The Most Unusual Trails

[spring_mountain_high]

Very few trails give me that "oh shit" moment but Liftline at Smuggs is one of them. The combination of how low the chairs are and how technical the skiing is, makes this trail definitely unusual.

hacketts highway under the triple at stowe is kind of like that...i once saw some kids jump off the chair right onto the trail

 

[MadMadWorld]

hacketts highway under the triple at stowe is kind of like that...i once saw some kids jump off the chair right onto the trail

Yea, that part of Hackett's is always closed when the triple is running. Some sections of Hackett's are definitely steep (skiers right) but for the most part it's wide open. One of my favorites though at Stowe.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Triple Trouble at Loon---a very "anti Loon" trail! Too narrow for grooming, no snowmaking! Tight fall line around a curve and then a narrow tree island at the bottom.

That sounds absolutely fantastic. If that's "anti Loon", then I probably wouldn't like Loon (I've never been).

Gary B's and Ruthies at Smuggs may be worth a mention as well.

What do you find unususual about them?

 

[MadMadWorld]

That sounds absolutely fantastic. If that's "anti Loon", then I probably wouldn't like Loon (I've never been).




What do you find unususual about them?

I don't think they are that unusual. Both trails are probably the best places to find powder a few days after a storm but I wouldn't consider them unusual other than the long run out. They do offer some of the best introductory glades IMO.

 

[skiNEwhere]

That sounds absolutely fantastic. If that's "anti Loon", then I probably wouldn't like Loon (I've never been).

Don't waste your time then, especially if is the weekend. Lines get stupid out-of-control long for average terrain. The only reason it's so popular is because it is only 2 hours from Boston, but if you are coming from NYC I think you'll be disappointed

 

[gregnye]

Hairball. And I remember doing it as a kid with my dad thinking it was just an average mogul trail. Once we got to that first drop though I was scared as hell. When I did it as a kid, they still had the lift stansions in the middle of the trail (not sure if there used to be a lift or if they planned to install one). Anyways, I have learned to enjoy that trail now but I refused to ski it for so long because of that experience.

Yup--the lynx double chair used to go up hairball to cat track (was replaced by tomcat chair--which goes up higher). From the old Lynx double you could go to the old double chair that went up star-line (parallel to the old gondola--where the new quad runs up now)

That whole "catenary-cougar-alf's folly" area of Wildcat is quite overlooked! Most of the time, people just want to blast down lower lynx and miss all the fun cliffs and moguls. I bet that double chair was great in its day (I never rode it)

 

[MadMadWorld]

Yup--the lynx double chair used to go up hairball to cat track (was replaced by tomcat chair--which goes up higher). From the old Lynx double you could go to the old double chair that went up star-line (parallel to the old gondola--where the new quad runs up now)

That whole "catenary-cougar-alf's folly" area of Wildcat is quite overlooked! Most of the time, people just want to blast down lower lynx and miss all the fun cliffs and moguls. I bet that double chair was great in its day (I never rode it)

I agree, very underrated. Love that last drop on Al's. My favorite is Feline though. So many great features and rarely gets skied when the triple isn't running.

 

[Cheese]

Hairball.

Yes, thanks for the correction. Last time I was there I had to help a guy who somehow managed to thread the needle between two trees with his body but not his skis. He wasn't hurt, but he was stuck but good.

 

[riverc0il]

Very few trails give me that "oh shit" moment but Liftline at Smuggs is one of them. The combination of how low the chairs are and how technical the skiing is, makes this trail definitely unusual.

I just don't see how a sketchy steep liftline is unusual. Yes, Smuggs Liftline is the real deal and one of the most challenging trails around, a top ten most difficult on map trail in the northeast without a doubt. I love that liftline. It is one of the few trails around that still gets my heart going a tad before dropping into it. But it isn't unusual at all... it is just steeper and more challenging than even the toughest of liftline trails.

 

[riverc0il]

What do you find unususual about them?

You have to skate/traverse out to them, they are rather narrow and funky. I just can't think of anything quite like those two trails any where else. I'm not sure I would call them special (I've had some really great runs down Gary B's untracked) but they stand out for not being like anything else I can think of.

 

[Telemechanic]

Triple Trouble at Loon---a very "anti Loon" trail! Too narrow for grooming...

My favorite trail at Loon but its not that narrow. The last time I remember the steeps getting groomed: 1999 after a particularly bad rain/thaw/freeze cycle.

 

[spiderpig]

Sachem Trail at Okemo has that experience as well. Pretty cool.

You don't go over a bridge on Sachem. You do go under two bridges and over one on Line Drive, however. Or, you could go on the same run (more than one trail) from the top of Jackson Gore to Sunset Strip-Mountain Road-Sidewinder-Moonshadow-Rising Star-Promenade-Line Drive going under four bridges and over three, including one on Promenade that I believe is not wide enough for a groomer.

 

[gmcunni]

Sachem Trail at Okemo has that experience as well. Pretty cool.

A favorite of both my kids.

 

[Conrad]

Muleskinner at Saddleback really takes you out into the middle of nowhere before finally bring you back.

 

[sugarbushskier]

Blowhole at Blackcomb. After a nice steep, but short natural halfpipe you need speed to exit the 20-40 degree upward exit! Otherwise, you're climbing out.

 

[xwhaler]

Muleskinner at Saddleback really takes you out into the middle of nowhere before finally bring you back.

+1 really awesome trail....long slog to get it but worth the effort. The views looking westward from the top of Muleskinner towards Rangeley/Mooselookmeguntic make it really sweet.

 

[jrmagic]

I'ver always felt that Magician at Magic is pretty unusual in that its a funky double fall line trail where the angles keep changing as it winds back and forth down the mountian.

 

[TropicTundR]

Beartrap at Mount Snow - not too many trails have their own dedicated sound system

There's a trail in Belleaire,NY that has a guy playing classical music midway up the lift ride.

 

[Mpdsnowman]

The Ugly Tree at Jay Peak