Bruce Trail at Stowe

B

billski

New member
This trail looks intriguing.
http://lew.lasher.home.att.net/maps/smr ... medium.gif
20 questions:
-Can it be done completely with Alpine equipment?
-Is the trail obvious, especially the lower part? I presume it's unmarked.
-Where does it come out?
-Is there an easy way over to the Toll House lift? Where/how?
-Is this a "rock skis" trail? Is it at all maintained? Can it be done without a veteran?

Thanks!

Billski
 
I've done the Bruce a few times but not recently. A true local could probably tell you more but here's a few answers combined FWIW :

The trail comes out onto the cross-country trail network just down the mountain road from the ski area. There are a # of intersecting trails once down there and there are some posted maps/trail signs- still best to have a map tho. I did it on alpine gear but there was a fair amount of skating involved at the bottom. There's no easy way back to the nearest lift and it meant hiking uphill for a bit IIRC. It's a natural snow trail so caveat emptor on all that. I'll admit I soloed it by necessity (after research and with appropriate supplies) and it was great... but best to go with a vet if possible.


billski said:
This trail looks intriguing.
http://lew.lasher.home.att.net/maps/smr ... medium.gif
20 questions:
-Can it be done completely with Alpine equipment?
-Is the trail obvious, especially the lower part? I presume it's unmarked.
-Where does it come out?
-Is there an easy way over to the Toll House lift? Where/how?
-Is this a "rock skis" trail? Is it at all maintained? Can it be done without a veteran?

Thanks!

Billski
Click to expand...
 
billski":tbw89mre said:
This trail looks intriguing. 20 questions:
-Can it be done completely with Alpine equipment?
-Is the trail obvious, especially the lower part? I presume it's unmarked.
-Where does it come out?
-Is there an easy way over to the Toll House lift? Where/how?
-Is this a "rock skis" trail? Is it at all maintained? Can it be done without a veteran?

Thanks!

Billski
Click to expand...

Here is my report from last March (the first and only time I skiied Bruce)

http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards ... .php?t=878

Here are the answers to your questions:

YES

MORE or LESS (I believe there is a sign pointing to Lifts now and then). This part is long, especially with Alpine gear. Generally you end you on a certain trail (I have the name at home). Anyway, there is a few X-country maps posted at a few places.

You can come out either at the X-country center or near the lodge at the Toll Road.

You follow the odd LIFT sign.

Rock skis? Conditions were similar if not better than the natural snow trails for that day in March.

Without a veteran? If you are a good skier and have a good sense of orientation, you should be fine. I was with my wife, first time descente.
 
irecommend making sure the too house double is running before trying this trail or you be thumbing like i did a few weeks ago :lol: as others have mentioned, there is a lot of skating at the end (couple km's i believe) and a short uphill. a run i would plan on only doing once a day for sure. it will be thin on the shoulders of the season but conditions should be similar to what you would find in the trees during any point of the year.
 
Thanks for all your comments.

I've never done real off-groomed trails before, in all my years of skiing, though I've had my share of pole-and-skate trails. I presume it would be better to wait a while for more of a base to build up rather than to try to go in the next week or 2 if no precip.

It doesn't sound bad at all.
 
billski":2kn6drvo said:
Thanks for all your comments.

I've never done real off-groomed trails before,
Click to expand...
did you mean to say 'off-ski area trails'? i wouldn't recommend the bruce for someone who has not been off groomed ski trails, but i suspect that was not what you meant? :?:
 
it can get a little confusing at the bottom on the way out... esp if you're trying to climb back up to the tollhouse... its easy if you've done it before but you may take the wrong trail. if in doubt just continue down to the matterhorn and thumb it back, its not hard to catch a town shuttle either.

and whatever you do, don't ski or ride in the XC tracks... the XC'ers will go ballistic (and from what I understand it really messes the tracks up). and don't go solo.
 
riverc0il":2e4vadsd said:
irecommend making sure the too house double is running before trying this trail or you be thumbing like i did a few weeks ago
Click to expand...

mergs":2e4vadsd said:
its easy if you've done it before but you may take the wrong trail.
(...)
its not hard to catch a town shuttle either.
Click to expand...

As you can see from my report (if the lift is closed or not running), you can hop on the shuttle to head back to the parking lot.

I found the odd sign written LIFT helps us, especially when you start having certain doubt about being on the right trail. Anyway, you generally stay on the skier left in the X-country trail network.
 
billski":1tiqjbqs said:
This trail looks intriguing.

20 questions:
-Can it be done completely with Alpine equipment?
-Is the trail obvious, especially the lower part? I presume it's unmarked.
-Where does it come out?

