The single best on piste run in the Northeast

[highpeaksdrifter]

I always consider Anna Purna to be somewhat of a skiers trail..

too bad it never opened this year

That's suprising to me. When I was there they always blew snow on Anna Purna, it was 44 they didn't touch. Years would go by without that being open.

 

[dmc]

That's suprising to me. When I was there they always blew snow on Anna Purna, it was 44 they didn't touch. Years would go by without that being open.

Someone told me that they are trying to expand the Westside.. And they've been opening Westway because it's more visible - shoiwing that they use all the terrain.. Or something to that efffect...

But who knows...

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

Someone told me that they are trying to expand the Westside.. And they've been opening Westway because it's more visible - shoiwing that they use all the terrain.. Or something to that efffect...

But who knows...

I never understood why they just don't blow snow on all of them. They certainly have the snowmaking capacity. People use to say that 44 was wide open and couldn't hold snow well enough. I always thought that was BS.

 

[riverc0il]

I hate to admit I've never been to Jay, but I really want too. Maybe me and some of the WF boyz could meet you at Jay next season.

you show me yours and i'll show you mine four hours total is a haul for me, but i'll try to make it over next season. jay should be closer for you, i can't remember drive time from burlington, but i would guess 1:15-1:30 or so.

you can add muleskinner at saddleback to the list. i wouldn't call it the single best, but it certainly deserves to be on such a poll and is better than many listed, as i found out today!

 

[kingslug]

I never understood why they just don't blow snow on all of them. They certainly have the snowmaking capacity. People use to say that 44 was wide open and couldn't hold snow well enough. I always thought that was BS.

It's the steepest run they have and very wide. When they do blow it only reaches half way across the run. I would imagine it costs a fortune to get it in good shape.
I nominate Clairs run as it's the most interesting. It has 2 or is it 3 different approaches and a double fall line. It also remains steep almost to the end.

 

[skibum1321]

you show me yours and i'll show you mine four hours total is a haul for me, but i'll try to make it over next season. jay should be closer for you, i can't remember drive time from burlington, but i would guess 1:15-1:30 or so.

It's a little under an hour and a half from Burlington.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

you show me yours and i'll show you mine four hours total is a haul for me, but i'll try to make it over next season. jay should be closer for you, i can't remember drive time from burlington, but i would guess 1:15-1:30 or so.

4 hours is a haul, so you make a weekend out of it. When I go to Jay no way is it going to be a day trip.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

It's the steepest run they have and very wide. When they do blow it only reaches half way across the run. I would imagine it costs a fortune to get it in good shape.
I nominate Clairs run as it's the most interesting. It has 2 or is it 3 different approaches and a double fall line. It also remains steep almost to the end.

K27 is the steepest and I don't remember Clairs being a 2X fall line.

 

[Greg]

Claire's is a great run, but best in the Northeast? Not even close, IMO.

Claire's Way at Hunter:

Certainly a demanding and challenging run, but I don't think it can hold a candle to the ones in this poll that I've skied. I don't know that I'd call it a double fall line either. Sure is meanders back and forth a bit, especially at the top, but not really double fall line. Castlerock Liftline, now that's a double fall line:

 

[dmc]

A trail doesnt have to be long to be good... imho...

 

[Greg]

A trail doesnt have to be long to be good... imho...

Agreed. Sugarbush's Paradise is not really that long, but it's an awesome run. Twilight Zone at Magic is another good example:

The steeper sections of Triple Trouble at Loon aren't very long, but it's also a favorite:

And certainly nothing against Claire's. I did say it's a great run, but there are better.

 

[dmc]

And certainly nothing against Claire's. I did say it's a great run, but there are better.

yup... there are...

 

[jackstraw]

I hate to admit I've never been to Jay, but I really want too. Maybe me and some of the WF boyz could meet you at Jay next season.

definitely! jay is da bomb!! you need to get there!

 

[smootharc]

Tossed my vote in for Paradise at MRG....

....after much chewing it all over in my brain.

I think it ended up being the fact when I approach MRG's Paradise I get a heightened sense of adventure...an involuntary surge of adrenaline....and I seem to see, hear, smell, touch and taste things more keenly. It demands my very best...which I humbly try to deliver with appreciation and respect.

Also, there's just so many darn ways you can ski it....it's really like about 20 trails in one.

 

[riverc0il]

smootharc, very very well put! especially regarding that sense of adventure and all the various ways you can ski it, all the lines, etc. to be one of the best trails, i think a trail needs to offer something different and something special. a lot of trails mentioned are some of the best of those particular styled trails, but they lack that uniqueness factor. valhalla is another with a ton of lines and a sense of adventure, though not to the same degree. i really appreciate that natural aspect of skiing, not being confined to a set route and being able to explore.

 

[jackstraw]

since no one can agree, i'll just let everyone know the best trail out of the goodness of my heart...

its TRAMLINE at Cannon




bahahahhaahahahaaahahaha!!!!!!!!

have a great weekend kidds!

 

[teachski]

There are many different criteria by which we judge a trail and we are all so different that what I am looking at as being great someone else might look at totally different. Heck, for me the answer varies from day to day based on several different things; my mood, snow cover, grooming or lack there of, etc. I have skied a run one trip and loved it and skied it another and thought that it was somewhat below my expectations. We are dealing with forces of nature and the elements here so, regardless of what the area may do to a slope (snowmaking, grooming, etc.) there are other things that play into how a slope skis on a given day. I always give a trail another chance if I did not like it on one trip...it may be a little different or I might be a little different and like it on another try.

 

[freeheelwilly]

....
Also, there's just so many darn ways you can ski it....it's really like about 20 trails in one.

That's exactly what makes for a cool trail IMHO. That's why MRG has so many cool trails. It's also why Upper Cloudspin is such a cool trail. There's at least 5 different ways to ski it.

 

[Birdman829]

I don't feel like reading the rest of the thread but I'm sure I'm not the only one who senses a Vermont bias in this poll. Nothing from New Hampshire other than at Cannon (Wildcat or Lynx at Wildcat anyone?) and only one from Maine. Also, how are glades considered on piste?

I personally would add Wildcat and Lynx from the cat, Winter's Way, Narrow Gauge and Gondi Line from the Loaf, something from Oz at Sunday River (provided they get some snow), and maybe even Ptarmigan or Tightrope from Attitash.

 

[riverc0il]

I don't feel like reading the rest of the thread but I'm sure I'm not the only one who senses a Vermont bias in this poll. Nothing from New Hampshire other than at Cannon (Wildcat or Lynx at Wildcat anyone?) and only one from Maine. Also, how are glades considered on piste?

coming from boston area myself and having most of my skiing experience in NH, i can vouch for the fact that VT has a much higher percentage of great runs than NH. cannon and wildcat have some really good trails, lynx is indeed a classic cruiser and hardscrabbles at cannon are classic. loon has some good terrain too. but nothing on piste in NH compares to much of what VT has to offer, especially when you factor in consistancy of conditions.

i mentioned this recently, i think to sledhauler yesterday at saddleback. i observed that it was too bad that the best of the green mountains and white mountains couldn't be combined. whites have better consistant pitches, less run out, better more dramatic views, etc. while the greens have better landscapes and trees for cutting glades, thin woods for options, and better snow fall.