Pats peak new area- Cascade Basin

[Smellytele]

See I love natural uneven bumps and can't stand seeded unnatural bumps. While some years Hurricane can be an icy mess. Last year it stayed pretty good for most of the year.
As for glades the best cut glades are Hurricane glades and the ones between Vortex and FIS. My kids have some other they ski that tend to be to tight for me left of Twister and in-between upper Hurricane and Tornado (above the official Hurricane glades) As TB said poaching the vortex and the Peak double liftlines are fun as well when in.
So on here said the place is flat. While the bottom third run is flat, the top center trails are not flat. Doing laps on the Vortex chair is the only way to go.

 

[MadMadWorld]

Hopefully Cascade Basin will help to thin out the weekend crowds a bit.

As a Pats skier, I wish they would cut some glades on the steeper upper mountain. Their glades are... how do I put this nicely?... Lame!

To be truthful, even though I enjoy skiing Hurricane, it really isn't the greatest of bump runs. As was pointed out earlier WAY too many beginners snowplow their way down and create loosely spaced and arrhythmic bumps (a bummer for this mogul lover!). And, aside from the skiers left, the trail falls across the fall line... The best bumps were on a small section of Tornado.

.02

The main reason the bumps on Hurricane form so unevenly is because of the ridiculous double fall line. I agree, Tornado would be a great trail to just let bump up but only once or twice have I ever seen that.

 

[dlague]

The main reason the bumps on Hurricane form so unevenly is because of the ridiculous double fall line. I agree, Tornado would be a great trail to just let bump up but only once or twice have I ever seen that.

I have seen it after big snow fall. It was really fun! Actually on powder days I enjoy it there since they tend to leave it down for a couple days on the steeper trails.

 

[thetrailboss]

Hurricane does have a very interesting and nasty double fall line. When I skied there in 2004 and 2005 they used to groom one strip down the middle and leave the edges to bump. If you skied under the lift itself you'd find some pretty interesting obstacles. Certainly Mad River Glen-esque in some ways. As to the bump lines themselves--Pats caters to a beginner/intermediate skier market from the metro area and those folks are not going to have much skill with bumps hence why the giant GS bumps form.

I agree that they should seed a few lines and rope them off. I bet if someone who skis there wrote Kris Blomback or Lori Rowell (who used to frequent here) with this idea that you'd find a section of seeded bumps added for this season. That is just the kind of operation they run...very responsive and very good with their guests.

 

[deadheadskier]

Having had passes at ragged and gunstock the past four years I would have killed to have a bump run at either mountain as good as hurricane. Almost every time I have been to pats I've found those bumps to be VERY good. If people find them irregular than they are a lot more picky than i

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[Smellytele]

Hurricane does have a very interesting and nasty double fall line. When I skied there in 2004 and 2005 they used to groom one strip down the middle and leave the edges to bump. If you skied under the lift itself you'd find some pretty interesting obstacles. Certainly Mad River Glen-esque in some ways. As to the bump lines themselves--Pats caters to a beginner/intermediate skier market from the metro area and those folks are not going to have much skill with bumps hence why the giant GS bumps form.

I agree that they should seed a few lines and rope them off. I bet if someone who skis there wrote Kris Blomback or Lori Rowell (who used to frequent here) with this idea that you'd find a section of seeded bumps added for this season. That is just the kind of operation they run...very responsive and very good with their guests.

The bumps they let form last year on Tornado were more uniform. Also n the lower part of FIS, skiers right there is a uniform bump field as well.

 

[hammer]

The bumps they let form last year on Tornado were more uniform. Also n the lower part of FIS, skiers right there is a uniform bump field as well.

When they seed them, the bumps on lower FIS are good to learn on...that section shallows out so it's not so steep. IMO during the height of the season they should periodically groom out Hurricane so that the bumps don't just become huge irregular piles of hardpack.

Looks like the expansion is more of the same in terms of trails which is fine for the area. Not sure if it would make me more likely to go there more often than I usually do which is maybe once or twice in a season.

 

[thetrailboss]

Bump.

