Re: Most challenging trails in the southeast?
Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2017 9:44 pm
Hey Brigand it's totally never the wrong time "to think about the slopes", August is the time to start dreaming, visualizing, planning or simply being delusional about the upcoming season. Thanks for your posts and for getting things moving that way.
Most challenging? There's a question with a lot of variables, I agree that in NC Whoop is probably the steepest run and has the largest quotient of people passing and looking down it then shaking their heads and moving on, it is really hard by SE standards but so short. For me it was a landmark. When I took up skiing again after a 25 year hiatus on my first visits to Sugar it was really intimidating and the first time I skiied it comfortably meant something. But whether its icy, or slushy spring, or rare deep powder all of that changes everything.
So the most challenging? If you don't ski powder much then it can make everything a nightmare of resistence, if you can ski powder than the steeps and trees are fond and mellow friends.
Cupp run is often considered the best black diamond in the southeast and I think it is scary difficult because of the crowds and slick ice rollovers down the middle, the only safety is speed and that has inherent risks. Lower Shays is left to bump up while still getting a lot of sun so that is definately hard. The steepest sustained run at Snowshoe is still probably Flying Eagle on the silver creek side but given that it is wide, crowdless and rarely open I would not call it the most difficult.
Challenging, in the southeast, where we are not peering over a cornice at 12,700 ft into a 40 degree bouldered field below, is a collection of factors.
I think Marzski mentioned moguls and I have only skied Massanutten once but they keep a continuous portion of their blacks ungroomed, and I saw good skiers making that look easy but it's not easy for me (same is true of Turkey Chute at WV, and the sides of Squirrel cage and Face at Wisp, though they are also too short though not as short as Whoop or Boulder Dash) Some of the sections of Gunthers way at Sugar are steep enough to make your stomach flutter when you drop into them at speed, especially as an array of people crawling around looking for their skis, goggles and children are often waiting just two hard turns below.
Timberline's groomed runs are some of the longest sustained steeps (by SE standards) and their run Off the Wall (or the Drop?) is definitely amongst the most challenging in the Southeast/mid atlantic. It is long and relatively narrow but when open it is always choked with massive whales (the mounds generated under snow guns) and then it gets bumped up around the edges often just feet away from the edge of dense woods. It's amazing, I love it.
SpydeeTJB's great picture of Knot Bumper glades brings up another factor, glades, trees, tall immoveable objects that impede your path. Skiing in trees is another level of difficulty, for me it's the grail and it is hard and initially intimidating because it seems you have no choices, the trees will mangle you even if you hit them at a mere 20 mph. They are not more challenging than steep moguls, but they require some skill and a vison between the gaps. The best resort tree runs are definately at Timberline and Canaan. Of course the very best trees south of New England are found at Whitegrass Touring Center, but you have to be righteous and work a little for it and natural coverage has been rough lately. Snowshoe has a weird ambivelence where they market tree skiing but then will pull your ticket if for example you ski the obvious summer bike paths. . Wintergreen has opened a really impressive designated glade after being utter jerks for years about any off trail skiing, so hats off to them. Wisp has trees beside their short steep runs that are awesome. Devil's Drop should be on the list
At Canaan Valley, things are challenging because if the have a twelve inch storm they will open stuff up that others don't. In other words they treat us like adults and allow that your skis might lose a little ptex, God Bless Canaan Valley. Anyway when its open (or not) the lift line under Gravity triple is steep and challenging. The trees all over the left side are amazing.
actually I'm looking for pictures now -- allow me to pause. Thanks for the nice thread Brigand
Most challenging? There's a question with a lot of variables, I agree that in NC Whoop is probably the steepest run and has the largest quotient of people passing and looking down it then shaking their heads and moving on, it is really hard by SE standards but so short. For me it was a landmark. When I took up skiing again after a 25 year hiatus on my first visits to Sugar it was really intimidating and the first time I skiied it comfortably meant something. But whether its icy, or slushy spring, or rare deep powder all of that changes everything.
So the most challenging? If you don't ski powder much then it can make everything a nightmare of resistence, if you can ski powder than the steeps and trees are fond and mellow friends.
Cupp run is often considered the best black diamond in the southeast and I think it is scary difficult because of the crowds and slick ice rollovers down the middle, the only safety is speed and that has inherent risks. Lower Shays is left to bump up while still getting a lot of sun so that is definately hard. The steepest sustained run at Snowshoe is still probably Flying Eagle on the silver creek side but given that it is wide, crowdless and rarely open I would not call it the most difficult.
Challenging, in the southeast, where we are not peering over a cornice at 12,700 ft into a 40 degree bouldered field below, is a collection of factors.
I think Marzski mentioned moguls and I have only skied Massanutten once but they keep a continuous portion of their blacks ungroomed, and I saw good skiers making that look easy but it's not easy for me (same is true of Turkey Chute at WV, and the sides of Squirrel cage and Face at Wisp, though they are also too short though not as short as Whoop or Boulder Dash) Some of the sections of Gunthers way at Sugar are steep enough to make your stomach flutter when you drop into them at speed, especially as an array of people crawling around looking for their skis, goggles and children are often waiting just two hard turns below.
Timberline's groomed runs are some of the longest sustained steeps (by SE standards) and their run Off the Wall (or the Drop?) is definitely amongst the most challenging in the Southeast/mid atlantic. It is long and relatively narrow but when open it is always choked with massive whales (the mounds generated under snow guns) and then it gets bumped up around the edges often just feet away from the edge of dense woods. It's amazing, I love it.
SpydeeTJB's great picture of Knot Bumper glades brings up another factor, glades, trees, tall immoveable objects that impede your path. Skiing in trees is another level of difficulty, for me it's the grail and it is hard and initially intimidating because it seems you have no choices, the trees will mangle you even if you hit them at a mere 20 mph. They are not more challenging than steep moguls, but they require some skill and a vison between the gaps. The best resort tree runs are definately at Timberline and Canaan. Of course the very best trees south of New England are found at Whitegrass Touring Center, but you have to be righteous and work a little for it and natural coverage has been rough lately. Snowshoe has a weird ambivelence where they market tree skiing but then will pull your ticket if for example you ski the obvious summer bike paths. . Wintergreen has opened a really impressive designated glade after being utter jerks for years about any off trail skiing, so hats off to them. Wisp has trees beside their short steep runs that are awesome. Devil's Drop should be on the list
At Canaan Valley, things are challenging because if the have a twelve inch storm they will open stuff up that others don't. In other words they treat us like adults and allow that your skis might lose a little ptex, God Bless Canaan Valley. Anyway when its open (or not) the lift line under Gravity triple is steep and challenging. The trees all over the left side are amazing.
actually I'm looking for pictures now -- allow me to pause. Thanks for the nice thread Brigand