There’s a place for all abilities to ski in the woods at these New England resorts

Powder days like this one at Sugarbush may still come this season. (Jeb Wallace-Brodeu)

Ry Young has a unique approach when scoping out glades to ski at Mad River Glen.

“You can literally take a look at the trail map and imagine the trails as negative space,” he said. “Then your eye will see all of the woods skiing terrain. It’s literally everything, everywhere — just poke around.”

Young, the freeski team director and marketing/events manager at Mad River Glen, said the approach can help skiers find all the easily accessible woods located right off the trails, often leading to secret stashes that even the most-seasoned local might not know about. 

“After skiing here for nearly 40 years, I’m still finding new pockets,” he said. “For me, personally, the thing that makes skiing the woods here at Mad River Glen so special is that there is a wide array of options. I think the variety, accessibility and mythic lore of the glades here are all a part of what makes them so popular.”

Mad River Glen is one of many New England resorts boasting a variety of in-bounds tree runs that are accessible from the lifts and marked clearly on resort maps. Such development gives guests easy access to explore woods skiing without the need to trek far off the beaten path and out of bounds. They can find terrain appropriate for their level of progression, while at the same time take comfort in the added layer of safety since ski patrol manages in-bound glade zones — opening, closing and sweeping at the end of the day.

Some of the earliest — and steepest — in-bounds glade skiing runs in New England were cut at Stowe. Classic and advanced tree runs like Nosedive, Lookout and Tres Amigos are accessible off the Forerunner and Lookout chairs. But the resort also offers glade skiing for beginner-intermediates within its marked Adventure Zones. Birch Glades, Sunrise Glades and Christie Glades are all lower-angled tree runs accessed off the Toll Road on the Mount Mansfield side, while Ridge Glades and Meadows East Glades can be accessed off the Sunny Spruce Quad on the Spruce Peak side.

At nearby Smugglers’ Notch, there are 22 marked glades for every ability level, from the beginner Whitetail Woods at Morse Highlands to the East’s only triple black diamond, the Black Hole. New gladed terrain has opened over the past few seasons, including the expert level Shakedown and the intermediate level Knight’s Revenge, Norwegian Woods, the Shire and Bermuda. Tree-skiing areas on Madonna Mountain also have been expanded, bringing the total gladed area at Smuggs to 45 acres, or 22 percent of the total skiable — and patrollable — area.

Jay Peak’s glade development dates back to the 1980s and early ’90s, “before the resort had the money for on-hill capital expenditures,” said JJ Toland, director of communications and events. “When other resorts were throwing up new lifts or putting in new snowmaking systems, we were short on change, so to speak. So some crews grabbed some saws and headed up the hill for a walk in the woods.”

Jay features huge groves of birch and pine, making for really picturesque lines. “After a few years of thoughtful trimming, the resort had some fantastic gladed runs,” Tolland said. “They became such a draw that we’ve opened the glade experience over the years to beginners and intermediates, trimming lines on low-angle terrain and making tree skiing and riding part of what our SnowSports team offers in lessons.”

Today, more than 100 acres of gladed terrain is named on the Jay map. Skiers can find some of the most sought-after tree skiing in New England, all within the resort’s boundaries. Marked runs from Tramside to Stateside like Green Beret, Valhalla, Kitz Woods, Timbuktu, Everglade and Beaver Pond offer a range in angulation and openness.

At Sugarbush, the 2,000-acre Slide Brook Basin is actually beyond resort boundaries, situated between Lincoln Peak and Mount Ellen, but is easily accessible off the North Lynx chair. Skiers and riders will find a variety of moderately challenging tree runs in a remote setting, all that funnel out conveniently to a bus stop on German Flats Road. There, you can catch a ride back to either the Lincoln Peak or Mount Ellen base areas.

Sugarloaf encourages its guests to explore the 650 acres of sidecountry terrain it describes as “wild and remote like backcountry, but maintained and patrolled like inbounds terrain.” Brackett Basin and Burnt Mountain feature steeps, chutes and cliffs, all accessible via a ridgeline traverse (or hike) off the King Pine chair. Another way into the zones is aboard the Burnt Mountain Cat Skiing custom passenger snowcat that carries you 1 1/2 miles to the top of Burnt Mountain, where you will find 100 acres and 1,500 vertical feet at your disposal.

In 2010, Omni Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods developed 30 new acres of glades on Mount Stickney. The glades, all accessible from the long traverse off the Two Miles Home trail, offer a variety of terrain ranging from sharp tree shoots and secret powder stashes to classic manicured glade skiing for which Bretton Woods long has been renowned. A couple years later, the resort installed the Telegraph T-bar, a 2,000-foot Doppelmayr surface lift dedicated to serving the Mount Stickney Glades.

“It gives skiers a backcountry experience,” said Craig Clemmer, director of marketing. “The Stickney Glades emulate the feel you get from going into the backcountry — like you’re going to an entirely different ski area. It’s a little edgier than you think of with Bretton Woods, but with snow and you’re not ducking rope. We know where you are.”

Stickney takes advantage of the natural lay of the land, with zones that are “spicy and aggressive,” Clemmer said. And there are plenty of gentler options at the resort for skiers and riders who are just beginning to tackle the woods. “Agassi is a great little hidden gem on the mountain. It’s a little wider and you can go through trees without being aggressive. And the terrain at West Mountain is also less aggressive but still gives you that great feel of getting back into the woods.”

Matt Boxler can be reached at [email protected].