East Coast Classics, Ripcord, Mount Snow

Mount Snow is located in southern Vermont, a short 30 min drive from the Massachusetts border.  Mount Snow, is carved into Mount Pisgah, but the founder of the ski area, Walter Schoenknecht did not like the name, Pisgah, so he decided to name the ski area Mount Snow.   Interestingly, the mountain is not named after the frozen precipitation needed to ski, but after Reuben Snow, the farmer who owned land at the base of what is now Mount Snow.  Mr. Snow’s farmhouse is now the Snow Barn, home to one of the best live music scenes in southern Vermont. The resort was officially opened on December 12, 1954, although the mountain had been skied prior to the official opening.  A gentleman named, Pat Danahy, from Boston, got wind that the resort was close to opening, so after a snowfall, he hiked up to the first pitch near the Canyon trail and proceeded to poach the first turns on Mount Snow.   

Mr. Schoenknecht was a colorful, out of the box thinker, always looking for ways to improve his resort.  Here are two great examples, first, in 1963, Walter wanted to create a bowl for skiing, so he did what sane individual would do, he requested the Atomic Energy Commission to explode an underground nuclear bomb to create the bowl.  In the end, the suits in Washington, D.C. denied his request, which was probably for the best. But, for just a moment, can you imagine the bowl a 50 kiloton nuclear bomb would have been created! We would all be skiing the Tsar Bomba Bowl and dropping into lines like Mushroom Cloud, Blast Wave and Bikini Atoll and when done skiing we could grab an Atomic Lokade cocktail at the Fallout Shelter Lodge.  The second example, is Fountain Mountain. Mr. Schoenknecht, installed a couple 600 horsepower water pumps into the depths of Lake Snow, the pumps ejected water 350 feet in the air. For comparison, the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone Park, propels the water to a height of 145 feet. In the winter, this man-made geyser would continue to erupt and as the water froze a giant mound of snow and ice was sculpted.  Fountain Mountain grew so enormous a rope tow was installed and races and camps were held, well into the month of June. 

Fountain Mountain Race Course!

Mount Snow is located in West Dover, Vermont.

Ripcord

Southern Vermont is not known for steep skiing, outside of, the in-business/out-of- business, Magic Mountain.  However, on the North Face of Mount Snow is Ripcord, the only double black diamond on the mountain. However, the trail was not always known as Ripcord.  The trail originally opened in 1963 and was known by the name, Slalom Glade – yes the trail had trees on it! In the early ‘80s the trees were eradicated from trail, although it retained its name until 1986 when it was officially named Ripcord.  The last change on the trail came between 1992-1996 when the trail was upgraded from a single to a double black diamond. So, just to summarize, when the trail opened it was a single black diamond with trees and pitches up to 37 degrees and was skied by folks in lace up Molitor leather boots, Cubco bindings with safety straps attached to their 203 cm skis with screw in edges – but it is now a double black diamond.   However, just because Ripcord is the only double black on the mountain, don’t be fooled into thinking that Mount Snow needed to make at least one trail double black for marketing purposes, oh no, this trial is steep and difficult.  

Ripcord is a straight shot down 1060 ft. of a trail with the complexion of a steroid eating bodybuilder with acne conglobata.  In fact, Ripcord lays claim to the 25th steepest sustained pitch in Eastern North America, measuring at 31 degrees.  The precipitous pitch combined with the hefty moguls and you have a recipe for a legitimate run meant to test the mettle of, even the most elite, skiers.  The downside to the trail, or if you get in over your head it may be the best part of the trail, is it has the ultimate bailout route, it is a trail aptly named Second Thoughts.  This allows you to ski the upper portion of Ripcord but to pull the ripcord and eject on the steepest part of the trail which measures in with a maximum pitch of 37.25 degrees. The lower most segment of Ripcord intersects with an intermediate trail titled River Run.  River Run, as it relates to Ripcord, serves three purposes. First, it is a gathering point for skiers to gawk at other skiers who are either tearing up the bumps or getting torn up by the bumps. Secondly, River Run provides less confident skiers a chance to scout the trail until the afflatus hits them to ride the Challenger or Canyon Express triple chair to the summit of the North Face to begin their journey down one of New England’s more challenging trails.  Lastly, River Run is the spectator viewing area and BBQ & Beer Garden for the Glade-iator Bump Contest.

