Mad River Glen: Turn Back the Clock

This winter it’s especially important to make your ski days memorable. Fortunately, Mad River Glen always saves a day each year that is special no matter what: its “Turn Back the Clock Day” and Anniversary Party. This year, it even snowed a bit for old time’s sake. I was happy to get a front-row seat, just as the single chair started to spin.

The snow gods laid down four inches of fresh snow overnight, and in the morning I plunked down $3.50 for a lift ticket. I knew that it was going to be a good day. Without wasting any time, I began to show my buddy RipVanWinter some of my favorite routes on the mountain. It was his first day on natural snow, so we started with some easier descents before taking on some of those narrower Mad River lines.

Continue reading

Mad River Glen’s New Terrain Parks

Browsing Facebook a few weeks ago, I came across a photo posted by Mad River Glen. The image, of the loading area of the Sunnyside Double chair, bore the caption “Notice anything new?” I didn’t. Then I saw the sign: “This lift services terrain park features.”

Building the Mad River Glen Terrain Park.

I admit I was a bit surprised that one of the Northeast’s most prized natural playgrounds would be adding man-made features, considering the old-school atmosphere associated with Mad River. I spoke with Eric Friedman, Director of Marketing and Shareholder Relations, to find out more about the new park setup.

Continue reading

First Turns of the Season at Killington

NY Ski Forum regulars tBatt and Condor, rose before dawn, and headed over to Vermont to capitalize on the first skiable snow of the season. Following is an excerpt and a link to the full trip report.

Killington First Snow: October 28 2011

“Snow in the forecast? Hell yeah! I didn’t know who was getting what, and toyed with the idea of going to Whiteface for Toll Road v2.0. With reports of 12” new at Kmart, we decided to go for the blue light special.

There was about 8 inches of snow with more in drifts and less where the wind was blowing. Having a base would have been nice as there were patches of overgrown grass that grabbed your tips. But it was a bluebird day with temps just above 30. It was a hell of a day.”