What is your favorite "Classic Narrow Eastern Trail&quo

[skiadikt]

mark, tell us how you really feel. :lol: i see no one mentioned any trails at k-mart other than the reference above.

Mr Renson is an ex-Kmarter so he knows what he's talking about. The classic New England trails at Killington like Northstar, Great Bear, or Escapade/Flume are either far too short or see far too much skier traffic. My personal favorite at Killington was Downdraft before they chainsawed all the trees off it. Superstar was also pretty fun and hardly ever saw much traffic.

mark was spot on. i just never heard anybody put it so eloquently before. 'frozen mcCrap'. gotta love it.

there's little classic left about anything at k. i'd add vagabond to your list but again it's pretty weak. from my limited experience with new england areas, i'd mention rumble at the bush, actually most of castlerock, and goat at stowe. i also always liked chin clip. have never skied cannon, burke or smuggs. i remember mrg being great but it's been a long time ...

 

[moguleater]

having skied tuckerbrook and a few others mentioned I think paradise at mad river has to be the toughest narrow windy trail around. probably not the most enjoyable though- for that I would go with maybe antelope at mad river on a good powder day.

 

[Mark Renson]

Wait a minute!!! IS the 20th Hole a trail? :wink:

The 20th Hole is NOT a trail. Get real. It's a reference to the Sugarbush Golf Course where some of the local hardcores like to kick 'n glide and cool out for a mellow change of pace from cranking out verts' in the Valley. Duh. :lol:

 

[Mark Renson]

My personal favorite at Killington was Downdraft before they chainsawed all the trees off it. Superstar was also pretty fun and hardly ever saw much traffic.

I missed those Downdraft days. Pre-Big Mac Attack Big Dipper was great in its hey day - the best on-piste tree run in the East ...anywhere ...period.

Yah, one of my best days ever was in January 1987 on a Sunday. The Giants were in an NFL playoff game which caused many to flee the slopes .....when it was PUKING. What a joke! I remember getting into the Snowden Triple line and watching people head back to their cars and me bellowing at them "YEAH, THAT'S IT ....YOU DO THAT ....GET OUT, GO WATCH YOUR PLAYOFF GAME ....LEAVE THE POWDER TO US ....DON'T MISS THAT GAME". Our rule between us was "Old School Trails In The Bowl ONLY". Oh man, the storm left 28" and the word of the day wuz: Tracks. Royal Flush-East Fall-Big Dipper-Downdraft-Cascade-Superstar (that's pre Big Mac Attack Superstar). The skier's right option on Cascade opened up and to my knowledge it was never opened after that season - ya' know, it's when you go down the long steep section after the midstation and it curves a bit to the left and I last remember a snow fence on the right to keep people out ....well, that was skiable. We didn't know about tree skiing then, but ya' didn't have to go there to make Tracks on that day. At 3:59:59:007, we caught the last chairs on The KP Double and as we neared the summit, the winds really picked up violently - Noreaster finally moving out to sea - and the chair slowed to a crawl. We schussed down Goat Path and on that steeper little shot under the KP Double, we turned around and looked uphill and let the howling winds push us uphill just for some "Wind Tests". The scene looked more like something outta' Robert Scott's doomed South Pole expedition. Finished up with Royal Flush and then beers outta' those plastic cups in the old KBL Bar.

....and I did make it in to my White Collar Yuppie Drone Job on time the following morning.

 

[Geoff]

My personal favorite at Killington was Downdraft before they chainsawed all the trees off it. Superstar was also pretty fun and hardly ever saw much traffic.

I missed those Downdraft days. Pre-Big Mac Attack Big Dipper was great in its hey day - the best on-piste tree run in the East ...anywhere ...period.

Somebody's been reading my FTO profile. 8)

Back in the day, you'd do Dipper just to mix it up after all those Downdraft laps. The tree spacing on Downdraft was near-perfect. I used to drive down from UVM to ski it even though I had a Stowe pass.

 

[Lftgly]

Nice thread, Patrick!

My votes:
Mt. Wash: Sherbie, GOS

Cannon, OB: 13 Turns of Tuckerbrook is classic (below the Troll Bridge traverse, it's nice rolling terrain, but not what I'd call classic narrow eastern).

Cannon, in-bounds: Upper Cannon, Middle Hardscrabble, Upper Ravine (yes, they've widened the inside of last turn a couple times in last decade+). BTW, the summer trail crew buffed Kinsman Glade nicely down to the ground, so there should be less hazardous obstacles this season.

Burke: From_the_NEK is right, gotta be a half dozen classics there, but I don't know the names.

 

[Patrick]

I missed those Downdraft days. Pre-Big Mac Attack Big Dipper was great in its hey day - the best on-piste tree run in the East ...anywhere ...period.(...)
Our rule between us was "Old School Trails In The Bowl ONLY". Oh man, the storm left 28" and the word of the day wuz: Tracks. Royal Flush-East Fall-Big Dipper-Downdraft-Cascade-Superstar (that's pre Big Mac Attack Superstar).

What a classic, the trails and the rant!!!

This confirms I didn't make a mistake when I voted for you. :shock:

Someone who knows what is important about skiing, unfortunately places like Killington went after the MARKET and not after the real skiers. Unfortunately, alot of places did the same thing.

From Best places to ski in the East in the 80s to.... :?: :?: :?:

 

[Pete C]

Two of my favorite natual snow/ narrow runs used to be on the North Face of MT Snow, Southern VT. Pieces of each still exist, Jaws of Death and PDF. Absolutley classic, undulating, vw size moguls, back before short skis and snowboards. a double chair kept lines long and traffic down enabling noarrow trails to develop beautiful lines. But the wheels of progress erected an additional triple and more people at the top required the widing of the trails and addition of snowmaking, downright butchering of some of the best expert natual trails around.
At least ASC hasn't touched bubblecuffer at the Loaf! Still a classic!

 

[Joshua B]

Mad River Glen: Catamount/Upper Antelope combination off the single chair

Sugarbush: Jester and Lower Jester at Lincoln Peak

Cannon: Upper Cannon and Vista Way

Berkshire East: Mohawk

 

[ATP]

Lots of great ones out there, but my my favorite has to be Fall Line at Mad River. It's steep, twisty, nestled amidst tons of great glades and is often a powder trap to boot.

They were a dying breed for much of the 80s and 90s, but the population of narrow winders seems to finally have stabilized. Thank goodness. Those gentle windy, underpopulated trails with views were a large part of what made me fall in love with skiing when I was starting out in my college years. I've always loved a good janut through the woods, but have never been much of a mall rat. I still have a hard time getting pumped for early season skiing on the overcrowded, snowgun-riddled trails at Kmart and the like, even after six months of snow withdrawal.

 

[knotty_ski]

Never been to any of the "Classics," but if you're ever in Southwest NY check out Holiday Valley's "Swiss Twist." It's fun, windy and you never know what you will find on it

 

[Patrick]

Upper Cannon, Middle Hardscrabble, Upper Ravine (yes, they've widened the inside of last turn a couple times in last decade+).

Sorry Lftgly,

I named the wrong trail, I meant Upper Cannon. Did they widened that one since my first visit in 1997. After being back at Cannon in 1999?, the Upper Cannon definately feel narrower the first time I skied it.

 

[Ryan]

I completely agree with Knotty.


Swiss Twist at Holiday Valley can be a real ball of a run. Although the resort ownership would likely not agree with me on this one it is the most fun to run at night. There is enough light spilover from neighboring lit runs that you can see where you are going just fine and it really can come at you quick. There are sections of it that seems to make 90 degree turns out of no where.

A definite must if it is open.