Looking up Ripcord, Mount Snow, Vermont

The Glade-iator, is a bump contest held on Ripcord that pays homage to the original name of the trail.   Each Spring, generally early April, competitors are given the chance to demonstrate their mogul skiing abilities and jumping skills.  The competitors are judged similar to a sanctioned event, meaning they are judged on a combination of how fast you can navigate the bumps, how tight you keep your knees together, how straight you ski the course and the quality of your air.  For the jump you have the option of a small jump or a big jump for those who want to go big or go home. Keep in mind, this is an extremely steep trail for a mogul contest.

If you find yourself in Southern Vermont, a trip to Mount Snow to ski Ripcord and the other black diamonds offered on the North Face is worth it.

East Coast Classics, Devil's Fiddle, Killington, VT

To the skier’s right of Outer Limits is the ugly step sister of Outer Limits, known as Devils Fiddle. Outer Limits is a perfectly manicured trail with immaculate split grooming that allows for super-fast skiing on one half, but still has mega bumps in all the right places that allow for some of the best bump skiing in the world. Which is all accessed via a quad chair that runs up the right side of the trail.  Whereas, Devil’s Fiddle is a wide trail, with an irregular curve and is complete with two scars – a large rock ledge in the middle of the trail and the remnants of a quad chair. But, don’t let the looks fool you Devil’s Fiddle has a great personality.  

A Devil’s Fiddle is an old European novelty musical instrument.  The instrument is a stick with a single string attached to it with various bells, horns and other noise makers attached to the stick.  To make music, the stick is pounded against the ground, which activates the rattles and bells. However, Devils Fiddle at Killington is no novelty, it has the ability to pound you against the ground and rattle your bones and ring your bell; in fact, the trail has the goods to author worldly evil against even the best of skiers. 

While Outer Limits is the more famous of the two trails, an argument can be made that Devil’s Fiddle is the more difficult trail.  While Outer Limits is the steeper of the two runs at a sustained pitch of 29.2 degrees to Devil’s Fiddle, still impressive 27.1 degrees.  However, Devil’s Fiddle has a number of rock ledges that spread across a substantial portion of the trail that will be encountered approximately half way down the descent.  In addition to the cliff, the trail is peppered with moguls, that can reach titanic proportion. So, while there is a bailout option from the cliff (e.g., ski around them) it only gets you in more moguls. 

Devil’s Fiddle, Killington, VT with very little snow, but showing the rock ledges

From 1983 – 1994, Devil’s Fiddle was accessed via its own quad chair (Killington’s first).  The chairlift was dismantled in 1994 and nowadays is accessed via the Bear Mountain Quad. The trail rarely receives snow making, so in order to ski it, plan your trip to “The Beast” post New Year’s on a snowy season.

Devils Fiddle does everything to reinforce the cultural connection between the Devil and the Fiddle – this is a bad ass trail that will make you question your skills.  If you ski Devil’s Fiddle you need to go over the cliff to say you've really skied the trail, otherwise it is tamed, to some extent, and becomes a less steep version of Outer Limits.  While that still makes it a big, bad trail, the cliff band is the signature of the trail.

East Coast Classics, Empire, Whiteface, NY

There is a trail on the flanks of Little Whiteface that has received national attention.  In 2002, Skiing Magazine listed Empire as one of the top 5 bump runs in the East along with four other legendary trails, which are: Outer Limits, White Heat, Stein’s Run and Starr.  Skiing Magazine stated the moguls get to reach the size of VW’s because they are left to their own devices throughout the year and the bumps just get bigger and bigger as the winter progresses because the trail is too narrow to groom.  In 2003, Skiing Magazine piled on more accolades for the trail ranking it as the 5th best classic run in the East with Starr, Bubblecuffer, Paradise and DJ’s Tramline.  Additionally, the Ski Channel in 2009, listed Empire at #68, on their list called, Gnarly 99: Trails with Superpowers.  It was on the list, in their words, it is allegedly the steepest slope in the east.   

So, here you have two reputable sources describing this trail as so narrow it would cause a stenophobic individual to get nauseous, genuinely steep and peppered moguls that have grown larger than the people on the TV show, “My 600lb Life”.

