# Your Favorite Glade/Tree Runs



## abc (Oct 23, 2019)

This is an off-shoot of the other thread ("hardest glade"). 



bdfreetuna said:


> There's a reason Angel Food is highly regarded even if not especially difficult. There are certainly a lot of "glades" that ski more like bobsled runs (top 1/2 of 19th Hole qualifies as such).
> 
> We could do another post on "Favorite Glade/Tree runs" and perhaps the answers would be somewhat different instead of just trying to think of the hardest ones to properly ski.
> 
> In that case I'd mention Valhalla and Timbuktu at Jay instead of the chutes.





raisingarizona said:


> Some of the stuff mentioned in here for being difficult kind of sound like they suck. I prefer flow for skiing trees, not that weird two turns to close out to traverse to whatever. I guess that stuff is “hard” but is it really fun?


I'm sure what's "flow-able" is skill and experience dependent. Expert skiers who ski steep tight trees a lot will be able to flow in much steeper/tighter trees than I could. So, what's fun for some of you may not be fun for myself. 

Also, if it's your home mountain, you may have memorized those "2 turns to close out to traverse" so it become automatic you don't think about it any more. All you're after is the flowy woods the rest of the way. 

And there's also the exclusivity factor. Tight, steep glades get skied by fewer skiers therefore the snow stays in better shape longer. So there's a legit motivation to embrace the challenge of steep tight trees. Provided it still got plenty of different lines to spread out the traffic so it doesn't turn into luge runs. 

So, it's a balance, on how steep and tight a glade is to be fun. And that "fun" point is different for different people.

I for one, very much appreciate the help of all of you who frequent the woods to point me to the right patches (and sometimes it's the specific lines that makes a huge difference in flowy-ness). I'm a ski nomad and don't have a home mountain that I know all the ins and outs. I'm slowly picking up on the good FUN woods with the help of you all. This to me, is the best part of this forum. 

So go ahead, name your favorite FUN, FLOW-Y glades!


----------



## spiderpig (Oct 23, 2019)

Test Pilot at Stratton and Timbuktu at Jay. I go for the long ones with enough space to see about ten turns ahead. I took West Pilot (on the other side, easier glade) at Stratton for the first time last year, and that is pretty nice, except it gets too flat.


----------



## skifree (Oct 23, 2019)

followed a couple snow covered ski patrollers at Waterville(I know you guys hate this place) and found awesome untracked in some special spots. those are the runs I think about often. nice spaced trees and no luge tracks.


----------



## slatham (Oct 23, 2019)

Magic - too many to list (and some I can't reveal)! Full gamut depending up conditions and mood. 

As far as a "gladed" trail, hard to beat Goniff!


----------



## bdfreetuna (Oct 23, 2019)

Casablanca (pick a number) at Saddleback

The woods next to Olympic at Mt Snow are a real gem as well

Valhalla, Kitz and North Glade at Jay

Bracket Basin @ Sugarloaf

Stratton I would say West Pilot Glades has the best flow/longest

Abenaki / Boreas / Bark Eater on Burnt Ridge at Gore (they would all make the cut for flow and duration)

Stowe whatever the woods to skiers left below the big turn on Nosedive are called, Angel Food too

Cobrass Woods at Bolton

Smuggs: Bermuda and Shakedown

Bretton Woods some of the stuff off the T-bar (or on the traverse over to it) is real nice like this too

Killington my picks would be Patsy's / Throne / Scarecrow or frankly Anarchy/Julio/Jaunita too

Most glades at Pico


----------



## Not Sure (Oct 23, 2019)

Plattekill .... pretty much anywhere


----------



## KustyTheKlown (Oct 23, 2019)

smuggs - in general, on map and off. 

stowe - chin clip woods, angel food, big tits, beyond bypass, the unnamed (? - theres a homemade sign in there, in french, i forget what it says tho) and technically closed microblast zone next to goat

magic - woods skier's right of upper red line, the wardrobe, seance>white tiger>dissapearing act

mount ellen - exterminator woods

k - julio/juanita/anarchy

tons more. tree skiing is what makes eastern skiing interesting.


