said he was gonna go start putting ropes up on Catamount. The head of patrol says, "Let's let all these folks have their fun before we start roping things off."
People
Terrain
Flavor
and the fact that it's a glen for some reason appeal to me....
I'm not really a shill for the place, but it sure is a special ski area...
I felt like this had to be said for my collective virtue.

Head of ski patrol, John Ayers is a good guy, great family. Great mountain.

 

[riverc0il]

I like how the areas they have restricted or roped off are to protect the vegetation, not you.

Yup! Speaking of which, Paradise is going to be roped for a while during early season due to erosion issues. No poaching Paradise, wait until the rope drops!

 

[kcyanks1]

Yup! Speaking of which, Paradise is going to be roped for a while during early season due to erosion issues. No poaching Paradise, wait until the rope drops!

What is the issue? Are they waiting until a certain base depth before opening?

 

[riverc0il]

What is the issue? Are they waiting until a certain base depth before opening?

They had part of the trail under the waterfall wash out in the fall. They did some rehab work. It sounded like they were going to wait for a deep base before opening it this season. They specifically asked folks not to ski it until it has recovered.