As the saying goes, no empire lasts forever.  This trail may have had a wicked reputation throughout the first decade of the millennium, but the truth and the decline of mogul skiing have caught up with this trail.  First, the allegation that the trail is the steepest in the East is completely false. The average pitch of the trail is a pedestrian 22.12 degrees, the sustained pitch of the trail is 28.89 degrees and the steepest part of the trail is 41.37 degrees. Empire is not the steepest in any of those categories.  In fact, there are 15 trails that exceed Empire’s impressive 41.37 degree maximum pitch and one of them is at Whiteface, the Slides! The trail also doesn’t have the mogul credentials to be named in the breath as Outer Limits, White Heat, Stein’s Run and Starr. In fact, Mountain Run at Whiteface is a better mogul run and is where the World Cup Mogul competitions are held.  It is beyond comprehension how this trail was put on the same list as DJ’s, Paradise and Starr.

While this trail may not be everything it is hyped up to be, it is still an exciting trail to ski due to the constricted width of 36 feet, combined with a steep moguled pitch that culminates in a 41-degree headwall.  The best advice on how to ski the trail comes from Indian author and Sydney Peace Prize winner, Arundhati Roy. To paraphrase what she wrote in her book, War Talk, she states “…your strategy should be not only to confront Empire, but to lay siege to it. To deprive it of oxygen. To shame it. To mock it.”  So how exactly do you ski Empire that aggressively to shame it and mock it? The best advice is to get on a pair of quick turning skis, pick a line right down the center of the trail and start charging. One word of caution, don’t get too crazy and start linking super fast GS type turns because you’ll get to the headwall and either take so much air you’ll think you are in a gelandesprung contest or the force will be with you, gravity in this case and you will crash out like Chad Fleischer at the 1995 Hahnenkamm.  Once past the headwall the trail begins to level out and eventually merges with Lower McKenzie, which is one of the few trails at Whiteface they allow to get bumped up on a regular basis.

In summary, the steepness and difficulty of this trail have been greatly exaggerated over the years.  However, it is still a classic trail that is fun to ski and a must do when at Whiteface.

Affordable Skiing at Ski Venture, Glenville, NY

One of the biggest, if not the biggest gripe against skiing is it has become a sport for the rich.  This is based on the fact that the cost of entry into the sport is not cheap, with the average cost of new skis, boots, bindings and poles being ~$1500 and the average cost of a lift ticket ~$90, with some lift tickets soaring well over $120, if purchased at the window (which no one should ever do).  A family of four can easily spend more than $500 for a day trip to their favorite mountain, assuming nobody needs to rent. That is an exorbitant amount considering the average weekly salary in the Northeast, prior to taxes, is $1021.24. Luckily, there are options where you can ski cheap and one such place is Ski Venture.

Ski Venture is located in Glenville, NY, a suburb of Albany and was incorporated in 1937 and has run continuously since that time, making it one of the oldest continually operating ski areas in the United States.  In fact, I believe it to be the 2nd oldest continuously operating tow in the US, second only to Northeast Slopes in NH which has run since 1936. Ski Venture is tiny by anyones standards it has approximately 110 vertical feet with 12 trails that range from green circle to “black diamond”, the trails are served by two rope tows. The first and slower tow, serves the Bunny Slope which is a gentle pasture great for beginning kids.  The second tow is a beast, it is a high-speed rope tow that is capable of burning through gloves and jackets. In fact, it is probably faster than any lift you have ever ridden, unless you have had the pleasure of cruising up and through the Alps on a funicular lift in Europe. The speed of the lift means you can ski lap after lap on this hill. So, why on Earth would you want to go here for 110 vertical feet, 12 trails and a high velocity rope tow?  The reasons are many…

Ski Venture Main Slope

1. It is dirt cheap skiing!  A family membership (e.g., Season Pass) will cost $100. Yes, your family can ski from late December through Early March for a “Benjamin”. Or you can purchase the Sustaining Membership for $125 and get discounted lift tickets at many commercial areas.  Additionally, you get the satisfaction that you are helping keep a piece of skiing history alive.

2. You can ski whenever you want!  The area is run by the members, so there are no employees that run the lifts.  Instead, the lifts are run by Hill Masters, which are members that have gone through a 2-3 hour training to learn how to start, stop and troubleshoot the rope tow, turn on the lights and open and close the A-frame that serves as a lodge.  This means that if you are trained as a Hill Master, which any adult can do, and you and your boys want to go skiing at 2:00am you can go and fire up the lift and lights and ski! - Can’t do that at Killington, Stowe or Sugarloaf. If you want to ski for 24 hours straight you could do it here.

3. Half the Mountain is glades!  Keep in mind the place is small so you aren’t skiing the glades of Jay or Mont Sutton, but half the mountain is glade skiing, so you can dive into any stand of trees that exists between the boundaries of the mountain.  While the runs are short, the glades exist on the steepest part of the mountain. 

