Which area has the most interesting glades?

skirick

I agree with powderstud, I’m at the age (60) where I don’t recover from an injury like I did when it was younger. I love glades but one wrong move or caught edge can ruin the rest of my season if not worse. It’s just not worth it anymore for me to ski tight glades.

joshua_segal

Unfortunately, once one gets older, we don’t heal as quickly. But it’s just as easy to catch an edge on a groomed trail as it is on a gladed one. And like anything else: There are intermediate glades - like Squeeze Play at Killington and there are killer glades like Julio’s and Anarchy. Like trails, one must be careful to choose glades that are consistent with one’s ability.

NJSki

By the 1990s, glades were back and by 2000, if your area didn’t have glades, you weren’t a “major area” any more. Part of the problem with skiing glades is that you have to go slower and take much more care in skiing them. In the era before super-grooming, no one would just get on a trail and go fast without a practice run or two to check out the surface. These days, with no warm up run, people take off down the trails like they are superhighways rather than dirt roads. One can usually get away with that on groomed runs. But if one enters glades with that attitude, that person is an accident waiting to happen.

.</blockquote>

Another big consideration that goes along with your timeline is the evolution of the ski itself. Shaped skis getting shorter have made the Glades easier to navigate. I can remember learning to ski the glades at MRG in the early 90s on my K2 Extremes, 207cm. Great ski for high speed cruising, but a bit long for the trees.

bmwskier

</blockquote>Another big consideration that goes along with your timeline is the evolution of the ski itself. Shaped skis getting shorter have made the Glades easier to navigate. I can remember learning to ski the glades at MRG in the early 90s on my K2 Extremes, 207cm. Great ski for high speed cruising, but a bit long for the trees. </blockquote>

My first run at Mad River was on Paradise– My friend, “Skiin’ Ian the European” took me there on a school reading day (it was December and it was mid winter conditions)and off we went. I was on a pair of 205 cm Pre 1200 SP’s at the time.

Another trip where I got hung up was when Bolton hadn’t officially designated “The Devil’s Playground” a trail yet and my 205 Harts also got caught up between trees.

JimK

“To keep the playing field a bit more level I mean gladed runs that are maintained as glades during the off-season, not off-piste runs a la MRG. ”

Can you guys tell me the difference between glades, tree skiing, and off-piste? I lump them all together. The only difference is that off-piste can include open bowls or above treeline chutes, but also trees or anywhere off a trail.

With that in mind, MRG is the gold standard for me in Eastern tree/glade skiing.

Cannonball

> @JimK said:
> "To keep the playing field a bit more level I mean gladed runs that are maintained as glades during the off-season, not off-piste runs a la MRG. "
>
> Can you guys tell me the difference between glades, tree skiing, and off-piste? I lump them all together. The only difference is that off-piste can include open bowls or above treeline chutes, but also trees or anywhere off a trail.
>
> With that in mind, MRG is the gold standard for me in Eastern tree/glade skiing.

I'll take a very cursory stab. Others can refine:

-. Glades = In-bounds, on map, with signage. Maintained. Usually wider spaced but with exceptions.

- Trees = In-bounds, unmarked, not on map, no signage.
I.e. not a sanctioned Glade. Can also apply to out-of-bounds tree runs. Not maintained by resort, but maybe maintained by locals. Therefore tighter and tougher than Glades.

- Off-piste = Literally away from the lift. Generally a synonym for side country. Could refer to back country also.

There is lots of grey area there. For example most of Cannon's upper mountain "glades" started as "trees". I.e. they were unsanctioned, hand cut, lines that weren't listed on the may but were in-bounds. They were very, very tight. Eventually Cannon usurped them, put them in the map, gave them signs, maintained them (???), And turned them into official "Glades". But honestly they still ski like "Trees" because of limited clearing/maintenance.

bobbutts

I never really considered that “Tree” and “Glade” runs are different things, but Cannonball’s distinction between them is useful. Personally I like glade/tree runs that are large enough to have many lines and have relatively widely spaced trees. The tight stuff out here is often intimidating to me, so I often end up survival skiing or boarding my way down it (or more often just not taking those runs).

riverc0il

<blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“skirick”>I agree with powderstud, I’m at the age (60) where I don’t recover from an injury like I did when it was younger. I love glades but one wrong move or caught edge can ruin the rest of my season if not worse.</blockquote> How is that different than skiing high speed on a groomer? one caught edge and you can slide into the trees at 30-50mph? Not sure about injury rates but it seems like most deaths usually occur due to high speed loss of control on groomers.

This is getting off topic a bit, lol.

riverc0il

I agree 100% with Cannonball’s distinctions between glades and trees. That is how I use the terms. Though I don’t usually use the term “off piste” which I think is a pretty silly term. I just call it off map trees, backside, traverse out, OB, etc.

JAM614

Black Mountain of Maine, approaching 30 glades zones, all accessed off from 1 lift. What makes them interesting? I think how we (Angry Beavers) are creating features and jump zones keep things fresh and new. Flowing but not overcut. Not so steep that they get scraped to rocks and stumps. We keep adding 4-5 new glades every year, and the creativy is improving, but don't take my word, as obviously I'm biased.

joshua_segal

<blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“JAM614”>Black Mountain of Maine, approaching 30 glades zones, all accessed off from 1 lift. What makes them interesting? I think how we (Angry Beavers) are creating features and jump zones keep things fresh and new. Flowing but not overcut. Not so steep that they get scraped to rocks and stumps. We keep adding 4-5 new glades every year, and the creativy is improving, but don’t take my word, as obviously I’m biased.</blockquote>

Only been there once but loved their glades!

TomWhite

Black Mt. Maine: I’ve skied all but one glade accessed from the chair. They are nice.

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