Steepest Inbound Skiing--- East Coast

first_rodeo

first_rodeo

Active member
Wondering what are some of the steepest and most challenging runs to ski in the east

Inbound Skiing, not like Tuckerman's Huntington

Ive never been to MRG, people seem to hype that up

pictures / mountainporn please
 
Face chutes at Jay can get pretty hectic.

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Does inbounds mean lift served to you?

Cause if you are just sticking to marked glades you are missing a lot.

I'll just throw in Spruce Cliffs at SR, it was inbounds like 10 years ago and still is fun if you catch in with good snow.

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this is what it will look like most of the time though, you'll be lucky if you don't leave some P-tex behind...

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Mt. Snow always claims that Ripcord is the steepest sustained pitch in the east, but i haven't skied everywhere so I can't confirm that.
 
Personally attest to this. Anything off the ridge at jay is your steepest bet in New England.

Also the Smuggs liftline headwall is nuts. Definitely one of the steepest things i've skied.
 
I have had the privilege to ski both of these areas at very different times of the year.

I hit the ridges at Jay on the warmest day of skiing I've ever witnessed. Me and my friends stopped like halfway down one run, lugged our gear into the woods, found a cliff overlooking the whole mountain, and ate our lunches there cause it was so nice out.

The ridge at Jay can be super sketchy but also super fun. It's steep but nothing most good skiers couldn't handle. What makes it sketchy is the trees, rocks, dirt, etc. Had it been a wide open run, I would've made maybe 3 turns the whole way down, but the natural obstacles made each run through last about 20 minutes.

The liftline headwall at Smuggs is incredible. I got lucky enough to hit in on the biggest pow day two seasons ago (a friend and I drove up the night of the storm for a one day trip). One of the best pow runs of my entire life, I was skiing Armada El Reys in 2+ feet of powder without an issue.... that's how steep it was.
 
The west coast haterade is lame. We all ski, we're just in different terrain.

I think I speak for most east coast transplants in saying that growing up skiing the tight trees, super variable snow, and lapping runs over and over and over has made us some pretty damn strong skiiers.

But back to the real thread topic... most bigger east coast mountains have some steep stuff. Arguing about that is a tough spot. I would say that Sugarloaf has some of the consistently toughest terrain to ride. Other mountains have glory runs, but Sugarloaf, if you know where to look offers up some of the best and most challenging terrain on the east. MRG is a close runner up though.
 
Of course we can.

We have underground buds and silly (low "relatively") eleveation)) East coast can always compete.... We shred anything, any day.

"Because when you ski the worst, the best comes easy."
 
I'm a strong proponent of MRG just cause the whole mountain is gnarly, in and out of bounds. If you're willing to take a short hike to the right off the single chair (there's a path by the ski patrol hut) you will find the real gnar. Craziest shit I've skied, east or west.
 
I live in Utah brudda. Let me tell you, riding pow and cliffs out here is gnarly, no doubt. But riding trees in the east is way crazier. I would never go so far as to say it's better at MRG or Killington, just sketchier and gnarlier.
 
Fair enough. I just don't see why people would say skiing tree runs in the east makes you gnarlier or better than someone skiing narrow 55 degree chutes out west, or dropping large cliffs or pillows.
 
lol don't lie to yourself man. You come to the EC and try to ski and you'll get made an example of.. by the terrain, not us
 
there are 55 degree narrow chutes on the east coast, they just have trees in the middle of them and are usually icy. that's why east coasters are better skiers. when i ski out west i always feel like i'm cheating because it's so fucking easy. dropping large cliffs and pillow lines doesn't have anything to do with your technical ability to ski. you just need to sack up and send it. skiing through terrain which dictates where and when you need to turn is what makes you a better skier because you're playing by the mountains' rules, not your own.
 


I've grown up skiing the east and I'd feel comfortable on just about any marked trail out west. Like someone said above I've been down narrow 55 degree chutes on the east coast so I'm more than confident that I could handle them on the west coast. I'd also feel completely confident on any groomed run in the west.

On the contrary, I'm not sure all skiers from out west would feel comfortable on groomers out east simply because of the quality of snow and the conditions. Not saying west skiers couldn't handle the runs, I just don't think they would feel 100% confident.