So who skied this new area this year? How was it?

And, as said in the Ascutney thread, Pats Peak has allegedly bought the remaining Ascutney chairs and plans to remove them. Any word on this from Pats Peak folks?

 

[dlague]

We ski Pats Peak one time every season because of The Ride and Ski Card. Mainly there to help Jeff with the Apres Ski party. So we gave it a whirl! Well for what it is worth - I skied it and it is nothing to write home about. All beginner stuff and pretty boring - ok just to tool around on. The chair is nice - best one there. There is a beginner glade for those who want that tree skiing experience, but it is pretty flat. If I recall there was one drop with a little steeper pitch 40-50 feet maybe that is labeled as black diamond.

I will stick to Cyclone, Tornado, FIS, Twister, Vortex, and Hurricane as well as occasional trips through Turbulance Park.

 

[thetrailboss]

Why do you say it is the best chair there?

 

[dlague]

Well it seems fairly quick and it looks new. All the other chairs seem old and slow. Maybe it seems faster because it does not travel that far.

 

[Savemeasammy]

Bump.

So who skied this new area this year? How was it?

And, as said in the Ascutney thread, Pats Peak has allegedly bought the remaining Ascutney chairs and plans to remove them. Any word on this from Pats Peak folks?

I skied it a few times, but mostly because my boy wanted to. IMO, it just adds another beginner pod to the mountain. When beginners are ready to move on from the valley area, cascade basin is a good next step.

I'm curious about the chairlift purchase, too. Maybe the peak double and valley double are replacement candidates? Haven't heard anything, though...


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[deadheadskier]

hopefully not the Vortex. that's the best lift on the hill IMO. It has less of a run out and runs much faster than the Hurricane or Peak lifts

 

[xwhaler]

hopefully not the Vortex. that's the best lift on the hill IMO. It has less of a run out and runs much faster than the Hurricane or Peak lifts

Not even a question up for debate. Vortex is the only lift I ride there. Cascade Basin like others said is pretty flat....I did about 4 runs over there to see everything and then went back to the main mtn.

 

[Smellytele]

The chair purchases are new to me but I haven't seen anyone from the peak in a few months. I will ask the next time I see someone around town. As far as Cascade Basin it is what other say - it spreads out the beginners. The chair is slower than Vortex but faster than the rest. Vortex as others have mentioned is the best chair on the mountain but does throw a few unexpecting riders to the ground because it is hard to board for the less experienced.

 

[thetrailboss]

The Peak is the original chair. The Valley Double is not that far behind.

 

[thetrailboss]

Interesting tidbit on Vortex: it is the Hall Double that was at Norwich University's ski area. Pats Peak bought it and refurbished it in like 1998 or so. I imagine she will be there for many more years to come. They did a good job with that lift.

 

[steamboat1]

Interesting tidbit on Vortex: it is the Hall Double that was at Norwich University's ski area. Pats Peak bought it and refurbished it in like 1998 or so. I imagine she will be there for many more years to come. They did a good job with that lift.

Never been to Pat's but skied Norwich so I must have rode the chair. Cute place Norwich was. Base lodge was a small shack with a pot belly stove in the middle with benches on the side. They didn't sell a thing inside & it couldn't hold much more than a dozen people at most. Pretty decent skiing for a small hill though.

 

[thetrailboss]

Never been to Pat's but skied Norwich so I must have rode the chair. Cute place Norwich was. Base lodge was a small shack with a pot belly stove in the middle with benches on the side. They didn't sell a thing inside & it couldn't hold much more than a dozen people at most. Pretty decent skiing for a small hill though.

I think I heard that there was a movement to reopen the area.


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[steamboat1]

I think I heard that there was a movement to reopen the area.


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Didn't drive by it this year but last time I did it was pretty grown over. You had to look really close to tell there were once ski trails on the hill.

Another funny thing I remember about the day we skied Norwich is we were the only ones there. We were a group of 7 or 8 & they opened the hill just for us. Besides the lifties at the top & bottom of the chair the only other person there was a ski patrol guy.