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.