----------



## Edd (Oct 23, 2019)

Roz at Bretton Woods is quite the glade trail. Long, not steep, very fun. Also, the sign for it is in the middle of another glade (Rosebrook Glades) and very easy to miss so it doesn’t get skied a lot. 


Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone


----------



## drjeff (Oct 23, 2019)

The trials on the Northface of Mount Snow

Low Rider off of Snowdon at Killington


----------



## bdfreetuna (Oct 23, 2019)

Angel Food @ Stowe


----------



## bdfreetuna (Oct 23, 2019)

Edd said:


> Roz at Bretton Woods is quite the glade trail.



U mean dis?



then on the other side of the ski area there's stuff like this, with steep parts dropping off both sides... a bit of a playground in there


----------



## MG Skier (Oct 23, 2019)

I agree on Magic, but I don't know the "secret ones" yet! 
Still working on skiing the glades better. 

I am partial to Glades at Jay, as I learned to ski them there under the close watch of some ski friends. It took me awhile to have the confidence to ski in between the white birch trees in the Expo Glade, lookers Left of the FREEZER at Jay.

How about anything untracked for the win?


----------



## WWF-VT (Oct 23, 2019)

Semi Tough Woods at Mt Ellen is low angle with a lot of options to pick a path down with not a lot of traffic


----------



## Edd (Oct 23, 2019)

bdfreetuna said:


> U mean dis?
> 
> View attachment 25473
> 
> ...



Not positive, but your first pic might be Rosebrook. Roz is mostly a narrow trail. I could be remembering that wrong.


----------



## Harvey (Oct 23, 2019)

I'm a fan of OZ at Plattekill and Burnt Ridge at Gore for flow state.


----------



## cdskier (Oct 23, 2019)

WWF-VT said:


> Semi Tough Woods at Mt Ellen is low angle with a lot of options to pick a path down with not a lot of traffic



I'll second that one. I've also been enjoying the woods between Looking Good and Upper Rim Run at Mt Ellen lately.


----------



## tumbler (Oct 23, 2019)

WWF-VT said:


> Semi Tough Woods at Mt Ellen is low angle with a lot of options to pick a path down with not a lot of traffic



Ones of my favs for a long time, even before it was put on the map.


----------



## machski (Oct 23, 2019)

For flowy glades at SR, Last Tango, Yetiville, Celestial Wizards Gulch and Blind Ambition (single diamond version off Lolla) are super flowy and fun, Tango/Celestial/Wizards have more pitch than the other two.

Loon has Walking Boss Woods that are very flowy with pitch and the two lower glades near seven Brother's are flowy as well with much less pitch though I'm not sure if they were bermed up or not from the new bike park.

Sugarbush's mentions all great.

Killington I'd add The Stairs and Growler to the list of flowy.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using AlpineZone mobile app


----------



## Tonyr (Oct 23, 2019)

My favorite marked glade is Valhalla at Jay followed closely by Julio at Killington. I love Jay Peak I just wish it wasn't so far away!

Sent from my SM-T820 using AlpineZone mobile app


----------



## Harvey (Oct 23, 2019)

Tonyr said:


> My favorite marked glade is Valhalla at Jay followed closely by Julio at Killington. I love Jay Peak I just wish it wasn't so far away!



It wouldn't be as good if it was closer.


----------



## BenedictGomez (Oct 23, 2019)

I'm assuming this is an on-map thread:

*Gore* -  Chatiemac, Chatterbox, Twister

*Jay Peak* - Andre's Paradise, B.P.G., Bushwacker (dont laugh, it makes me feel good about myself), Canyonland, Kitz Woods

*Smuggs* - Bermuda, Docs, Shakedown


----------



## crank (Oct 23, 2019)

M favorites:

Everglade at Jay and also everything out of bounds to skiers right of Timbuktu up to and including the Dip.

Goat woods at Stowe.

Chattiemac at GORE


----------



## bdfreetuna (Oct 24, 2019)

crank said:


> Everglade at Jay and also everything out of bounds to skiers right of Timbuktu up to and including the Dip.



You got me curious with the Dip there. Looks pretty nice but as I suspected they were heading toward the road and end up there. The video ends at a parking lot which looks vaguely familiar but I haven't skied off the back of Jay -- so do you have to hitch a ride from there or can you ski the side of the road all the way back to Stateside?


