Tree Skiing- As the posting mentioned above, MRG, Jay Peak, Smuggs and Castle Rock (SB) offer the best eastern tree skiing (Still have to try Burke). I personally favour the terrain from 2500? to 4000? as the snow coated Spruce and Balsam trees hold the snow in place and offer protection from the wind. They also provide that skiing solitude atmosphere. Tight trees are fine as with the new side cuts and length on skis its hard to believe we used to bash the woods on 205?s
Best Tree Skiing?
- Thread starter option_ride
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Patrick
Active member
Tony Crocker":3s5cvpl2 said:
Marc has already answered this. Some of us easterners can ski the tight woods also in some pretty crappy hard conditions. I am not a tree fanatic, but I've ended up in the wood a few times regardless of the conditions.
Tony Crocker":3s5cvpl2 said:
RED is my wish list. A friend and ex-skiing partner which taught skiing full time from Sutton (QC) to Red via Whistler. I remember him saying in 1991 that Red was like a giant Mont Sutton.
For those who don't know Sutton, it's reknown for it's glades. I personally prefer the ones at Smuggs, Mad and Jay.
option_ride
New member
Funny, cause I have read a few times lately about how the east has no backcountry. That looks pretty sweet.....
except that -->
it does open up nicely though...
option_ride":2zmcquho said:
Nothing could be further from the truth! How does this look?
http://216.250.243.13/discus2/messages/2508/3663.html
OK, that was shot late in the season. How about this?
That's Big Jay, a popular b/c destination as viewed from Jay Peak's summit in Vermont.
option_ride
New member
I would definitly wear a helmet.
Patrick":1k6nkln9 said:
:lol:
Here's a great 14.6 MB Quicktime video of skiing Big Jay that'll give you an idea of precisely what eastern powder in the trees is all about:
http://www.firstchairmag.com/vids/bigjay05.mov
Now, I don't ever want to hear those "East has no backcountry, East has no powder" comments ever again. :wink:
And from our own FTO video archives, there's such a thing as backcountry night tree skiing back East, too:
http://www.skimovies.com/ftovids/vtrednecks.html :shock:
(broadband streaming Real Video)
option_ride
New member
Patrick":3898szt5 said:
now that's one argument the French and English don't have....
...lol... poWPoWPOWpOwpOw
option_ride":33kw5qof said:
That actually was a French/English/US/Canadian argument, sort of, inasmuch as it involved all in a nasty fracas:
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards ... c.php?t=68
option_ride
New member
oh god... now I have to read that... 5 pages?surfers will argue about anything.....
option_ride
New member
Ok, you can stop posting video's of fresh pow now! Thank you.The night one would be a good intro to a slasher movie... beware the big Jay Witch...ahhhhh
option_ride
New member
I'm curious to know if you have less avalanche danger due to the tree density and different terrain compared to the west?
option_ride":4y4x4gg7 said:
Avalanche danger is rarely considered, and rarely a factor...but it does happen. One of the Meathead Films stars was swept over a cliff by a slide on Mt. Mansfield, west of Hellbrook, and killed the season before last. Slides of course happen regularly above treeline in the Presidentials, and in some other odd places that people have been known to ski (the asbestos mine on Mt. Belvidere in VT, for example). There are also numerous slide paths in New York's Adirondacks and in the White Mountains of NH, where the topography tends to be more rugged and less rounded than in Vermont. There was a skier killed in the Adirondacks by a slide about a half dozen years ago or so that I recall.
Admin":1r6ixfao said:
Coming from Jay i can only agree. I've been riding average knee deep snow all winter... There is always snow deep in the wood... And Tree skiing is the best because the normal crowd stays away.
Jay Peak now is not as it use to be... Too many people know that there is snow there... The mountain get skied pretty quick...
What i love about Jay is that the whole mountain has something to offer... Get off the tram, get into the steep face shute... then down the sweet bumps and loose snow in the Can Am... a quick run in the snowpark... and then ride the flat on smooth corduroy... That is what "all-mountain" means!
Now, i get to explore the backcountry around the area... I love it... so much possibility... And the snow is always fresh!
YEah, i do love the east...
(... but i wouldn't mind moving out west!)
Mark Renson
New member
It's grossly overrated in the East and there really ain't much :twisted:
The Selkirks/Rogers Pass has the best tree skiing I've ever seen. Red Mountain is an enormous glade. Fairy Meadow did not have much for tree skiing - the chink in its armour.
Dropping into Kicking Horse Pass on the Wapta Traverse, we went into some World Class glades. Lake Loiuse has some very tight trees, thus exploding the myth that the West does not have tight trees and ditto for Taos. The Alleys at A-Basin are very nice for tree skiing.
I was at an MRG Work Day last weekend: http://www.treeskier.com/mrg/reports.html and there is 1 more scheduled on Saturday October 29th.
I'll be heading up to Vermont tomorrow to do my share on some shots I've never been to - working and learning.
The Selkirks/Rogers Pass has the best tree skiing I've ever seen. Red Mountain is an enormous glade. Fairy Meadow did not have much for tree skiing - the chink in its armour.
Dropping into Kicking Horse Pass on the Wapta Traverse, we went into some World Class glades. Lake Loiuse has some very tight trees, thus exploding the myth that the West does not have tight trees and ditto for Taos. The Alleys at A-Basin are very nice for tree skiing.
I was at an MRG Work Day last weekend: http://www.treeskier.com/mrg/reports.html and there is 1 more scheduled on Saturday October 29th.
I'll be heading up to Vermont tomorrow to do my share on some shots I've never been to - working and learning.
I note that Mark Renson, who probably knows eastern tree skiing as well as anyone on this board and who is far more proficient than I, agrees with me about Red Mt. for lift service and about the Selkirk backcountry.
ChrisC
Well-known member
I grew up skiing/racing in the East. I really agree with the above statement.
Parhaps why there is so much pro-Eastern tree skiing vibe in this discussion -- is because it it the best experience the region can offer. Maybe some of the old twisting tails - like Goat, Starr, Rumble, Chute, Downdraft, etc. -- equal the sensation.
While tree skiing is pretty fun in Stowe, Jay, Mad River...outside os the areas near Burlington, snowfall is not enought to keep the glades in good shape for most of the season. Sunday River thinned some glades which are as good as any, but it does not get enough natural snow.
Some good glade skiing:
CA --I think the trees are too big in CA to offer great glade skiing. Heavenly, Sierra and Northstar are really nice. Especialy Northstar --- you can have low, mid, high intermediate ...and various levels of expert glades off of all the lifts.
CO -- Overall, the trees are a little tight - and without some powder to help check the speed -- they can be tough. I think Telluride, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass -- add Taos, NM -- ski similarly. Steamboat has some really nice aspens. Winter park too has some nice sections.
Northwest/BC -- I think this area has the best tree skiing on the planet. The fur trees are not as big as CA, so they offer more intimate skiing. I think there are some great trees at Crystal, Baker, Fernie and especially Red.
UT -- Powder/Snowbasin have nice trees. Parts of Alta. A lot of Solitude. Deer Valley, Canyons can have nice aspens. Overall, this is a really strong area.