What is the most challenging glade trail here in the East coast?

[deadheadskier]

... Do AZ'ers have a name for those annoying whip plants you get at lower elevations?

pucker brush



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[BenedictGomez]

I think off-the-map should not be discussed.

Well, given the OP is asking about glade TRAILS, it definitely should not be discussed.

 

[Griswold]

Maybe I took a wrong turn once in there and left the “on map” section but if not my vote goes to Bravinator woods at Sugarbush. I stayed a little left after entering and it got so tight it wasn’t even as wide as my skis for about the entire second half of the run. Real gnarly if that area was still what the mountain considers the trail. While not on the map, the entrance skiers’s right on the top of birch run led to what was the longest,sketchiest chute I’ve ever skied. Maybe it would have been better with some fresh snow but it was a luge track when I did it and was so dicey. Come around a corner and there’s people stopped and there’s nothing you can do to avoid hitting them (or hitting trees). Eventually opened up to some decent skiing but not worth dealing with the top section in my opinion.


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[BenedictGomez]

Two or 3 people have mentioned the chutes at Jay, which is odd, because I wouldnt even consider them glades.

 

[BenedictGomez]

My vote would go to (and I might be defying the rules, but only slightly) the area between Everglades & Staircase at Jay Peak. I once fell in there and got stuck upside down in a tree, kind of like Luck Skywalker on Planet Hoth. Scariest thing that's ever happened to me while skiing, made scarier by the fact it was last run & my woods skiing partner was well ahead of me.

 

[Zand]

I haven't been on Paradise at MRG yet (I plan on skiing MRG for the 1st time this year) but the videos I've seen make it look like the trail has quite a bit of open terrain with some trees in the way so I'm not sure that Paradise would be considered a glade trail. A colleague of mine skied it a number of times this year and said that the trees to the skiers left of the trail were much more challenging than the actual trail itself.

It does start as a narrow, but open trail (including the waterfall area), but the second half is a fully gladed area.

 

[ceo]

Having skied both a few times I'd rate Kinsman Glade over MRG Paradise, in part because it's a good bit longer and just as steep with tighter trees. Haven't tried Wicked Haaaahhhd yet, but I love the name.
Though I did get in trouble a few years ago in this little steep shot at Jay; unlike any part of Kinsman or Paradise I was really unsure I could get down it. If I'd had any sense I'd have shouldered skis and hiked out. Instead I went for it and ended up sliding headfirst into a boulder. Had a stiff neck for the rest of the day and had to get a new helmet, but it could have ended much, much worse.

 

[Harvey]

I second Kinsman at Cannon.

Slide 4 at Whiteface is right up there.

The difference between the two, that might make the slides easier to manage, they don't open them unless conditions are prime. I was in Kinsman on some pretty squeaky stryofoam.

 

[spiderpig]

The trees to the left of Sugarbush Paradise are probably harder but I don't venture too deep in there knowing I could get myself in big trouble really quickly.

I second the latter part, as I got in there last year on December 1 and did not know when to head right to get back to the trail. I had to traverse over a down tree and a creek, mostly with my skis on because of the amount of fresh snow. I didn't think the skiing part was particularly challenging compared to what I've done at Jay and Killington, though.

Stowe to skier's right of the gondola is the hardest thing I've ever done, but not sure if it counts as it is basically one skier width through the trees more than half of the time. I want to say Stein's Woods at Sugarbush was pretty hard, but it was an hour before sunset for me after skiing trees/moguls almost all day.

 

[Tonyr]

Two or 3 people have mentioned the chutes at Jay, which is odd, because I wouldnt even consider them glades.

Well looking at this map the face chutes are definitely wide open and not a glade. The gladed area to the left with small lines through the trees is Tuckermans chute. I tend to agree that it's not a glade compared to other runs at Jay but it certainly looks like one from this aerial. It's the toughest in bounds run at Jay in my opinion.

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[abc]

Devil's Den at Killington gets my vote. It's a crazy 5-15 foot wide skiable "chute" with impenetrable brush on either side. Air is not mandatory but it's available. I don't think patrol has opened it (the top part) in the past couple of years.

The trees to the left of Sugarbush Paradise are probably harder but I don't venture too deep in there knowing I could get myself in big trouble really quickly.

Really though this is all relative to what you think makes a "challenging" glade. For me, the challenge goes up as I have less and less options. That's why Devil's Den gets my vote- once you're in there are many spots where you have two routes down to point your skis and that's it. The reality is in many tree skiing areas unless you get "cliffed out" you can navigate down as long as you've got snow...unconnected turns, sideslipping, traversing.

I thought a "glade" is defined as patch of trees you have multiple lines?

When the trees got so thick you can't go through, the only skiable path left gets skied into a bobsled run, it's just a ... chute!

(A "chute" may be super challenging, add cliffs with mandatory air. But those would not be classified as glades? )

I'm not one who seek out the most difficult lines. And I freely admit I don't have the balls (nor the skill) to do any lines with real consequence. But I found the appeal of glades is the variety of paths. One can go back to a patch of glades many times without repeating the same line.

