Mad River Glen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mad River Glen |
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The Single Chair at Mad River Glen (prior to rehabilitation)
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| Location | Fayston, Vermont |
| Coordinates | 44°12′03″N 72°55′28″W / 44.20083°N 72.92444°W |
| Vertical | 2000 ft |
| Top elevation | 3637 ft - (1108 m) |
| Base elevation | 1600 ft - (487 m) |
| Runs | 52 |
| Lift system | 4 chairlifts - 3 doubles - 1 single - 1 surface lift |
| Terrain parks | Yes |
| Snowfall | 250 in. - (635 cm) |
| Snowmaking | 15% |
| Night skiing | no |
| Website | madriverglen.com |
Mad River Glen is a special place for skiing in Fayston, Vermont. It's located in the Green Mountain range, right in the Mad River Valley. Even though it's not the biggest ski area, it has a vertical drop of 2,000 feet (610 m). This makes it the 14th highest drop in New England. Ski magazine even called its trails the most challenging on the East Coast of the United States.
Mad River Glen gets a lot of snow, averaging over 150 inches (380 cm) each year. It keeps a traditional style of New England skiing. This means they focus on keeping natural snow on narrow trails. They do very little grooming and don't rely much on man-made snow. It's one of only two places in the country with a single chairlift. Also, it doesn't allow snowboarding.
This ski area is also unique because it's a cooperative. This means that people can buy shares to own a part of it. They get to attend "Town Hall" meetings and vote on important decisions about how the ski area is run.
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History of Mad River Glen
Mad River Glen was started in 1947 by Roland Palmedo. He led a group of investors, including some from the famous Rockefeller family. Palmedo had helped build the first chairlift at Stowe Mountain Resort. He wanted to create a ski area just for serious skiers. He didn't want it to be too commercial or have too many fancy extras.
The unique Single Chairlift was finished and started running in 1948. At that time, five trails were also ready: Catamount, Chute, Fall Line, Porcupine, and Grand Canyon. A small building at the base, still called the "basebox," was also built. Over the next few decades, three double chairlifts and a rope tow for kids were added. Many new trails were also created.
In 1972, Truxton Pratt bought the ski area. After he passed away in 1975, his wife, Betsy, took over. The ski area stayed pretty much the same until 1995. That year, Betsy sold it to a group of skiers. They formed a cooperative to own and manage the ski area. On December 5, 1995, the Mad River Glen Cooperative was officially created. Today, Mad River Glen is the only cooperatively owned ski area in America. By April 1998, the cooperative had sold enough shares to fully buy the mountain from the previous owner.
In 2012, Mad River Glen was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's recognized as an important historic district.
How Mad River Glen is Managed
The cooperative holds elections every year for a board of trustees. These trustees are in charge of how the ski area is run and its business. They also hire a general manager to handle the daily operations.
Matt Lillard became the general manager in 2017. He had worked at other ski areas like Okemo, Magic Mountain (Vermont), and Eaglecrest (Alaska).
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Mad River Glen is one of only two ski areas in the U.S. that still uses a chairlift that seats just one person at a time. The other single chairlift is at Mt. Eyak in Cordova, Alaska. That one is owned by the City of Cordova and run by the Sheridan Ski Club.
Weather at Mad River Glen
Mad River Glen is located high up on the Green Mountains. This high elevation means it gets cooler air and more snow than nearby areas. The highest part of the Green Mountains gets snow from regular storms. But it also gets extra "backlash" snow after storms have passed.
Strong winds from the northwest often pick up moisture from Lake Champlain. These winds are then forced quickly upward as they cross the Green Mountains. This process is called "orographic enhancement." It's why Mad River Glen and similar spots often get three times more snow than lower areas in northern New England. A local weather expert, Josh Fox, even runs a blog called the Single Chair Weather Blog. He tracks the weather for Mad River Glen and the surrounding area during winter.
Ski Trails
Mad River Glen has 51 trails with many different difficulty levels. If you're a beginner, you'll find easy trails in the Birdland area. The steeper, bumpy (moguled), and wooded trails are usually higher up the mountain. These are the trails that have given Mad River its reputation as the hardest ski area in the Northeast.
Many of these trails have been kept just as they were when they were first cut decades ago. Skiers often helped cut them themselves. Many trails are "gladed," meaning they go through trees. They also have natural features like rocks, logs, and bushes just under the snow. Even among the black diamond trails, there's a huge difference in difficulty. For example, the short but steep Waterfall trail is sometimes called a black diamond and sometimes an intermediate blue square. The famous Paradise trail has a very steep 38-degree slope. It's only rated as a black diamond here, but it would be considered much harder at other ski areas.
No Snowboarding Policy
Mad River Glen is one of only three ski areas in the U.S. that completely bans snowboarding. The other two are Utah's Deer Valley and Alta ski areas. This ban has caused a lot of discussion, especially among snowboarders. The Mad River Glen cooperative wants to keep the area known as a "skier's mountain."
Mad River Glen actually allowed snowboarding for a short time, from the 1986-87 season until the 1992-93 season. But there were problems with snowboarders getting off the old single chairlift because of a flat area at the bottom. So, the owner at the time limited snowboarders to only certain lifts. Because of a big debate about this, Betsy Pratt, the previous owner, decided to ban snowboards completely. Since then, some snowboarders have tried to sneak onto the mountain, which is called "poaching."
Four years later, when the cooperative bought the mountain, they voted on the snowboarding ban. More than 75% of the voters chose to keep the ban. It would take a 2/3 majority vote to change it, so it's unlikely the ban will be lifted anytime soon.
Telemark Skiing
While Mad River Glen doesn't allow snowboarding, it's a very popular spot for telemark skiers. Many people who enjoy this unique style of skiing come here.
Kent Thomas Nature Center
The Kent Thomas Nature Center has displays that teach you about the mountain's plants, animals, and rocks. The center is open all year. It also offers nature programs led by trained naturalists.