----------



## Smellytele (Oct 24, 2019)

bdfreetuna said:


> You got me curious with the Dip there. Looks pretty nice but as I suspected they were heading toward the road and end up there. The video ends at a parking lot which looks vaguely familiar but I haven't skied off the back of Jay -- so do you have to hitch a ride from there or can you ski the side of the road all the way back to Stateside?



Need to hitch a ride or at least I had to whenever I did it. Well had a hung over buddy who didn’t ski that day pick us up


Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone


----------



## crank (Oct 24, 2019)

bdfreetuna said:


> You got me curious with the Dip there. Looks pretty nice but as I suspected they were heading toward the road and end up there. The video ends at a parking lot which looks vaguely familiar but I haven't skied off the back of Jay -- so do you have to hitch a ride from there or can you ski the side of the road all the way back to Stateside?




You can ski all the way out to where the Dip drops off to the road and still make it back to the Jet chair.  It's about a half mile back to the area if you ski out to the road. That last face down to 242 is a great pitch. You can ski, well really walk back with your skis on, along the side of the road.  We have always been picked up by passing locals so have never walked more than halfway back without getting a ride.


----------



## deadheadskier (Oct 24, 2019)

Accidentally ended up at the road with a fellow Azer 4-5 years ago.  Within about 5 minutes of walking someone in a pickup truck picked us up.  Great skiing out there 

Sent from my XT1635-01 using AlpineZone mobile app


----------



## KustyTheKlown (Oct 24, 2019)

the dip drops you onto 242. if you ever stay in montgomery and approach from that side, you'll see the tracks and where the people traverse the road back towards stateside base.


----------



## bdfreetuna (Oct 24, 2019)

KustyTheKlown said:


> the dip drops you onto 242. if you ever stay in montgomery and approach from that side, you'll see the tracks and where the people traverse the road back towards stateside base.



Seen that on the way up to Big Jay Tavern and back. So does The Dip dump you out on the same spot on the road as Big Jay? Always just assumed those were Big Jay skiers in that spot.


----------



## BenedictGomez (Oct 24, 2019)

bdfreetuna said:


> do you have to hitch a ride from there or can you ski the side of the road all the way back to Stateside?



What a lot of folks will do is drive together & take 2 cars.  You ditch one car in one of the roadside "lots", then continue on to Jay.  You both ski down to the road for last run, get in the "ditched" car, then drive to the car parked at Jay Peak.


----------



## KustyTheKlown (Oct 24, 2019)

bdfreetuna said:


> Seen that on the way up to Big Jay Tavern and back. So does The Dip dump you out on the same spot on the road as Big Jay? Always just assumed those were Big Jay skiers in that spot.



i've only skied the dip, not big jay, but my understanding is that they dump out to the same/similar points along 242


----------



## crank (Oct 24, 2019)

KustyTheKlown said:


> i've only skied the dip, not big jay, but my understanding is that they dump out to the same/similar points along 242




Big Jay parking cutout along 242 is a couple of miles further down the road towards Montgomery Center near the Alpine Haven condos.

Completely different thing and you are skating on logging roads for about a mile to get out of the woods and onto the road.  I've only skied Big Jay a couple of times and both times we had enough cars to leave one at the parking area to get back to the resort.  You could hitch, but kind of far to walk. 

Between the skin to get from Jay to top of Big Jay and the hike/skate out... leave yourself a couple of hours.  Well I am a slow hiker. lol.  The thing about Big jay is the snow can really load up on the face.  First time I did it was in a storm and there was 2' of fresh in the resort and about twice as much up near the top of Big Jay's face.  Trees are big conifers pretty tightly spaced and it is kind of steep.  Once it opens up it is still good but you don't have long before you need to catch a traverse to your right that takes you to the logging rads I mentioned.  Missing that will have consequences - slogging through deep, untracked snow for who knows how long to get to 242.

Was it worth it to leave the resort with 2' of fresh, plenty of untracked and free refills... probably not, but, it was a fun adventure.


BTW, if you stay at Alpine Haven you could ski home off of Big Jay.