4. Liberal grooming policy!  Ski Venture is a mountain for skiers (and boarders) that is run by skiers - which means it is clearly understood that powder days should not be groomed to corduroy.  Therefore, on a powder day the skiers will ski out the powder before firing up the groomer (four wheeler pulling a grate with spikes).

5. Really good people! Lastly, the folks at the mountain are friendly welcoming and more than willing to help you learn how to master the high speed rope tow before burning through too many sets of gloves. Recommendation: Get leather work gloves.

What sets Ski Venture apart from other affordable and free ski areas is that there is some challenge to the terrain.  Many affordable areas are not much more than converted cow pastures that are also used for sledding hills. At Ski Venture there is a decent pitch where you can link together some legit turns, ski some legit glades - all while making some new friends and sharing some brews at the A-Frame.

Lastly, there are other areas where one can ski cheaply, if not free, such as Dynamite Hill, Schroon Lake Ski Center, Indian Lake Ski Center and Northeast Slopes.

For more information on Ski Venture check out there website at: www.skiventure.org

Steepest Trail in Quebec - La Dynamite, Mont Tremblant

Located approximately 80 miles north west of the cosmopolitan city of Montreal, in the Mont Tremblant National Park lies the year-round resort of Mont Tremblant.  In the winter, the resort is a popular destination for many skiers on both sides of the border. In the summer, the area is popular for boating, golfing and IRONMAN triathlons. The IRONMAN swim is held in Lac Tremblant which is a pristine lake that laps up against the resort. Tremblant, as it is commonly referred to, is diminutive even by Laurentian Mountain standards, at only 2871 feet, it isn’t in the top 35 highest peaks of the mountain range and almost a full 1000 feet smaller than Mont Raoul Blancher which is the highest peak in the Laurentains.  However, Mont Tremblant still offers up some surprisingly challenging skiing. USA citizens frequently state that when they go to Tremblant it is like going back to the old country, since it has a very European feel to it, although the colorful buildings resemble Reykjavik, Iceland more than the buildings of Chamonix. 

Overall, the place is awesome!  For anyone who lives south of the border and wants a genuine European flavor for a ski weekend, this is the place to go.

La Dynamite is infamous terrain for countless skiers in the United States and Canada. The trail is situated on the Nord side of Tremblant and can be accessed via the Expo Express Chair.  The Expo slope is known to be the steepest area on the mountain and Dynamite is the crown jewel of all Quebec steep skiing – the trail has the steepest sustained pitch of any inbounds trail in the 527,079 sq. miles of Quebec.  It is one of only three trails in Quebec that have sustained pitches over 30 degrees, the others are Alexander Dispatie at Mont Chantecler and La S at Mont St. Anne.

Dynamite can be divided into two segments the upper half is a “simple” double black diamond mogul run, the lower half of the trail is as difficult as they come on the East coast, to say it is a valid double black diamond is not an exaggeration. This discussion will be limited to the lower half of the trail.  This segment of Dynamite, carries a pucker factor that will put butterflies in the stomach, of all but the most skilled skiers.  There is a frozen waterfall/headwall that needs to be navigated in order to access the bottom half of the trail. To make matters worse, if you get past the headwall you will still have mogul after mogul to deal with before the trail ends at the intersection of Expo.  Dynamite is very similar to Rumor at Gore Mountain in NY. They both have very steep headwalls followed by a mogul field, although Dynamite is 25 feet narrower than Rumor. The trail is appropriately named – Dynamite will unleash an explosion of demolition if you don’t have your “A” game.

While La Dynamite maybe the steepest trail, the hardest trail in Quebec is one you have probably never heard of it is called La Pirouette at Ski LaReserve.

To see my full review of Mont Tremblant click HERE

Steepest Ski Trail in New York - The Slides, Whiteface

Whiteface Mountain is one of the premier ski destinations in the eastern United States because of the lively nightlife scene in nearby Lake Placid and it has the greatest vertical drop in the east at 3,430 feet.    Whiteface hosted the 1980 Winter Olympic alpine skiing events (the 1932 Olympics didn’t contest alpine skiing). The slalom and giant slalom were won by the greatest skier of all time, Ingemar Stenmark (not Lindsey).  The downhill was won by Austrian Leonard Stock. Andrew “The Warhorse” Weibrecht, who won a bronze medal in the Super G at the 2010 Winter Olympics and a silver medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics, grew up skiing at Whiteface.   The average snowfall is around 168 inches per year plus 98% of the mountain trails are serviced by snowmaking. The mountain is located in Wilmington, New York.

