The North Face at Mount Snow vs. Hunter West

[dmc]

Lift-serviced, on-piste probably. But I see Talisman's point. Even considering just in bounds, lift-serviced terrain, can Anna Purna really stack up to some of the most challenging runs in the East? This is a serious question. I've never skied it.

I think it's pretty challenging.. it's top to bottom bumps.. has a double falline.. and is pretty long with some good vert..

Anna Purna 4/15/2001

 

[Greg]

I think it's pretty challenging.. it's top to bottom bumps.. has a double falline.. and is pretty long with some good vert..

Anna Purna 4/15/2001

I knew you'd come through with a pic. That run looks niiiiiiice! That's totally my speed. Hope to hit that this season. Is it consistently skiable?

 

[dmc]

I knew you'd come through with a pic. That run looks niiiiiiice! That's totally my speed. Hope to hit that this season. Is it consistently skiable?

That picture is taken from about a third of the way down... And it was taken in April...

When it's open it stays open... It's pretty much shaded so the snow tends to linger..

 

[JimG.]

I knew you'd come through with a pic. That run looks niiiiiiice! That's totally my speed. Hope to hit that this season. Is it consistently skiable?

Of course the pic does zero justice to the pitch of Purna, especially at the top of the headwall. As dmc said, this is taken about 1/3 of the way down.

And of course the bumps get much bigger too.

 

[dmc]

Some shots of Westway(44)

HiRes looking down
http://www.powderhound.org/2001/hi-res/snow_3-18-01_44_looking_Down.jpg

HiRes looking up
http://www.powderhound.org/2001/hi-res/snow_3-18-01_44_Looking_up.jpg

 

[JimG.]

Some shots of Westway(44)

HiRes looking down
http://www.powderhound.org/2001/hi-res/snow_3-18-01_44_looking_Down.jpg

HiRes looking up
http://www.powderhound.org/2001/hi-res/snow_3-18-01_44_Looking_up.jpg

*drool*

 

[dmc]

Definately one of the best Hunter experiences...
44 at it's best is pretty awesome... And at it's worst it's a big challenge...

It also has a double ffalline that will send you into the left fence if you cant self arrest...

 

[JimG.]

And at it's worst it's a big challenge...

It also has a double ffalline that will send you into the left fence if you cant self arrest...

At it's worst it's blue ice boilerplate with widely spaced bumps and deep, sharp troughs formed because folks don't turn quickly enough and need to constantly scrub speed because of the pitch.

I've seen conga lines of bodies get sucked into the double fall line on the left and scrape their way down the fence to the bottom. It can be very ugly.

 

[goldsbar]

Hunter West (and in general) does have quite a bit of challenge but I wouldn't say the most difficult in the NE. There are some trails at MRG and Castlerock(S'bush) that I put well ahead at the very least. All of Hunter's trails are wide-wide-wide (ok, Purna is medium) Plenty of other areas that could also compare. For something closer, I consider a couple of trails at P'kill harder (with Hunter harder overall) due to the more natural nature of their snow and underlying terrain. Hunter CAN have good bumps but they're often 25 feet apart seperated by real deal ice. Don't get me wrong - I'm glad Hunter is nearby but neither it nor TNF are the most difficult in the East.

 

[JimG.]

Don't get me wrong - I'm glad Hunter is nearby but neither it nor TNF are the most difficult in the East.

I'm not sure how it got to Hunter being the most challenging in the east...the thread started out as a comparison of Hunter West to the North Face at Mount Snow.

I consider neither area to be the most challenging in the east and I doubt any of the frequent posters in this thread do either.

 

[Greg]

Of course the pic does zero justice to the pitch of Purna, especially at the top of the headwall. As dmc said, this is taken about 1/3 of the way down.

And of course the bumps get much bigger too.

Of course. Accurately catching pitch in a pic is hard to pull off. Nevertheless, these pics are making me psyched to spend some quality time at Hunter this season!

Keep 'em coming, D!

 

[kingslug]

I think it would safe to say that Hunter west has SOME of the steepest terrain in the area. Most of us can get there in around 3 hours or less. Northern vermont is another 3 hours. I only skied Mount Snow once and it had some very good runs but I didn't run into anything like Westway or Anna. Blockbuster at Plattekill is a nice killer run when conditions are good also.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

I think it would safe to say that Hunter west has SOME of the steepest terrain in the area. Most of us can get there in around 3 hours or less. Northern vermont is another 3 hours. I only skied Mount Snow once and it had some very good runs but I didn't run into anything like Westway or Anna. Blockbuster at Plattekill is a nice killer run when conditions are good also.

Just curious, when was the last time that Westway and Annapurna where both open in the same season?

 

[dmc]

Of course. Accurately catching pitch in a pic is hard to pull off. Nevertheless, these pics are making me psyched to spend some quality time at Hunter this season!

Keep 'em coming, D!

More 44

http://www.powderhound.org/2001/hi-res/snow_1-29-01_scott_44_fence.jpg

http://www.powderhound.org/2005/hi-res/Hunter_01-29-05_Doug_44_a4.jpg

http://www.powderhound.org/2005/hi-res/Hunter_12-17-05_Doug_44_a7.jpg

 

[dmc]

Just curious, when was the last time that Westway and Annapurna where both open in the same season?

Do regulars still call Westway - 44?

44 = Westway

Last season was the first in a long time that both were not open at some point... Anna Purna never officially opened last season...

 

[Greg]

I think it would safe to say that Hunter west has SOME of the steepest terrain in the area. Most of us can get there in around 3 hours or less. Northern vermont is another 3 hours. I only skied Mount Snow once and it had some very good runs but I didn't run into anything like Westway or Anna. Blockbuster at Plattekill is a nice killer run when conditions are good also.

Hey Slug - you coming up to Hunter for 12/15? We gotta get you working on those bumps!

 

[JimG.]

Just curious, when was the last time that Westway and Annapurna where both open in the same season?

2004-05

 

[kingslug]

Hey Slug - you coming up to Hunter for 12/15? We gotta get you working on those bumps!

A friday huh. I'm the only engineer on that day so it's tough for me to take off. But if I can work it out I'm in. And yes, I need A LOT of work on the bumpy stuff.

 

[dmc]

2004-05

Ahhh yes... A triumphant day to be sure...

 

[koreshot]

This may have been covered, but too lazey to read thru again.

Why don't they normally open together? Or in general, why can't Hunter open these trails consistently? they can make snow faster than anyone else in the country.