----------



## Cat in January (Oct 24, 2019)

Call me a homer, but the East Bowl at Black Mountain of Maine drops an honest 1,000+ of uninterrupted hardwood forest with 5 distinct glades: Beaver, Royal (new), Roach, Wild, East Branch with new headwaters top zone and twitch exit on the bottom.  Cliff dropping expert to intermediate.  I stay off most of the big drops, but there is a new one this year that looks tasty


----------



## KustyTheKlown (Oct 24, 2019)

crank said:


> Big Jay parking cutout along 242 is a couple of miles further down the road towards Montgomery Center near the Alpine Haven condos.
> 
> Completely different thing and you are skating on logging roads for about a mile to get out of the woods and onto the road.  I've only skied Big Jay a couple of times and both times we had enough cars to leave one at the parking area to get back to the resort.  You could hitch, but kind of far to walk.
> 
> ...



interesting, thanks for that.


----------



## Zand (Oct 24, 2019)

I could go on and on forever in this thread...

Obviously as far as reliable conditions in the woods go, you can't beat Jay. Favorites there are Everglade, Staircase, Vertigo, and Jet Woods. Some other good ones mentioned here but IMO they get a little too much traffic compared to the ones I mentioned. Burke took a couple of ny favorites and neutered them (Scooby Doo and Rerun) but the ones into East Bowl and Jungle are still terrific.

Smuggs...Shakedown is a great on map glade. Doc Dempseys was in rough shape last time I was there. Off map is the place to go there. Stowe, I have barely ever skied off map there, but Goat Woods, S-53, and other stuff in that area is terrific.

MRG has such good trail skiing that I've never really gone off map there. Sugarbush I'm not all that familiar with the woods on North, but on South I honestly love a lot of the stuff off Valley House with Steins Woods being my favorite.

Killington's glades are incredibly underrated. Julio and Anarchy are among my all time favorites, but the Throne on a warm spring day is always terrific as well. Okemo and Stratton are surprisingly good with glades...everyone says Test Pilot at Stratton but I love the glades off Ursa. Okemos has good ones on South Ridge and the ones on Jackson Gore are nice and long.

The Trials at Mt Snow are where I fell in love with glade skiing. For southern VT, the expansiveness is unmatched and they hold snow very well.

Cannon has Kinsman, enough said. (Actually the ones off the summit are fantastic as well). Loon has some good ones off East Basin plus the one on South.

Sunday River has great ones on White Cap and some other nice long ones elsewhere, plus fun liftline cuts which I enjoy almost as much. Sugarloaf has Kick Back, Dropline, Branding Ax. Still haven't skied Brackett.

Gores glades are worth a ride even if you don't live close. As is Plattekill.

But these were all ruined (just kidding!) once I spent a day in Eagle Wind at Winter Park. A whole new world.


----------



## KustyTheKlown (Oct 24, 2019)

eagle wind is cool but i want it to be twice as long/vertical, and not spit you onto that annoying ass run out. 

best way to ski that stuff is from the summit chair, hang a left on belle fourche, gets you to eagle wind with more vert

i think i actually prefer the challenger/super gauge part of MJ for long and consistently pitched tree skiing at WP


----------



## Zand (Oct 24, 2019)

KustyTheKlown said:


> eagle wind is cool but i want it to be twice as long/vertical, and not spit you onto that annoying ass run out.
> 
> best way to ski that stuff is from the summit chair, hang a left on belle fourche, gets you to eagle wind with more vert
> 
> i think i actually prefer the challenger/super gauge part of MJ for long and consistently pitched tree skiing at WP



If you ski Left Hand and that stuff I agree. I kept getting off the lift, going down the traverse for a second, then hopping through the first gate in the fence and back towards the lift. The fence runs down the liftline for quite a ways, so no one skis that area on the other side of it. Plus you get the full,vertical of the lift and no traverse at the bottom.


----------



## bdfreetuna (Oct 24, 2019)

+1 for Jackson Gore glades. Went there last season with my wife on a Ski Vermont pass and we were pleasantly surprised with the terrain, flow, and length as such. Almost but not quite on the level of Gore's Burnt Ridge terrain. Close contest with Stratton but I'd give Okemo the edge just for that pod. I was ready to just keep lapping those woods at 2:00PM but her legs were burnt.

