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Novaloafah

Should've paid attention to that lesson.
Skier
Joined
Sep 6, 2017
Posts
238
Location
Halifax NS Canada
When I've been in the area I try to ski Mt Abram and love the old double chair and the Rocky/Bullwinkle named trails. The skiing is a lot of fun and the locals are pretty friendly at least when I've been there. I mean come on... a lift called the way back machine...
 

wyowindrunner

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Aug 26, 2016
Posts
430
If you want the dirtbaggiest ski area in the area, though, that would probably be Beartooth Basin. Opening schedule is roughly Memorial Day through July 4 (subject to the road being open), there is no plumbing, and the F&B operation is selling prepackaged stuff out of an old little league concession truck (which doubles as the ticket sales office). No chairlfits (two pomas) but a very, very cool place.
Didn't include BB on my list but you nailed it! They closed a little early last year. Drove over on the 4th. They had a racer camp going but the top to bottom poma wasn't running, just the lower. Said I was welcome to ski but I wasn't gonna hike my old butt back up. When the pass opens on Memeorial day weekend it is packed with folks hiking up-hitching rides and skiing down different spots. Two instructors at Red Lodge Mountain, Mark Edwards and Ray Masters, published a book- "Skiing Red Lodge: Dead Mans Curve to Grizzly Peak", about eight or nine years back. Covers the history of the area. Several defunct ski areas around Red Lodge. The book details the creation and developement of Red Lodge International Summer Ski Racing Camp, among others. Initial instructors were Anderl Molterer, Pepi Granshammer, and Eric Sailer. Coupleof these guys ended up owning the place. Billy Kidd guest coached there. The place has changed hands a few times. They have a "Power Hour or Hour of Power" forget which, but it is about all I can handle anymore.
 

skinavy

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Nov 24, 2015
Posts
45
To expand the geography a bit,
Almost anything in NY state (most ski areas of any state- by a lot). Pretty much every one of them except Whiteface, Hunter, & Windham are completely off the radar mom-n-pop shops squeaking by season-to-season with 50 year-old lifts and a lot of praying to Ullr. Gore may be too fancy for this list, but amazing trees and very chill lodge & culture of regulars there too.
Plattekill, McCauley, maybe West... all ski way bigger than they should, with some crazyfun trees and slides. Some of these places are so low-key they'd probably let you set up camp in the lot for a week!
 

wyowindrunner

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Aug 26, 2016
Posts
430
beartooth basin headqtrs.JPG Don't know about Europe, but think the angle is 50 degrees. The other lift tops out below rocks mid left. Kinda below the cornice. Last year there were still people hiking the peak above dead mans curve (south on the highway into Wyoming) and skiing it. A pic of the operational headquarters. Think these were taken June 2015. beartooth basin headqtrs.JPG
 

sparty

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Feb 15, 2018
Posts
1,005
View attachment 65089
A steep poma? Very European looking.

Steep enough to be interesting, especially with a bundle of gates or a bag of stubbies. I also don't envy the employees skiing the PA system down to the bottom for the freeride comp.

KY4v7jI3WxWlbY7rumE_9OrSGPiTwkBbTvjG2lkfgqoqLqeoxaWqMKgKeORSqnyI6bCKAfpN8hDsIozZCe-AhQgvX2fYGJstw8sIn6UGXFa2jegT8ioJv_uNASIdYb9SSRI_zMTBrrXk63luaAQD7p9Ov7waMlyBOnnh76PiCc8g81cZSP9xLie5vIKsfNo4eMGxhcCnPUbvnx66uu_TwN8fzKBKiZfOYX6xb0PRZObqsLGb8N-0n_ofi-OG8sXKx3d0qH6xiG_VcFAHBBzZGhHWmcGvuv-WD9HVQZObiCzDXauesal1Wg_RkHuVHFLiwg710kFdIP4agcrFaVEDX43ccfZmRvKEoO2kGuUWtjrSGvKTyIzwn20k5-gLtoJtUaHZTO7ZgDdE5tUubto09rir8F51I1rXapdo9j1RmRkGEJ5zhvSOfqES3It0CutktXMU_wtD47r0IoMmwiLIq7fEp3znJ3JayU-5_N9RdRKP2haGf_bIAdD9FMhIerNW6hy4PuOZc7XZ0zREggwEExOfTb6PannrV3Jlpd0cG6QgFFNtZg6XxNVeMh6diswkcDHjXzWKG9LgfZjUrEiugBOLRUe3SIV54XLOixdH_6zy9DnROJ-9w89_IZqCI0uxvZFb1eVqW9auIEBmEWRXnL73d9yoU958eB-ez4ybndfDJKbytwgPBPv2jTcsHGoQ85oSt6584IcmbYWE5Rutgu3UjQ=w1890-h2518-no