The Slides were formed hundreds of years ago by avalanches that ripped away trees and rocks to create a series of scars from the summit of the mountain.  Fortunately, for skiers, these 35 acres offer an outstanding expert skiing opportunity the Slides were considered out of bounds until the 94-95 season when Whiteface opened them to the public.  The Slides are legitimate double black diamond skiing.  As noted they were formed by avalanches, so they can be wide open in places, but they also hold narrow chutes, especially when you get into Slides 3 and 4.  It should be noted that rarely can you just go to Whiteface, get off the lift and ski them.  The Slides are open only when Ski Patrol deems them safe, which generally occurs in the Spring.  When they are open, the patrol has an Olympic themed rating system. If the Slides are open with a Silver rating, Ski Patrol requires avalanche precautions such as a beacon, shovel and probe.  If the Slides are open with a rating of Gold, they can be skied without avalanche gear, but you skiers must be in groups of two or more. And yes, they do check. 

The Slides are accessed from the Summit Quad Chair, which actually ends 500’ below the summit.  Once at the summit, the entrance to the Slides is immediately to your right when offloading from the chair.  If they are open you will be greeted by a member of the ski patrol, standing next to orange mesh fencing.  Once ski patrol has admitted you to the Slides, there is an uphill traverse/side step that is required to access the terrain.  Once on the Slides, below you will be what Mother Nature has offered up – there is no snowmaking and no grooming – you are skiing backcountry, while still on an inbounds trail, also known as side country.  On the descent you will encounter shrubs, trees, rocks, cliffs, frozen waterfalls, variable conditions and if you ski them on a great day…powder – take it seriously.

The Slides at Whiteface! The steepest skiing in New York State. Photo courtesy of Jim Kenney.

The four Slides are arranged like fingers on your hand, with the start being the tips of your fingers and then they all funnel into one area, the palm.  Each Slide is accessed by traversing further out from the entrance to the slides. Slide 1 is the first Slide you will encounter and the “easiest”. The slides get progressively more difficult until you get to Slide 4, which is the highest degree of technical skills.  The two slides really worth doing are 1 and 3. Slide 1 has been compared to a western resort bowl, Hillman’s Highway at Tuckerman’s Ravine, or its neighbor to the left Upper Skyward.   Slide 1 is generally considered the easiest of the 4 slides, even with a sustained pitch of 37.26 degrees, the steepest in Eastern North America.  Additionally, the trail averages 32.01 over the entire length of the trail, making it the 3rd steepest trail from top to bottom on the East Coast.  However, it is not the steepness that makes this trail difficult, it is the series of frozen waterfalls.  These waterfalls are un-skiable during the majority of the season, unless you are a former World Cup racer and have race tuned edges, thus they are the main reason the slides usually don’t open until the spring.  Once they soften up they do become skiable, although tricky. While Slide 1 is wide open, the trickier Slide 3 is not. Slide 3 is a precipitous and constricted chute that requires extreme faith in your skiing skills, because you drop into a sightless line.  A word of caution, at least on your first descent, keep your velocity under control or you find yourself in deep stuff as there is a series of ledges that need to piloted.

So, there you have the Slides of Whiteface.  They are some of the best skiing the Northeast has to offer, when open.  However, that is where they fail, they lack dependability.   Will they be open when you get there?  Most likely no.  Then again did you remember to pack your probe/shovel/transceiver?  Most likely no.

Steepest Ski Trail in Massachusetts, Upper Liftline, Jiminy Peak

The trails of Jiminy Peak are carved into Potter Mountain which is situated along a major  ridgeline within the Taconic Mountains of Western Massachusetts. The ridgeline has a couple major peaks, one being Jiminy Peak and the other being Widow White’s Peak (named after a previous landowner).  The ski area was due to open in the winter of ’47-’48, but due to excessive snow the construction couldn’t be completed. The area officially opened for the 1948-49 ski season with a pair of rope tows and a T-bar.  The area then underwent two major expansions first in 1964 and then in 1998. From the opening of the resort until 1964, the pinnacle of Jiminy Peak was the Merry Go Round trail. However, in 1964 a double chairlift was installed add more vertical to the mountain along with some new trails. Jiminy Peak expanded onto Widow White’s Peak in 1998 opening up five trails, mostly intermediate.