I did notice that Scooby Doo at Burke seemed "easier" somehow last season compared to my experiences previously.


----------



## KustyTheKlown (Oct 24, 2019)

I skied okemo two seasons ago after that absolutley massive late March 18”+ dump. Was with a group in a house and couldn’t sell the crew on driving to and paying for magic. Those Jackson gore glades, and the south ridge, served up some fun skiing at an otherwise very boring lountain


----------



## kingslug (Oct 24, 2019)

We seem to end up in the same places.. I was there for that..got stuck overnight after bailing on Stowe and woke up to some good stuff. The top was windblasted ice but that didn't matter.


----------



## Zand (Oct 24, 2019)

bdfreetuna said:


> I did notice that Scooby Doo at Burke seemed "easier" somehow last season compared to my experiences previously.



This may sound like "Old Man Yells at Cloud" but the new HSQ kind of made Burke weird to ski. It would've been much better if they put it in the place of the Willoughby Quad. Rerun was my favorite glade on the mountain (probably because it was lappable via the Poma) and while I love liftline trails, they didn't really do much to clean that one up and it's rarely skiable. That same season they put Scooby Doo on the map, and that plus Doug's Drop being much easier to get to from the new Liftline trail (and the thinning out of Scooby Doo they did that year) made it not nearly as good (and it was also lappable from the Poma). Not to mention some of the other things they put on the map that year (Lower Powerline, J-Bar [or Wayne's World apparently], and Hibernator) should have never been put on without a LOT of work. Also putting Upper Powerline on the map led to more people in those woods as well.

It is what it is I guess. I just miss the old Burke and clearly all the changes did nothing to bring in revenue.


----------



## JimG. (Oct 24, 2019)

kingslug said:


> We seem to end up in the same places.. I was there for that..got stuck overnight after bailing on Stowe and woke up to some good stuff. The top was windblasted ice but that didn't matter.



I had a good experience at Okemo last season as well. South Face area was very good after a late week snowfall. Plenty of untracked snow in trees right under the lift. The on map glades were fun also. And kudos for putting a tavern right in the parking lot.


----------



## LONGBOARDR (Oct 24, 2019)

KustyTheKlown said:


> interesting, thanks for that.



Crank is essentially correct.
If you want to do Big Jay get David Goodmans book on east coast BC skiing. it has a chapter on BJ.
Be prepared if you go and buddy up. 2 years ago a kid at the resort crashed and snapped a femur out there. not pretty and it took patrol a while to get out there. 
Your on your own with the dip


----------



## Edd (Oct 25, 2019)

JimG. said:


> I had a good experience at Okemo last season as well. South Face area was very good after a late week snowfall. Plenty of untracked snow in trees right under the lift. The on map glades were fun also. And kudos for putting a tavern right in the parking lot.



Don’t know Okemo well but just looked at a map. Is that tavern called The Ice House?


----------



## gladerider (Oct 25, 2019)

Zand said:


> I could go on and on forever in this thread...
> 
> Obviously as far as reliable conditions in the woods go, you can't beat Jay. Favorites there are Everglade, Staircase, Vertigo, and Jet Woods. Some other good ones mentioned here but IMO they get a little too much traffic compared to the ones I mentioned. Burke took a couple of ny favorites and neutered them (Scooby Doo and Rerun) but the ones into East Bowl and Jungle are still terrific.
> 
> ...



this.
agree on all points except the bottom 3. have not been there.


----------



## skifree (Oct 25, 2019)

Edd said:


> Don’t know Okemo well but just looked at a map. Is that tavern called The Ice House?



Tom's Loft
Very good


----------



## jimk (Oct 25, 2019)

Lets see if I have photos from some my favorites.  Can you guys see these?

Casablanca Glades at Saddleback, ME






Flying Monkey Glade at Sunday River, ME





Cloudsplitter Glade at Whiteface, NY





Mineshaft Glade at Blue Knob, PA





Paradise at Mad River Glen, VT


----------



## bdfreetuna (Oct 26, 2019)

pics working

The top part of Casablanca 3 & 4 is straight out of another world -- not quite above tree line but due to the exposure it basically is for a while. I put it first on my list without a second thought. (RIP)


----------



## jimk (Oct 26, 2019)

Here's a few more:
Exterminator Glades at Mt. Ellen





Needles Eye at Breckenridge





Castor Glade at Taos





Brackett Basin at Sugarloaf





Castle Creek at Sierra at Tahoe





Bear Paw Glades at Aspen Mtn


----------



## NYDB (Oct 26, 2019)

Anyone that's been to Big Sky........favourite tree skiing area?