z1a1gBbXljeGF4SvYtDcvvW_BL3ID39ldZbk2gAw5GZP1r8cot2v_yQlUgf--kEGzOuJj_fKrfUV7NMVeGO4TBlcYimCzXDZOYoldqJj9rjsBEBoUQx-btauz46i0FmzEStQP5tEXMIWoj2wtdRq2_kYyGoUBjWAL589mFFb4UMT25XS0c9i724oT0PIjV1gVpuq1PxbrUC2Q3tsXk7MZWb6LwwGoJYmNhfh4m7TjkUMnkNsyNx8Lzf0hJ2pBAJBqE5l0rLiq3d_qyPg-_pVBZCSlDmLd3mpv0O5Xhc29j9YzYL6R9Of1X7saIr3yyDpIRwIVHn1umK8TS9LBXdfrMEugu077QqYvUKGuJbWAwpX4S461qaPSXzhS0gOpwcr7OwNIzvBNyYB6_005LLRAdv1QWzH6QXZ7um7Tode60AjdCiu7etG2MxHa-9eV1pJLie3EA55sRsckVwgkFoSYAm8dcYNgyB5VwVshtsyo6obe5d11R32O1FuKt1dXGotrEbs9jnEV8OSYnCPXUJiLFSHfiHl5b-BNgrBTbHtiNoCdvn6rvK0SZ6qIm3_wFObxd5qppz7HhBcyd26VR5BvIUmrGa9rRNzCStIWpBG6NUtZiexAG5i0F5jcI7sf11uduFZ2DbdxKv9U13uY8Ks_Ap-rKmmlsNhsa8VYZA-iDgbbbWv2J65PUV6T8__cq6_Jss7c7QyFLIxeiMJGAXrFq4NvA=w1890-h2518-no
 

trailtrimmer

Stuck in the Flatlands
Skier
Joined
Oct 18, 2016
Posts
1,110
Location
Michigan
Never personally been there, but from everything I've read, Mt. Bohemia in Michigan is as "dirtbag" as it gets.

Zero groomed runs. The "main village" is a series of yurts. And most of the mountain has no lifts, only school buses. It's high on my bucket list, but @Slim is the only one I know who's actually been there.

It's totally dirtbag and awesome for it. There is nothing to do but ski and drink, it's desolate at the north end of the state with nothing but water and wilderness. There are no clothing shops, stores or places to eat other than crappy lodge food within 40 miles of the place.. You ski, drink and smoke anything you want, the bus that takes you back to the chair smells like dirty hippie and stale joints. When you hit good lake effect conditions, it's as good as anything out west. When it's iced over, its terrifying.

There is no other place like it.
 

x10003q

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Nov 19, 2015
Posts
750
Location
NYC Metro
Hickory Ski Center in NY. It makes MRG look like Stratton. You can get to the lodge from the parking lot....lodge is a generous description, it is more like a barn..a cinderblock barn. Lifts are a couple of T-bars and Pomas. Vert is still over 1400ft too.
Sadly, Hickory has not been open since the 2016-2017 season. It is 1200 feet of steep vertical. There are 2 pomas and a t-bar.
The place is awesome.