 

[Tonyr]

I second the latter part, as I got in there last year on December 1 and did not know when to head right to get back to the trail. I had to traverse over a down tree and a creek, mostly with my skis on because of the amount of fresh snow. I didn't think the skiing part was particularly challenging compared to what I've done at Jay and Killington, though.

Stowe to skier's right of the gondola is the hardest thing I've ever done, but not sure if it counts as it is basically one skier width through the trees more than half of the time. I want to say Stein's Woods at Sugarbush was pretty hard, but it was an hour before sunset for me after skiing trees/moguls almost all day.

You can go very far back into the woods off of Paradise at Sugarbush and don't really have to worry about getting lost. The woods dump you out onto bailout which is the trail the connects Lincoln peak to Castlerock. The further you go in the more challenging it gets. If you stay close to the trail there are wide open areas.

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[bdfreetuna]

I thought a "glade" is defined as patch of trees you have multiple lines?

When the trees got so thick you can't go through, the only skiable path left gets skied into a bobsled run, it's just a ... chute!

Well they don't make 'em like Doc Dempsey's Glades any more, really. I think skiers have pushed for more "woods-like" skiing with a variety of obstacles, varying sections and so forth.

You make a good point about this not always being a good thing though. There's a reason Angel Food is highly regarded even if not especially difficult. There are certainly a lot of "glades" that ski more like bobsled runs (top 1/2 of 19th Hole qualifies as such).

We could do another post on "Favorite Glade/Tree runs" and perhaps the answers would be somewhat different instead of just trying to think of the hardest ones to properly ski.

In that case I'd mention Valhalla and Timbuktu at Jay instead of the chutes.

 

[spiderpig]

You can go very far back into the woods off of Paradise at Sugarbush and don't really have to worry about getting lost. The woods dump you out onto bailout which is the trail the connects Lincoln peak to Castlerock. The further you go in the more challenging it gets. If you stay close to the trail there are wide open areas.

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Good to know I didn't go far left ENOUGH!

 

[bdfreetuna]

Good to know I didn't go far left ENOUGH!

If you pucker it's pretty flat on the way back to Paradise

 

[Tonyr]

Good to know I didn't go far left ENOUGH!

Btw I believe the out of bounds glades that you are referring off to the skiers right of the gondola at Stowe is called the kitchen wall. I wanted to ski it last year but the glades were too icy the days I was up there. It's on my list to try this season though!

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[Tonyr]

Well they don't make 'em like Doc Dempsey's Glades any more, really. I think skiers have pushed for more "woods-like" skiing with a variety of obstacles, varying sections and so forth.

You make a good point about this not always being a good thing though. There's a reason Angel Food is highly regarded even if not especially difficult. There are certainly a lot of "glades" that ski more like bobsled runs (top 1/2 of 19th Hole qualifies as such).

We could do another post on "Favorite Glade/Tree runs" and perhaps the answers would be somewhat different instead of just trying to think of the hardest ones to properly ski.

In that case I'd mention Valhalla and Timbuktu at Jay instead of the chutes.

I haven't been to smuggs yet, the terrain looks great there. A favorite glades post I bet would have different responses. Valhalla is my favorite glade there, followed by Kitz woods.

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[Tonyr]

Maybe I took a wrong turn once in there and left the “on map” section but if not my vote goes to Bravinator woods at Sugarbush. I stayed a little left after entering and it got so tight it wasn’t even as wide as my skis for about the entire second half of the run. Real gnarly if that area was still what the mountain considers the trail. While not on the map, the entrance skiers’s right on the top of birch run led to what was the longest,sketchiest chute I’ve ever skied. Maybe it would have been better with some fresh snow but it was a luge track when I did it and was so dicey. Come around a corner and there’s people stopped and there’s nothing you can do to avoid hitting them (or hitting trees). Eventually opened up to some decent skiing but not worth dealing with the top section in my opinion.


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I've only skied Mt Ellen one day and did get a chance to hit any of the glades. The trees from Bravo woods to Exterminator woods look fantastic.

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[BenedictGomez]

I believe the out of bounds glades that you are referring off to the skiers right of the gondola at Stowe is called the kitchen wall.

Aye; the graveyard of skis it be.

 

[raisingarizona]

Well they don't make 'em like Doc Dempsey's Glades any more, really. I think skiers have pushed for more "woods-like" skiing with a variety of obstacles, varying sections and so forth.

You make a good point about this not always being a good thing though. There's a reason Angel Food is highly regarded even if not especially difficult. There are certainly a lot of "glades" that ski more like bobsled runs (top 1/2 of 19th Hole qualifies as such).

We could do another post on "Favorite Glade/Tree runs" and perhaps the answers would be somewhat different instead of just trying to think of the hardest ones to properly ski.

In that case I'd mention Valhalla and Timbuktu at Jay instead of the chutes.

Some of the stuff mentioned in here for being difficult kind of sound like they suck. I prefer flow for skiing trees, not that weird two turns to close out to traverse to whatever. I guess that stuff is “hard” but is it really fun?