-Is this a "rock skis" trail? Is it at all maintained? Can it be done without a veteran?
Click to expand...

I skied the Bruce during early April 2002 with a friend who knows it well. I was on alpine equipment and he had a tele get-up. We started about 4 PM by ducking through some bushes and emerged onto a hardpack trail that was about 8'-10' wide lined with saplings. After a while we dropped onto better corn snow and the trail steepened a little and widened slightly.

Then my buddy ripped out a toepiece. We skied the rest of the way down slowly with him on one tele (yeah, he was the best tele skier I ever saw during the 80's, then he got old and the young guys got good.) After the trail flattens it merges with a cross-country trail network. In fact, on a steeper section of the trail, we suddenly encountered two cross-country types going uphill!!! Don't assume that traffic goes only one way.

After about 2 miles we came to a driveway and we hiked a short way to the road. From there we had two choices: 1) go to the bar or 2) catch a bus back to the Stowe lodge base. We opted for the boring choice since the bus schedule doesn't extend into the evening. BTW, this bus is not owned by the ski area. The fare was $1-2.

I do not know about returning to the Toll lift, but the Bruce is a good late afternoon adventure for the end of the ski day. Alpine equipment is OK, but you will need to be comfortble skating on wild snow and you must not be easily intimidated by the narrow alley at the start. The snow is ungroomed and classic New England conditions, i.e., plan on encountering a hidden rock or two. Old New England skiers like my buddy can ski these conditions and never nick a ski. I, on the other hand, ski the same line as my buddy and always core-shot mine. Go figure!

But I highly recommend skiing the Bruce. It is an authentic piece of ski New England history--not a synthesized commercial experience.

Cheers,
Jeff
 
look'n4powder":3d2x4rwt said:
... After a while we dropped onto better corn snow and the trail steepened a little and widened slightly.

Then my buddy ripped out a toepiece. ...
Click to expand...

I just got off the phone with my buddy and he remembers the snow differently. The top of the Bruce was hardpack and the lower elevation was breakable crust, which accounts for the ripped out toe piece. My buddy was determined to ski on one ski because the alternative was post-holing for 1+ miles in hip-deep breakable crust. On reflection, I recall that I was light on my edges and unweighted evenly so that I would not break through.

Funny how I can remember the experience differently just because I really enjoyed the day. In truth, conditions were lousy, but the experience made the conditions irrelevant because I had a ball.

That's skiing for you!

Jeff
 
look'n4powder":s73tuxj6 said:
I skied the Bruce during early April 2002 with a friend who knows it well. I was on alpine equipment and he had a tele get-up. We started about 4 PM by ducking through some bushes and emerged onto a hardpack trail that was about 8'-10' wide lined with saplings. After a while we dropped onto better corn snow and the trail steepened a little and widened slightly.
Click to expand...

Hardpack. I guess that what happens when your in the freeze-thaw cycle of Spring Skiing on corn. I wouldn't necessarily except hardpack in mid-winter, unless it has rained recently and not snow in a while.

look'n4powder":s73tuxj6 said:
BTW, this bus is not owned by the ski area. The fare was $1-2.
Click to expand...

The bus driver didn't charge us anything to go back to ski area parking lot. We hope on near the Toll lift.

look'n4powder":s73tuxj6 said:
I do not know about returning to the Toll lift, but the Bruce is a good late afternoon adventure for the end of the ski day.

Alpine equipment is OK, but you will need to be comfortble skating on wild snow and you must not be easily intimidated by the narrow alley at the start. The snow is ungroomed and classic New England conditions, i.e., plan on encountering a hidden rock or two. Old New England skiers like my buddy can ski these conditions and never nick a ski. I, on the other hand, ski the same line as my buddy and always core-shot mine. Go figure!

But I highly recommend skiing the Bruce. It is an authentic piece of ski New England history--not a synthesized commercial experience.
Click to expand...

I totally agree with you Jeff.

Last run of the day (not too late, because it can take maybe close to 45-60minutes to make back to the road).

Classic and narrow Eastern trail. Definately can be intimidating for those that ski the large and groomed runs that are now too common in the East.
 
riverc0il":1shj31s7 said:
billski":1shj31s7 said:
Thanks for all your comments.

I've never done real off-groomed trails before,
Click to expand...
did you mean to say 'off-ski area trails'? i wouldn't recommend the bruce for someone who has not been off groomed ski trails, but i suspect that was not what you meant? :?:
Click to expand...