Upper Liftline

Pop Quiz…What do Upper Liftline (Jiminy Peak), DJ’s Tramline (Cannon) and Devil’s Fiddle (Killington) have in common?  If you guessed they are three of the hardest trails in the east, you would be wrong!  However, if you guessed all three trails are rarely open, due to lack of any fans or nozzles which blend compressed air and water to create dust on crust – you are correct. This is a somewhat interesting fact because 96% of Jiminy Peak has snowmaking.   However, when the Liftline trail is open, which does occur after a couple heavy snow falls or a consistently productive winter, you will find a 44 foot wide trail that offers up a sustained pitch of 28.23 degrees making Upper Liftline the steepest trail in Massachusetts. When the rope is dropped on the trail, you will be rewarded with a trail that can become a mogul field. As you have probably guessed, based on the name of the trail you will have attentive audience above you on the Berkshire Express while you navigate this steep, narrow bump run.  The downside is the trail is short and dumps out into a maze of green circle trails.

There is an interesting story circulating about this trail that involves the Kennedy’s.  In the 1970’s, Ted Kennedy and his family would frequent the Berkshires and spent time skiing at Brodie and Jiminy Peak.  At the time, Brian Fairbank was the CEO of Jiminy and invited Ted Kennedy to ski Upper Liftline with him, to which he accepted.  When Kennedy reached the bottom of the trail he turned to Mr. Fairbank as stated, “What are you trying to do, kill me?". The quote is a little spooky since Senator Kennedy’s nephew, Michael, was killed in a skiing accident in 1997 at Aspen.

Steepest Ski Trail in New Hampshire - Kinsman Glade, Cannon

Located off the tram at Cannon are two trails that are capable of making the preponderance of skiers and riders proclaim, “Damn, you would need to be absolutely Kray-Kray to attempt that nonsense!”.  The trails are DJ’s Tramline and Kinsman Glade. Many may go so far as to say the trails are as evil and twisted as the infamous twins, Reggie and Ronnie Kray, who were the origin for the slang term that uses the brothers surname.  While DJ’s Tramline is one of the most famous trails in Eastern North America and is often touted as the hardest run in the East, Kinsman Glade is no slouch and some may argue it is even harder than DJ’s. The glade is located to the left of DJ’s Tramline when looking up the mountain and shares many of the same steep pitches.  In fact, DJ’s sustained pitch is 32.28 degrees and Kinsman checks in at an incredible 35.22, making it the fifth steepest trail in Eastern North America and the steepest trail in New Hampshire. This pitch coupled with the spruces, firs, hemlocks, pines, ashes, elms, maples, oaks and a plethora of other trees native to New Hampshire that are interspersed over the 3471 feet of the trail is what really amps up the level of difficulty.   While DJ’s is known to have massive boulders on the trail, Kinsman is not as rocky. But, that is like saying Pam Anderson has small boobs when comparing them to Dolly Parton. Kinsman still has the ability to rip a core shot in through the base of your skis that will leave you viewing You Tube videos on how to apply p-tex. In fact, unlike its 2nd cousin, Paradise at Mad River Glen, Kinsman is rarely open because of the amount of snow cover, greater than two feet, needed to make the trail skiable. 

Kinsman starts off mellow for the first 700 feet, but after that the trail drops and maintains 30 degrees plus the next 2000 feet.  Kinsman lulls you into thinking you’ve got everything in control because the first 700 of the trail is nothing more than a blue square that rambles along at a less than impressive 14 degrees.  It is around the 700 feet mark that Kinsman becomes like the carnival ride, the Rotor. The floor drops out from underneath you, however like the carnival ride you won’t stick to the wall, in this ride, gravity takes over and there are no escape routes at this time, because the trees are too thick.  Plus, even if you did manage to traverse through the woods, your exit would be DJs Tramline! It maintains the pitch until about 2400 feet into the trail where it mellows to approximately at 22-degree pitch until the end.

The incredible thing about the trail is that it was first envisioned in 1946 when an individual by the name of Steve Bradley wrote a letter to the ski trail architect Sel Hannah, suggesting a “slalom glade” with trees forty to fifty feet apart by the tram.  However, his vision wasn’t recognized until 2002 when Kinsman officially appeared as a trail. To think of skiing Kinsman on wood slabs with a cable binding and lace up leather boots seems near suicidal, you really have to give it to the old timers and what they thought and many times were capable of doing on their equipment.