Sent from my SM-G973U using AlpineZone mobile app


----------



## jimk (Oct 26, 2019)

I spent three days at Big Sky last Feb 2019 in near white0ut conditions.  Great snow, but hard to remember what the heck I skied.  Summit tram was closed almost all the time I was there and I never got up it.:x  These glade shots are from Shedhorn chair IIRC.








This one is from Southern Comfort chair where the glades are easier and also very fun


----------



## abc (Oct 26, 2019)

Shedhorn and Dakota are it! (Glades)

Also on the Moonlight basin side, there’re lots and lots of glades too. (though according to a certain poster, Moonlight basin is a “waste of time”. So if you skied it, don’t post it here...)


----------



## teleo (Oct 26, 2019)

Bavarian forest


----------



## machski (Oct 26, 2019)

Don't miss out on Andersite as well.  Snake Pit is great as are the trees either side of War Dance.  Also, these lifts tend to keep turning when the rest of Lone Peak shuts down due to wind.  Some more classic feeling black trails off Lone Moose chair tend to stay less touched for days.  Some tight non mapped trees off that chair too.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using AlpineZone mobile app


----------



## chuckstah (Oct 26, 2019)

Dark Star at my local hill (Crotched) is certainly a favorite, when it's filled in. Southern NH is not always kind, but when it is it's a load of fun!View attachment 25487

Sent from my moto e5 cruise using AlpineZone mobile app


----------



## spiderpig (Oct 26, 2019)

Edd said:


> Don’t know Okemo well but just looked at a map. Is that tavern called The Ice House?



It's just a place to ice skate.


----------



## NYDB (Oct 27, 2019)

Thanks for Big Sky info.  Pretty much what I suspected based on map and reading a trip report or 2.  

Here's a few pics from 1 of many off map at Magic.  

I love the mellow glade/tree action at Magic.  

Love the steeper stuff too.  



Sent from my SM-G973U using AlpineZone mobile app


----------



## Rushski (Oct 29, 2019)

Nothing to see at Ragged, just drive by to other places...

Seriously they have a high ratio of glade acreage to mountain size.  Big snow transforms that place into a great day.

No particular glade trail in general, most are really good.


----------



## Smellytele (Oct 29, 2019)

Rushski said:


> Nothing to see at Ragged, just drive by to other places...
> 
> Seriously they have a high ratio of glade acreage to mountain size.  Big snow transforms that place into a great day.
> 
> No particular glade trail in general, most are really good.



Unfortunately they need the big snow which rarely happens 


Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone


----------



## jimmywilson69 (Oct 29, 2019)

My favorite is any tree run with soft fresh snow!


----------



## parahelia (Oct 29, 2019)

Pipecleaner (or whatever they renamed it to a few years back) at Sugarloaf will  be my favorite for all time.  

We’re regulars at SR now and rarely make the longer drive to the loaf, but Pipe holds a special place for me.  Not steep (off west side of Timberline chair), but whoever thinned those trees knew EXACTLY what they were doing.  I get into a great flow, time after time.  Other tree runs may be gnarlier, but in Pipe I’m in the zone the whole way down, no pauses.  Love the other woods runs there, too, but this one is special to me.

Have to get back there this season when the woods are in.  And this time, the kids are old enough to join in...









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## ceo (Oct 30, 2019)

Looking at the map, is that now Dropline Glade? I'll be up there in February, will have to check it out.


----------



## Not Sure (Oct 30, 2019)

ceo said:


> Looking at the map, is that now Dropline Glade? I'll be up there in February, will have to check it out.








Dropline  entrance is small and it gets dense if you stray . Fun low angle with some big troughs .


----------



## Harvey (Oct 30, 2019)

jimk said:


> Cloudsplitter Glade at Whiteface, NY
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Great photos.


----------

