Steepest by State

[Newpylong]

Good points about inbounds vs outbounds. But I think we're dealing with inbounds. Stowe has some incredible off-piste tree skiing, perhaps only surpased by Jay... that said, when there is enough snow, Killington has marked tree runs that will make your butthole pucker and make Mansfield feel tame, seriously.... I don't find them very enjoyable, but they are there.


We did mention Mad River though!

 

[klrskiah]

Jackson Hole or Grand Targhee I would guess, but GT is small in relation other areas. Aspen Highlands has some steeps, but percentage of the resort that excels in steepness goes to JH. Checkout that link I post on page one. Amazing!

hahaaahaa targhee is one of the LEAST steep mountains around. the place definately gets insane snow and i love it there, but it dosent have the steeps. the loaf, stowe, SB ect.. are all steeper than targhee for the most part.

I agree with you about JH theres some seriously frightning stuff there...

 

[Greg]

Re: MRG. Paradise is certainly the steepest trail I've ever skied and it's steep for a good stretch. Fall Line is pretty steep too, but outside those two trails, I don't find MRG all that steep.

I actually think that one short stretch of Redline at Magic is as steep as Paradise, but for only a fraction of its length.

 

[snoseek]

lot's of stuff at taos scared the crap out of me. steeper than anything in utah imo.

new hampshire- cannon, but doesn't ski very hard.
vermont-tough call, probably in the north
maine-loaf

 

[riverc0il]

Re: MRG. Paradise is certainly the steepest trail I've ever skied and it's steep for a good stretch. Fall Line is pretty steep too, but outside those two trails, I don't find MRG all that steep..

interestingly enough, out of the trails i mentioned for being steep at mad river, i would consider fall line to be less steep, compared to gazelle and panther for example. all relative i guess, i really don't consider anything in bounds to be "steep" but rather just varying degrees of steeper.

 

[dmc]

hahaaahaa targhee is one of the LEAST steep mountains around. the place definately gets insane snow and i love it there, but it dosent have the steeps. the loaf, stowe, SB ect.. are all steeper than targhee for the most part.

I agree with you about JH theres some seriously frightning stuff there...

Actually... Targhee opened some new terrain thats pretty friggin steep... Right off the Sakajewa lift..
Also - don't discount Snow King... it's got some sweeeeeet steep stuff too...

 

[ski_resort_observer]

Actually... Targhee opened some new terrain thats pretty friggin steep... Right off the Sakajewa lift..
Also - don't discount Snow King... it's got some sweeeeeet steep stuff too...

Snow King is a good point. Small but not much flat terrain to speak of. The one small flat section is called "old man flats" Years ago an article in SKI referred to it as "the steepest little bastard in the west".

 

[Plowboy]

I would like to check this place out someday. Gota love the Warning ( no beginners allowed). http://www.mtbohemia.com/index.html

 

[dmc]

Snow King is a good point. Small but not much flat terrain to speak of. The one small flat section is called "old man flats" Years ago an article in SKI referred to it as "the steepest little bastard in the west".

Some of the stuff by the radio towers is kick ass too...

 

[threecy]

Berkshire East is steeper than Jiminy...Jiminy has the optical illusion (like Catamount) of having a long flat runout next to the steeps, which makes them look that much steeper.

 

[KevinF]

I would like to check this place out someday. Gota love the Warning ( no beginners allowed). http://www.mtbohemia.com/index.html

There's also Aspen (formerly Ajax) Mountain. There is literally not a single green-circle run at the entire place. The only lift at the bottom is the gondola, which is a 15 minute ride to the top. There are a few groomer cruisers there, but the only real reason to ski Aspen Mountain itself is to ski bumps. I'm not sure if you could ski nothing but double-black bumps from top-to-bottom, but you could come really close.

 

[spooner]

Interesting how the old marketing ploys of Sunday River and the rest of the former ASC resorts have been forgotten. I was discussing this with a friend last weekend at Sugarbush.

When I was a Kid I thought whiteheat and Mount Snow's north face were the most terrifying places in the world.

