Smuggs - Upper F.I.S.

[urungus]

Is the unnamed double black section between Chilcoot and Catwalk circled below considered part of Upper F.I.S. ? (Did they ever have races that included this segment?) If you have only skied the portion below Catwalk can you honestly say you have skiied Upper F.I.S. ?

 

[KustyTheKlown]

Yes that is upper fis. Access from patrol shack or by hanging a hard left on the groomer well before catwalk

 

[Ol Dirty Noodle]

Yes that is upper fis. Access from patrol shack or by hanging a hard left on the groomer well before catwalk

Yea and it’s marked by a sign of I remember correctly

 

[raisingarizona]

How steep is that section? I remember thinking it was one of the steepest sections in the east but that was a long time ago.

 

[Ol Dirty Noodle]

How steep is that section? I remember thinking it was one of the steepest sections in the east but that was a long time ago.

It’s pretty steep but I think the one section on the upper lift line is pretty steep and has some big rocks/ cliffs

 

[KustyTheKlown]

its steep but not the steepest terrain at smuggs. nothing gets cliffed out etc.

 

[urungus]

From http://ski-degrees.synthasite.com/vermont.php

SMUGGLERS NOTCH
Freefall @ Smugglers Notch, VT: 578 vertical over 946 length = 31.42*.
314 vertical over 456 length = 34.55*.
190 vertical over 231 length = 39.44*.
Black Hole @ Smugglers Notch, VT: 620 vertical over 1062 length = 30.28*.
341 vertical over 491 length = 32.6*. The top half (before the traverse to Robin's Run)
182 vertical over 253 length = 35.73*.
279 vertical over 571 length = 26.04*. The bottom half (after the traverse to Robin's Run). These are the numbers besides the numbers above.
Upper Liftline @ Smugglers Notch, VT: 1461 vertical over 3668 (almost 7/10 of a mile!) = 21.72*.
237 vertical over 294 length = 38.87*.
Robin's Run @ Smugglers Notch, VT: 320 vertical over 712 length = 24.2*.
279 vertical over 530 length = 27.76*.

No data on Upper F.I.S.

 

[BenedictGomez]

No data on Upper F.I.S.

It's not crazy or anything, but it has to be somewhat steep. Last weekend there was nobody on it (should have been a sign) and I recall thinking, hmmm....time to sharpen my skis, which is an indicator for me.

 

[urungus]

Yes that is upper fis. Access from patrol shack or by hanging a hard left on the groomer well before catwalk

Is the patrol shack (red line) or Chilcoot (yellow line) entrance considered the “official” run? It’s surprising this section was part of officially sanctioned F.I.S. races considering the large number of trees in the blue circle.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

no idea. skied it from both. the red top top is very steep, the yellow/red is also steep but nothing crazy. the very top is quite short. the circled trees cause it to filter into 2-3 distinct chutes, which would be wholly inappropriate for racing

 

[djspookman]

Is the patrol shack (red line) or Chilcoot (yellow line) entrance considered the “official” run? It’s surprising this section was part of officially sanctioned F.I.S. races considering the large number of trees in the blue circle.

View attachment 24820

Those trees were not there back in the day... or even 25 years ago.

 

[raisingarizona]

Those trees were not there back in the day... or even 25 years ago.

Yup, the way I remember it was an open run littered with tiny saplings everywhere. The last time I skied there was 1993 I think though.

 

[kingslug]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8_y4GsYnko

 

[KustyTheKlown]

that's the yellow line. he meets the red at about 30 sec

 

[BenedictGomez]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8_y4GsYnko

I was there that day. AT.

 

[kingslug]

Tough run

 

[Edd]

Tough run

Looks cool.

 

[cdskier]

Looks cool.

Agreed