Need help on Mansfield's backcountry

J

jeepster

New member
This is my first time on the forum and hoping to get some answers concerning a trip to Mansfield I am planning. Is this doable?

The plan: 2 day backcountry trip, arrive on friday afternoon on stevensville road, skin up Butler lodge trail to butler lodge. Sleep there then next day skin up to forehead bypass, then south link to bruce trail. Ski down all the way to Stowe cross country center, hitch a ride to forerunner quad for a one time lift ticket. skin up the other side of the nose, do teardrop ski trail and skin back to the butler lodge for a second night taking the underhill XC trail and again the butler lodge trail.
We are a party of expert skiers and in very good physical condition.

Is it possible to skin up the butler, forehead bypass and south link or are they only good for hiking? This would help for choosing equipment like snowshoes or crampons if necessary.

Is this possible in one BIG day or should I plan for this in 2 days?

Thanks for the advice

JEEPSTER
 
Everything is doable in one day. those trails should be fine for skinning most of the way up (although the recent rain crust may make it more difficult). the one thing that concerns me however is that I'm not sure what success you'll have obtaining a single ride ticket up the fourrunner quad. last time i asked them, they had done away with that. I might be wrong.

If you can get the ticket, you're definitley in for one big day, but i'd advise doing it in two and enjoying the mountain a bit more... maybe throwing i a summit push?
 
Great, thanks for the advise. I'll give them a call to make sure. If not, we will skin back up to the lodge and take the second day for teardrop or something like that.

JEEPSTER
 
I believe they've done away with the single ride ticket, but they will sell a single ride as a "Stone Hut" ticket if you imply that someone in your group has a reservation for the Stone Hut that night.
 
Jeepster,

The teardrope and bruce trails are cool, especially for their historical value. However, there are lots of other fun places in the area, accessible via structures much like the butler. PM me if you are open to variations in the plan.

Also we are around stowe alot if you wanted a tour guide for part of the trip.

Porter
 
jeepster":29rnejhl said:
Is it possible to skin up the butler, forehead bypass and south link or are they only good for hiking? This would help for choosing equipment like snowshoes or crampons if necessary.

Is this possible in one BIG day or should I plan for this in 2 days?

Thanks for the advice

JEEPSTER
Click to expand...
Forehead Bypass & South Link Trails are only maintained for summer hiking.

Mt. Mansfield Snow stake currently reads 65" as of this morning. I would NOT recommend trying to ski bypass or South link, unless you like lots of branches.

Butler Lodge trail is a decent skin in the winter.

As a big day tour, if you are strong and have skins and tele or AT gear, it's fun to start in Underhill State Park, skin up Teardrop, traverse on the toll road to the Stone Hut, ski the Bruce, skin back up the Bruce, traverse on the toll road back to the Teardrop, and ski out Teardrop.

This is a full day with over 4500 ft of vert, but can be done if you are in good shape. You need good map reading skills because the top of the Bruce is not signed, and neither end of the Teardrop has trail sign.

Spending the night at Butler is a good way to get poor sleep and make you have to haul a lot of weight while skiing/skinning.

Just my take on things. However I live in the area and know the trails well. Bruce can also be accessed via Mt. Mansfield touring center. Both trails are mapped in John Goodman's backcountry skiing book. Have fun & be safe.
 
we are going to be there for 2 nights sometime in march (friday and saturday) coming down from Montreal. As far as comfortness, well that's part of the game. I was also looking at taft lodge where I think the approach would be easier but then I would have to choose for other skiing options.

I still believe my best option is Butler for accessing bruce and teardrop, unless one of you can convince me otherwise (like heated chalet with jakuzzi and big party). But that would limit the number of runs we can handle...
 
if ya want easy access to the bruce, teardrop, steeple, stay at the inn by the base of tollhouse double. skin up toll road, long but, easy cruising and patrol won't mind. descend the teardrop, skin back up, descend the bruce, skin up to the top of steeple but, not up steeple, descend the steeple and back to you're room. i've done it this way and it makes for a great tour with 3 classic descents and you avoid skinning the bruce which is a waste of energy imo and you'll avoid being taken out by pivot skidders that should be descending down toll road.
have fun
rog
 
icelanticskier":24dfeoph said:
if ya want easy access to the bruce, teardrop, steeple, stay at the inn by the base of tollhouse double. skin up toll road, long but, easy cruising and patrol won't mind. descend the teardrop, skin back up, descend the bruce, skin up to the top of steeple but, not up steeple, descend the steeple and back to you're room. i've done it this way and it makes for a great tour with 3 classic descents and you avoid skinning the bruce which is a waste of energy imo and you'll avoid being taken out by pivot skidders that should be descending down toll road.
have fun
rog
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That's a good one - you're right - skinning back up the Bruce is a royal PITA - it gets pretty buffed out by skiers coming down from Stowe Mtn Resort. Some days you could almost benefit from ski crampons. Skinning the Toll Rd takes a while but, if you are doing it really early AM, the views are pretty amazing. I'd plan on setting aside a full day for Icelanticskier's tour, but I also plan on doing it myself once we get more white stuff. Connecting from bottom of Steeple back to the base of the toll road is a little tricky but it's on some maps.
 
Admin":1ha4c6q4 said:
I believe they've done away with the single ride ticket, but they will sell a single ride as a "Stone Hut" ticket if you imply that someone in your group has a reservation for the Stone Hut that night.
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I called the resort today and they don't do single ride tickets anymore. They do not give any information regarding the backcountry either.

As far as the stowe cross country center, they sell tickets for the toll house chairlift for 17$ on week days and 19$ for week-ends. they don't sell single ride tickets.

I'd like to thank everyone for the replies and hope to have a good trip. If you have any other ideas, they are welcome. I'm looking forward to discovering this mountain in the winter.

And thanks to powderfreak for those great pictures.
 
jeepster":1ukawa1h said:
Admin":1ukawa1h said:
I believe they've done away with the single ride ticket, but they will sell a single ride as a "Stone Hut" ticket if you imply that someone in your group has a reservation for the Stone Hut that night.
Click to expand...

I called the resort today and they don't do single ride tickets anymore. They do not give any information regarding the backcountry either.
Click to expand...

That's the official line that they'll give you over the phone. AFAIK the technique I described above still works.
 
That's the official line that they'll give you over the phone. AFAIK the technique I described above still works.[/quote]

Even if we are a party of 5 or 6, maybe more?
 
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