Now I would suggest:

NH Cannon
ME Sugarloaf
VT Stowe

 

[kingslug]

Some of the stuff by the radio towers is kick ass too...

Stayed right across the way from the place in Feb. A very steep place. Doesn't look like 400 acres either but it is.

 

[Bumpsis]

Wildcat isn't that steep, Cannon hands down overall steepest in NH.

riverc, clue me in as to the steep terrain at Cannon - maybe I'm really missing something.
I ski Cannon for many reasons, but steeps ain't it.
Any trail leading off the top of the tram, for a good portion of the way down actually has a beginner pitch. The pitch picks up finally on the lower part of the moutnain, but all those trails such as Avalanche, Pauline's, Zoomer are strong intermediates, at best.

Similar for the trails off the Cannonball Express chair. Skylight and Hardscrabble are just really nice enjoyable intermediates.

With the notable exception of stuff right underneat the tram (Tramline Trail??), which looks like a serious challange, there aren't any even moderately steep slopes. Oh, I have yet to catch the Tramline Trail with enough cover so it's skiiable.

Cannon looks big, the views and vibe are great, but there are no steeps.

 

[riverc0il]

Bumpsis, read the topic. This isn't about the steepest mountain but rather the steepest mountain per state. What is steeper than Cannon in New Hampshire? Nothing.

To answer your question on specific trails, yes... Tramline is legit steep and so is Kinsman Glade. Avalanche, Paulie's Folly, Zoomer, Lakeside Glade, and Echo Woods are also rather steep relative to most ski areas and very steep versus the rest of NH (I would put Loon and Wildcat in a tie behind Cannon, for the record). The last pitch of Middle Hard is pretty steep too. If you don't think Cannon is the steepest lift serviced ski area in NH, yes, you are really missing something.

 

[Bumpsis]

Yes, OK, I get your point. I did not mean to ruffle your feathers. I really thought I was missing out on some secret trail at Cannon that was actualy steep.
I do like Cannon for what it is and unless I'm really short on time, that's my default area in NH.
Actually, the other big reason why I like it is beacause when conditions are not my liking I can always get in a great hike on any of the trails in the Franconia Notch.

 

[scharny]

Some of the stuff by the radio towers is kick ass too...

S-chutes, baby!

Those are a ton of fun. There is some nice steep stuff at snow king, and nowhere can you get one hour of nice steep powder skiing with no lift lines for $16. That sucker is COLD, tho - always in the shade.

My vote for NH is Cannon.

VT is complicated, but I'd say that Stowe and MRG nearly tie for most overall steepness. Both mountains have virtually NO (or the least) runout from top to bottom, at least when compared to other VT resorts. At Stowe, try doing National, Goat, Starr, Lookout or Liftline from top to bottom without stopping - you will get pretty pumped. Mad River may have a little less vertical, but from top to bottom, every turn is a good one. At both of these resorts you can also link woods runs for the majority of the mountain without too much traversing.

The bottom of Sugarbush at both South and North has about 3/4 mile of runout, if you try skiing top-to bottom. Same thing with Jay.

No idea regarding New York or Maine - only skied backcountry there - never liftserve.

 

[millerm277]

I think in overall steepness, Hunter wins for NY. The entire west side is made up of solid double blacks, and a couple blacks. The main mountain is diamond only except for belt parkway, down to midstation, and from there it is still pretty steep.

 

[Greg]

I think in overall steepness, Hunter wins for NY.

Didn't actually ski it, but Rumor at Gore looked a helluva lot steeper than anything at Hunter. Lies is probably comparable to much of the steep stuff at Hunter. But overall, Hunter has more steep terrain like you said.

 

[kcyanks1]

Didn't actually ski it, but Rumor at Gore looked a helluva lot steeper than anything at Hunter. Lies is probably comparable to much of the steep stuff at Hunter. But overall, Hunter has more steep terrain like you said.

The headwall is short, but the headwall of Rumor is far steeper than anything I skied at Hunter, which includes K27 and I think everything on Hunter West except the Westway/44. Lies is also steeper than anything at Hunter, I believe.