Yes, I mean "out of area", or more appropriately, not officially maintained (cleared terrain) signage, ambiguous junctures, etc. I'm great when I'm hiking or on x-c gear, I can go pretty much where I want, if I make a mistake it's no sweat. When it comes to alpine, while I'm a fairly accomplished skier, with enough experience on ungroomed slopes, I generally tend to be more of a free-spirit and just go without looking/planning. So, I'm concerned that approach could get me too far out of bounds since neither me nor my bud are familiar with the terrain. Uphill route corrections on alpine gear are not my style - I prefer to pay money to have someone cart me uphill :) What I hear is "stay to skier's left" is probably the best tack.

Where all this is coming from is my frustration with what I call the "gentrification" of downhill trails. "Boulevards", wide, open trails, where you can see far ahead, brutally groomed are frankly, getting quite boring in my book. I really enjoy narrow (I mean *real* narrow), winding trails, with a suprise around each bend. I'm not worried about grooming or not, but I really tire of predictability.

Was Bruce Trail ever an "officially" sanctioned/supported trail at Stowe?

Thanks for all the advice.
 
The Bruce was an old CCC project in the 1930s, like Nosedive, etc., and when they put in the old Mansfield single chair it led outside of the lift-served area, and thus never became part of the Mt. Mansfield Co.

That bus from the Matterhorn is operated by the Stowe Area Association. Just a week or two ago they announced that it would be free this season. When I last skied the Bruce a couple of seasons ago, we walked across the street to a tiny mini-mart, bought a candy bar and Gatorade, then simply caught the bus back to the ski area. No big deal, and mostly downhill to avoid the uphill part to return to the Toll House chair. It's probably quicker to get back via the bus, too. The skate out to the Matterhorn was no great shake, IMO.
 
What's the best way to get to the top of Bruce Trail? Is it accessable from one of the Stowe lifts or is it more of a snowshoe/skin up and THEN ride down deal? Any tips on finding the trail entrance?
 
TshirtFiend":2eyjrha6 said:
What's the best way to get to the top of Bruce Trail? Is it accessable from one of the Stowe lifts or is it more of a snowshoe/skin up and THEN ride down deal? Any tips on finding the trail entrance?
Click to expand...

The entrance is extremely near the top of the quad. If I told you any more, I'd have to kill you. :wink:

Hint: Use the topo linked from the first post in this topic.
 
Admin":1rrog3ef said:
TshirtFiend":1rrog3ef said:
What's the best way to get to the top of Bruce Trail? Is it accessable from one of the Stowe lifts or is it more of a snowshoe/skin up and THEN ride down deal? Any tips on finding the trail entrance?
Click to expand...

The entrance is extremely near the top of the quad. If I told you any more, I'd have to kill you. :wink:

Hint: Use the topo linked from the first post in this topic.
Click to expand...

The trail is described in Goodman's VT & NY book. I don't mean to be undermining your Admin position by posting what I do below, and I fully respect wanting to keep backcountry stuff secret. But for me, at least, a rule like, "If detailed directions to the trail are published in a mass produced book easily available for purchase, it's fair to discuss" seems ok.

So hopefully I don't upset anyone by posting the following :-) :

I haven't skied it so I can't offer first hand descriptions of where it is, but according to Goodman (p.111), it leaves "from the Toll Road just behind (west of) the Stone Hut." From p. 113, "Follow the path to the right at the Stone Hut, then turn left where you emerge on the Toll Road. . . . [It] departs from the Toll Road on the right in about 100 feet."
 
billski":2cnuzxje said:
Where all this is coming from is my frustration with what I call the "gentrification" of downhill trails. "Boulevards", wide, open trails, where you can see far ahead, brutally groomed are frankly, getting quite boring in my book. I really enjoy narrow (I mean *real* narrow), winding trails, with a suprise around each bend. I'm not worried about grooming or not, but I really tire of predictability.
Click to expand...
indeed! 5-10 feet wide natural trails are the best. also try taft at cannon, tuckerbrook at cannon, sherburne at tucks, and any other remaining CCC trail.
 
kenny, i gotta disagree with you on this one. enough info is out there that anyone reading this thread that wanted to ski the bruce could do just a little bit of research and found it no problem. no need to lead all the joeys off the other side of a mountain that could lead to hackers killing the snow or causing the need for a rescue. not referring to any one that has posted in this thread, but joe skier looking to do something 'cool'. the bruce is BC and needs to be treated that way which imo, includes doing research to obtain info. the bruce is no secret and saying 'go buy goodmans book' is a very good, i am not advocating secrecy in this case, but discretion urged by research.

btw, quoting passages of goodmans book on the net like that devalues his book and could be a copy right issue.
 
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