obienick
I’ve never skied Black. But to be completely honest their old trail map (especially the 80s blue map) never made any sense to me.
I cannot speak for any idiosyncrasies of the mountain, especially as some of the trails are quite narrow and don’t appear an aerial images.
But what I do know is there was well-reported blasting and widening on Maple Slalom and/or Speedwell. With the fixed pipes there, and the ability to get a cat on those trails, and the purchase of a winch cat, perhaps the thought is that they will ski more like blues than blacks. And then this became their primary route to open this year due to the less snow needed to open it … perhaps they wanted to open on a tough blue rather than an easy black.
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The #1 thing I hate about skiing is there is no consistency nationwide on rating schemes. And the easiest blue skies tremendously different than the hardest blue at a given area even if similar snow conditions exist. It’s a massive liability for a sport for a Level 3 skier to get onto a treacherous blue. I’m honestly astonished there’s been no standardization yet. But the amount of PR BS in this sport is why there’s been no standardization.
Even within areas there’s disparity! There are several greens at Okemo which are harder than some blues. T2 (black) at Sunday river is significantly easier than Rogue Angel or Excalibur (blue). Ridge Run and the top/bottom of Superstar are the same rating at Killington?!?!
Other sports with ratings deal just fine. Like there’s a worldwide distinction between Class 5 and 6 rapids. Rock climbing ratings are uniformly utilized. And golf has a worldwide standard for measuring the difficulty of courses from various tee boxes.
Absolutely no excuse for our sport to not create standards.
riverc0il
What would you propose to fix the rating system?
There would need to be at least a dozen ratings to make it universal across all areas. I think that would confuse people. Who is going to remember the differences between that many ratings? Also, are we rating for the hard part of the trail or overall, and how do you make that determination?
It would also put many areas at a disadvantage as some areas may be over-represented in certain categories. Guests SHOULD look at ratings objectively, but that is not how people work (oh, mostly green and blue, that sounds too easy... or... almost all blacks, I could never ski there!). Obviously, ski areas want a balanced number of trails to cater to all abilities, bell curve skewed slightly to the lower end. For a bump like Nashoba or Bradford, how would they account for the small differences between their pitches (small differences relative to larger mountains with more variety)?
I do not think nationwide objective ratings are a good idea. However, I do think that combo ratings are WAY underutilized. Green/Green, Green/Blue, Blue/Blue, and Blue/Black (we already have a Black/Black) could really go a long way in helping people identify difficulty level.
newpylong
A.S.kier
The old map wasn't great but this new one is worse. In addition to all the issues already mentioned the map is missing T2 glades, Carter Notch glades is poorly represented, Black and Blue is shown as a trail instead of as a glade, the top of Upper Jackson Standard is messed up, the trail labeled No Turning Back doesn't exist as far as I know, Big Dipper is shown in the wrong location, and Sun Valley and Maple Slalom don't start directly at the mid-station like the map shows.
newpylong
The map is terrible indeed regarding accuracy.
ILOVE2SKI
I like the “look” of the new map… but the closer you look the worse it gets haha
rickbolger
that snowmaking! holy crap! I didn't know dipper had snowmaking. that picture of jackson standard looks like science fiction. wow. I really hope this whole thing works out
the new map is plenty good btw. glad to see all of this happening.
newpylong
Yep, there are two main lines down the west side - Speedwell > Jubilee and Chute > Valley View > Dipper > Davis. We stacked them up good for sure. The only really meaningful one left to do is Goose, but I am not sure if it will happen budget wise since we did Upper Beauty for the first time in god knows how long instead. Bob-O-Link also not done but that's a little guy.
Jonni
obienick;c-67141 wroteI’ve never skied Black. But to be completely honest their old trail map (especially the 80s blue map) never made any sense to me.
I cannot speak for any idiosyncrasies of the mountain, especially as some of the trails are quite narrow and don’t appear an aerial images.
I'm in this boat with the old maps versus the new map. With the old maps it kinda feels like everything is squashed into a smaller horizontal footprint that doesn't represent the mountain well. The new map seems to match the actual footprint a little better in my mind:
podunk77
I used to ski Black a few times a year and for me it's always been the one place where my on-hill experience bore no resemblance whatsoever to what I saw before/after on their trail map. I don't mean that in a bad way -- I loved skiing there and didn't particularly care what trail I was on because they were all fun -- but I recall looking at their trail map the day after skiing and thinking "Oh, so that little narrow break in the trees off such-and-such a trail was actually another trail?" At the time I attributed it to poor signage and their having created too many similar-skiing trails adjacent to one another. Maybe it's a hallmark of "classic New England skiing".... less poring over a trail map and more going wherever your skis take you (not a bad thing!). I'm so glad to see their renewed energy during what I fully expected would be their NELSAP year.
A.S.kier
There's a new map on the trail report page of their website that has many of the issues resolved. T-2 glades and maple slalom chute are still missing but other than that it looks pretty good.
rickbolger
thanks for pointing that out...looks like they've really changed a few specifics there, Davis is back from the dead, and they eliminated Black Beauty for "Ascent." Well, yuck to that part.
NewEnglandSkier13
rickbolger;c-67456 wrotethanks for pointing that out...looks like they've really changed a few specifics there, Davis is back from the dead, and they eliminated Black Beauty for "Ascent." Well, yuck to that part.
Are they really closing an entire ski trail for uphill access or is the map just not portraying it well?
millerm277
rickbolger;c-67456 wrotethanks for pointing that out...looks like they've really changed a few specifics there, Davis is back from the dead, and they eliminated Black Beauty for "Ascent." Well, yuck to that part.
It's still on the trail report, so perhaps an error in the map?
skelley19
Looks like Black Beauty is dual use and still open for downhill according to the
uphill policy
UPHILL ROUTE: Lower Black Beauty to Juniper to East Bowl to access the Alpine Cabin.
For the summit please use Upper Black Beauty. Please follow the Lime Green markers. This is the same route you will descend outside of our General Operating Hours.
Uphill travel is only permitted on designated routes, check info sign in parking lot for any updates.
Please travel single file, on the EDGE of the Lookers Right side of the trail as you ascend.
newpylong
Yes it's obviously not closed to downhill, we spent a lot of time making snow on it.