HOWEVER, I would not feel confident at all sending cliffs into powder and skiing chutes off map in deep snow, nor would I feel super confident in tree runs out west skiing through deep powder, because I don't know safety procedures, do's and don'ts, etc....
 
We do have icy days too. And just because it gets icy doesn't mean we stop hitting chutes and cliffs. Fuck we went almost a month without any new snow. Every cliff we dropped and every chute we skied was icy and hard packed. Land there are chutes in the treeline and lower here with trees in them.
 
Says the guy who probably doesn't even go skiing unless there's 8"+ of fresh haha ;)

it's just a whole other level of willingness to ski shit we probably shouldn't, and not in the context of "OMG there's so much snow here it could kill us" but more int he sense of "OMG there's just enough snow clinging to this face for me to squeak out a few turns without catching on the rocks, watch this". It's just a whole different mentality and I would never hate on people who ski in the west as that's just ignorant and I love the west but it certainly does require a different skill set and mentality when it comes to line assesment haha

I don't think it's necessarily "better" but it absolutely is a different style of terrain and skiing for sure. I hate the East vs. West threads though, they really are the dumbest. We all have tons of reasons to be stoked to ski where we do.

As for the steepest, well this site has them listed, except for Magic and Pico, the former of which has a ridiculous amount of steep runs and gets little love from the masses, which is actually really nice haha

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

 
I grew up with family vacations to Smuggs and that headwall will always be the steepest thing on earth in my mind, haha. i was proud as fuck when i finally skied it.

as for the east and west debate, i agree that the west is the best but the east breeds a gnarlier and more dedicated kind of skier. ive spent seasons on both coasts and for what its worth ive gone way bigger on pow days out west but only ever gotten hurt badly in the east (3 times) hucking into marginal snow or tight trees.
 
haha there's no way, it's a ridiculously short run albeit has a solid pitch, i've legit made it down in seconds when it's bumped out. you could probably 2 or 3 turn it on a pow day. definitely steep, just not the steepest. ripcord woods though, that's a fucking challenge
 
I know man, I was just making the classic "cherry picker" crack. A guy with a name like Pancake_Fucker obviously has his shit together.
 
I can confirm that Mt.Snow is the weakest example of steep skiing in the East. Water doesn't even roll off it. Ripcord should be renamed tampon string.
 
When I think of steep, I think of "no fall" zones. This means you fall, you either die or get very injured because it is so steep you can't self arrest.

Not a lot of them in New England.

That being said, I have skid most of the stuff listed in this thread. All east coast steeps are fun, when conditions permit.

Also, you can only go so steep, east or west, when you get to the point where snow does not stick. This is usually high 50 degrees.
 
Just making it clear haha. And I won't deny that east coast has to deal with some pretty shitty snow, but what I'm saying is in the west we do have good snow a lot more often, but when you are on a steep chute, having powder doesn't necessarily always help you. On steep pitches sluff becomes a major problem and I've had it happen to me and seen it happen many times. You make a mistake in negotiating a line and your sluff hits you from behind, there is a very good chance you're going down that chute ass over tea kettle.
 
if you're looking for some steep icy groomed terrain you should check out ptarmigan at attitash. theres a few other runs that are decently steep as well. avengers got a super fun fall line and tight rope isnt as steep but its much less wide and usually extra icy
 
I'm sure some of you have ridden the back bowl at smuggs right? If you have then you can also attest to it being some of the most challenging skiing on the EC, it's not necessarily steep throughout, but the sheer ice coating and tightly packed trees make it an absolute bitch. You'll get into a nice open area that's relatively smooth, blast through it, then have to stop on a dime and ride through 100ft of trees 2ft apart.
 
SPRUCE CLIFFS!! used to love that run when i was fortunate enough to have snow there in march...
 
Bluebird day nowhere better to eat your lunch. there's definitely more than a few unskiable places off that ridge, but most of it is a shit ton of fun. just go hard in the paint and slay it.

i hooked a stump and unfortunately took a bad tumble down backward. scariest moment of my life. but i lived.

steep skiing on the east is mini golf, in small places. fuck black hole at smuggs if it's deep maybe it's skiable, but i skied it at a point where i couldnt ski at a point, it was so sketchy with logs and shit blocking the way. waste of time. steep pow filled woods are where its at (off to the right at mrg as said) but the black hole at smuggs is a marketing gimmick which kinda sucks. nowhere near as fun as the rest of their terrain.
 
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