Mansfield routes, etc.

[ono]

skiing mansfield is no secret- however, i'm sure there are stashes up there to be had as it is a BIG area off the chin down to taft lodge, profanity, hellbrook and (possibly?) beyondetc.

i've hiked mansfield in the summer/fall. wondering mostly about different routes.

starting at the LT entrance on 108, you head up 3k vert feet to the chin passing the taft lodge. at the treeline and above, well, its a scramble and short vertical climbs- unskiable i'm almost positive.

however, at the chin lookout, you realize that there are MANY possible routes down.

1. stowe side of things: hourglass, profanity, hellbrook are all here (though i don't know exactly where each of them are- it's not exactly a secret). i imagine they all get tracked out quickly. and i'm assuming that somewhere around here the nosedive chutes come in to play down below just by the looks of it.

2. beyond hellbrook: i've heard of some skiing over there- basically heading down towards smuggler's notch village? i imagine there's something...

3. backside of mansfield: "subway" trail. this is an interesting area from above during the summer. looks like there are snowfields, and possible routes on the west face of mansfield. though, the skiing would bring you no where near the base of stowe. anyone know of this?

last question- is the bootpack trail from the gondi area of stowe the one with the many boulder scrambles and a few metal bars that you can hike up or down in the summer? or is there a more direct, less-bouldered route?

not gonna make it up there this year, but maybe next. *hopefully* gonna move to burlington area a year from this spring after graduating from my wretched mid-atlantic city school, and really experience some VT backcountry.

 

[Jay Suds]

skiing mansfield is no secret- however, i'm sure there are stashes up there to be had as it is a BIG area off the chin down to taft lodge, profanity, hellbrook and (possibly?) beyondetc.

i've hiked mansfield in the summer/fall. wondering mostly about different routes.

starting at the LT entrance on 108, you head up 3k vert feet to the chin passing the taft lodge. at the treeline and above, well, its a scramble and short vertical climbs- unskiable i'm almost positive.

however, at the chin lookout, you realize that there are MANY possible routes down.

1. stowe side of things: hourglass, profanity, hellbrook are all here (though i don't know exactly where each of them are- it's not exactly a secret). i imagine they all get tracked out quickly. and i'm assuming that somewhere around here the nosedive chutes come in to play down below just by the looks of it.

2. beyond hellbrook: i've heard of some skiing over there- basically heading down towards smuggler's notch village? i imagine there's something...

3. backside of mansfield: "subway" trail. this is an interesting area from above during the summer. looks like there are snowfields, and possible routes on the west face of mansfield. though, the skiing would bring you no where near the base of stowe. anyone know of this?

last question- is the bootpack trail from the gondi area of stowe the one with the many boulder scrambles and a few metal bars that you can hike up or down in the summer? or is there a more direct, less-bouldered route?

There's a lot of ways down all (?) aspects of Mt. Mansfield. Some of them are more advisable than others, and believe it or not someone was actually killed up there in 2005 (http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S= ... v=4QcSWNML). The backside is skiable, but be prepared to skin back up or have a car dropped somewhere back there for your ride home.

If you do some work with google, you should be able to find out some pretty interesting things about the mountain. In fact, there was a pretty interesting article aboutTusk and the Chin up on FTO until the new site was launched, very nice pics too.

As for backcountry getting tracked out quickly, I really doubt it. I typically ski alone so I tend to stay within the confines of the ski area boundaries when I'm there, but the woods *inbounds* have plenty of goodies for days to come after a storm. Granted, you have to know where to go.

I think with a good topo map of the area of the hiking trials, you should be able to find many, many routes down. After all, many of the ski trials are hiking trails other times of the year. Just be sure to buddy up and let folks know where you're going.

 

[ono]

yeah, i've checked out google earth, and i know the area pretty well...
thanks for your input. wish i could get ahold of that article.
guess i was wondering about personal experiences more so.
and yes, i do recall that sad incident last year w/one of the meathead guys- an upstate new york fellow. carried over a cliff by a slough. sobering, esp. as we were the same age- young, healthy, avid outdoorsman he was...

as for mansfield


hellbrook- well, this is kinda popular for winter and summer.

long trail- i'm sure this is skied as well, though probably not as challenging as other routes....

snowfields abound on all sides off the summit- profanity, hourglass, etc are all pretty obvious. and easy to find on maps. and i'm sure plenty of stuff is to be had between chin clip/stowe inbounds and hellbrook as well as other areas i've read about... probably enough stashes/lines/chutes in that swath that it could take a few seasons of frequent exploration (or more) to learn all of 'em...
i was kinda interested in the backside (west slope- subway-trail area) and north of hellbrook/adams apple- heading down toward smuggs village/jeffersonville direction...

i've skied on the smuggs side into the notch- off sterling pond swamp area- a run i was told was called "stovepipe"- it was pretty good, up until it got so steep you had to hold onto trees, and we hiked out (i was only 14 at the time, and without a local to guide us- lesson learned) i imagaine that the skiing on the other side of the notch is just as sweet and deep.

anyone have any specifcic info/pics? is powderfreak around? i know he's an avid mansfield skier. anyone else got anything it would be cool to learn a bit

 

[Knuckle Dragger]

My advise is don't head out there unless you have someone that knows where they are going (Or follow someone up the boot pack). Use the search button on this site and put in hourglass, hellbrook etc.... and you will find some pretty usefull info. The rest is local knowledge and experience.

 

[Smuggs#1Poacher]

Right on Knuckle Dragger...lets go explore, you can follow my bootpack. As for the unfortunate death, alot of people don't realize that Smuggs Notch is near the top of the list for east coast avalanche prone areas (if it actually snows). Also, alot of chutes cliff out, and there's nothing like stopping atop a 50 footer and having to posthole out in waist deep pow. The meatheads were out past lake of the clouds, there is some steep stuff out there, and following someone else might not always be the best idea, its the type of area where you'd want to have a rope and some friends who know the area. As for other trails in the area, try looking up the likes of teardrop (off the back side to underhill) and the bruce trail (ends at the Matterhorn for brews and sushi ).

For more info than you probably want, this is a link to the full report of the accident, w/ topo and pix. Good info to have in the back of your head.

http://www.stowevt.org/htt/Stall_Report_files/Stall_Report.pdf

 

[scharny]

I would echo knuckledragger's advice - don't do BC around there unless you have at least 1, preferably 2 buddies w/ you, and at least one of them should be familiar with the area & terrain.

One thing I will say is that the exposed alpine terrain (what little we have of it) that's west-facing is often not-so good skiing - the "subway trail" area that you are referring to gets pretty wind-hammered and doesn't hold much snow, except in really exceptional snow years. All of that said, nearly every aspect of Mt. Mansfield has been skied at one time or another.

There's a good map by Map Adventures that has some good established BC trails on it. That's a good place to start.