Base lodge
Hickory Base.jpg

Lower poma to the right
Hickory powder.jpg
Upper Poma - end of March
9_Winfall, hickory top poma.jpg
 

James

Out There
Instructor
Joined
Dec 2, 2015
Posts
24,453
View attachment 65094 Don't know about Europe, but think the angle is 50 degrees. The other lift tops out below rocks mid left. Kinda below the cornice. Last year there were still people hiking the peak above dead mans curve (south on the highway into Wyoming) and skiing it. A pic of the operational headquarters. Think these were taken June 2015. View attachment 65094
50 degree poma lift?? 40 would be crazy.
 

wyowindrunner

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Aug 26, 2016
Posts
430
50 degree poma lift?? 40 would be crazy.
The 50 degree number is taken from the aforementioned Mark Edwards and Ray Masters book. The camp Pepi Gramshammer was originally coaching at was at Mt. Hood. When he saw the Twin Lakes headwall he relocated. If you are interested Sweetgrass Publishing out of Helena is the publisher.
 

Darryl

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Nov 8, 2018
Posts
46
Mt Orford in Eastern Townhips part of Quebec? Not sure but am going in a few weeks.

If you are in the Eastern Townships you should check out Mont Sutton - https://montsutton.com/en/. Minimal grooming, it is all about the trees. If you are there mid-week you can score $25 lift tickets. Nearby Owl's Head was as old school as they came a few years ago, but new ownership is renovating the resort.
 

Crank

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Dec 19, 2015
Posts
2,626
If you are in the Eastern Townships you should check out Mont Sutton - https://montsutton.com/en/. Minimal grooming, it is all about the trees. If you are there mid-week you can score $25 lift tickets. Nearby Owl's Head was as old school as they came a few years ago, but new ownership is renovating the resort.

Thanks. I like tree skiing. We are staying at Orford and Sutton is definitely on the list. Probably ski Orford, Sutton then what? Midweek lift tickets are a good deal up there!
 

Darryl

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Nov 8, 2018
Posts
46
Thanks. I like tree skiing. We are staying at Orford and Sutton is definitely on the list. Probably ski Orford, Sutton then what? Midweek lift tickets are a good deal up there!

You could try Owl's Head, I have not been there since the new ownership has been in place. There is Bromont, but I have not skied there. My wife and I normally hit Sutton for a couple of days and then head over to Jay Peak.
 

wallyk

Would rather be ski'n
Skier
Joined
Feb 2, 2018
Posts
505
Location
The MinnieApple
Have to ask what the attitude is like at many of these places........For example, I find the MRG "scene"/attitude to be oddly elitist/protectionist and backwards. Many believe that Sugarbush is the place for most non-Vermonters and hyper protectionist of all things MRG. Will probably get a lot of push back on this but MRG can be kind of a turnoff.
 

Crank

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Dec 19, 2015
Posts
2,626
You could try Owl's Head, I have not been there since the new ownership has been in place. There is Bromont, but I have not skied there. My wife and I normally hit Sutton for a couple of days and then head over to Jay Peak.

Yep we are headed to Jay Peak for a couple days after CAN. We have skied tue Quebec areas 4 times and always stop at Jay for a day or so on the way home.

Castle has always intrigued me.

Hickory Hollow is a local legend ...like a ghost story...back form the dead, heard about but nenver actually seen. I am surprised it even shows up up in pics. Hope to get there some fine powder day.
 

Bad Bob

I golf worse than I ski.
Skier
Joined
Dec 2, 2015
Posts
5,843
Location
West of CDA South of Canada
Have to ask what the attitude is like at many of these places........For example, I find the MRG "scene"/attitude to be oddly elitist/protectionist and backwards. Many believe that Sugarbush is the place for most non-Vermonters and hyper protectionist of all things MRG. Will probably get a lot of push back on this but MRG can be kind of a turnoff.

Go West young man go West. The smaller community based ski areas are anything but elite. Saw some good 3D skiers and boarders today, but they were as likely to have on a pair of Karhard coveralls or a farm implement company coat as a name parka. It is not lack of money, a lot of these guys raise your french fries, they just don't care. What works is good. Their equipment is another story though.
 

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