Woods Question

[biged]

Buy AT skis and skins. Some nice sections will take you to a swamp then skin out. If you don't have them good luck. If you follow someone's tracks remember they may be on AT gear with skins and know they needed a little more exercise then down hill skiing.

[nutjob]

Thanks for all the great new woods info!. Myself and the club (30 members with a private bus) will be thrashing those
woods but good next weekend!. Some of the guys (and gals) are pretty good with a chainsaw too so if you hear some noise, stand clear!

[Sgt Eddy Brewers]

Buy AT skis and skins. Some nice sections will take you to a swamp then skin out. If you don't have them good luck. If you follow someone's tracks remember they may be on AT gear with skins and know they needed a little more exercise then down hill skiing.

Good point. I guess another good piece of advice is to spend some time studying the local topography before you drop a line. If you are dropping into true backcountry... not just something within the Killington boundaries... you need to have a strong sense of the contours of the watershed you are entering. Make sure you are trying a line that makes sense. Not all lines that look promising turn out well. Don't drop into ravines unless you really need to.

[Guy in Shorts]

Lots of low angle tree fun that I call the Mendon Trees as most of those acres are in Mendon. Powder lines both on the left or right of Juggernaut. Morning runs are best so if you screw up and end up in Captain Halfski's back yard on 100 he can give a lift back to the resort for the afternoon. Remember my buddies wife laughing as we slogged back up to the Juggernaut Too trail a couple years back. My wife was not nearly as amused as she has seen me hiking out drainages for years.

[ejrides]

Wow!! Haven't seen that sign...cool beans!

There's a few of them along the way. It is a long slog out without Tele/AT/Split. Still faster to skin back up to Juggernaut, and as a bonus you get a run on the front side down.

[Highway Star]

Thanks for all the great new woods info!. Myself and the club (30 members with a private bus) will be thrashing those
woods but good next weekend!. Some of the guys (and gals) are pretty good with a chainsaw too so if you hear some noise, stand clear!

Way to go eddy! I look forward to reading in the Rutland Herald about these guy getting lost in the woods.

[Sgt Eddy Brewers]

Lots of low angle tree fun that I call the Mendon Trees as most of those acres are in Mendon. Powder lines both on the left or right of Juggernaut. Morning runs are best so if you screw up and end up in Captain Halfski's back yard on 100 he can give a lift back to the resort for the afternoon. Remember my buddies wife laughing as we slogged back up to the Juggernaut Too trail a couple years back. My wife was not nearly as amused as she has seen me hiking out drainages for years.

The lines dropping to Rte 100 down the Madden Brook drainage...comes out near gravel pits? Any secret to getting past the sloggy part where the hid that wilderness camp?

[Sgt Eddy Brewers]

Another sign on the way to Wheelerville (not sure it is still there)

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[twilkas]

Another sign on the way to Wheelerville (not sure it is still there)

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sgt, you went from talking about terrain off jugernaut to talking about terrain heading to wheelerville rd. why would you do that?

[SkiPutt]

Three skiers needed to be rescued a mile off of the juggernaut trail last night.

[Sgt Eddy Brewers]

Three skiers needed to be rescued a mile off of the juggernaut trail last night.

Two ways to react to this..

One is to suppose that these were wise but innocent skiers who happened to read this thread on Killingtonzone and were somehow convinced they should totally alter their behavior and drop off Juggernaut....despite the copious advice given here that doing such would be VERY RISKY and even potentially deadly.

The other theory is that these folks made the dumb choices they did because....that's who they are!

Really doubt they read this thread.

If you enter the woods not knowing the local hydrology/ shape of the watershed...and are not sure what the eventual destination will HAVE TO BE...because of the shape of the landscape...you are a moron.

In any case the weird attitude here that writing about sidecountry skiing is a capital crime...not sure I dial in to that one.

Upcountry there are thousands of skiers using Goodman's Backcountry Skiing guide...mostly without incident. Getting sound written advice of skiing backcountry lines has NOT destroyed backcountry north of us.

I know Killington is a special case with more reckless yahoos and some problematic backcountry lines. The drops to Wheelerville seem to be too confusing for many and so there is not much said about them....to prevent encouraging rookies dropping those lines. Fine. Although sometimes I wonder if giving some VERY helpful and generic advice could reduce the number of skiers requiring rescue. Like the signs posted.

In any case the woods bordered by Juggernaut/ Solitude/ Sassafras ( the lines that were inquired about on this thread) are not the kind woods that you could require rescue from. If you are attempting to ski from Juggernaut to Solitude and you get lost and require rescue...you are a moron that probably shouldn't be leaving the trail ever.

I figured out all the lines I ski by careful research of the topology and summertime hiking. In the winter if I see lines going into some woods that I haven't skied first I make sure I know the boundaries of the woods. If the woods are totally bounded by trails...I drop the line (never alone). Out of countless adventures of that sort there have been probably less than ten that turned out to be horrid (too tight, too many downed trees, ravine issues). I'm sure there are still a lot of lines I haven't found but I'll find them eventually. I only share lines with friends and family...because finding your own lines is even more fun than being shown a line. This advice only applies to lines entirely bordered by trails.

As for the Backcountry that skis out to elsewhere...I think Killington just has: 1) no written advice available about out of bounds lines 2) some very problematic backcountry lines that confuse rookies 3) TOO MANY brave overconfident goofballs. Hence we get an inordinate number of required rescues.

I don't think the last two issues can be changed....should we change the first issue and give some helpful advice to reduce the number of required rescues. I won't be the one to do it... think it might help but not sure....and I don't want someone to kill me for posting that type of info.

[GnarDawg]

Wasn't me!

Three skiers needed to be rescued a mile off of the juggernaut trail last night.

[ejrides]

I've got to agree with Eddy; idiots will be idiots. There have been enough comments in this thread about needing proper equipment and knowledge if you don't want to die out there; if someone can read this thread and still decide to do it unprepared there's not much you can do to stop them. Let's also not forget that an injury back there will be a very big deal; when SAR does finally get to you, it's still a long way out.

Eddy has given some very good advice about terrain and studying, hopefully someone takes his advice before venturing off.

Ps - the Wheelerville sign is still there

[brownman]

Stick to your guns .. Eddy

Most of these rescues are caused by misdirected testosterone.
North of K, there are many competent back country warriors with an appreciation of the risks and rewards of venturing into the wild. K's horizontal expanse contributes to rescue work here. Couple that with Joey's on Monster juice throwing down the gauntlet. Most of 'em have no knowledge of the terrain or the skills required to effectively navigate a descent.

Heck .. even in-bounds, people can't ski a decent woods line without fat-trackin .. yet believe OOB would be better

[Sgt Eddy Brewers]

Stick to your guns .. Eddy

Most of these rescues are caused by misdirected testosterone.
North of K, there are many competent back country warriors with an appreciation of the risks and rewards of venturing into the wild. K's horizontal expanse contributes to rescue work here. Couple that with Joey's on Monster juice throwing down the gauntlet. Most of 'em have no knowledge of the terrain or the skills required to effectively navigate a descent.

Heck .. even in-bounds, people can't ski a decent woods line without fat-trackin .. yet believe OOB would be better

Thanks. From you that means a lot...even though I know I should keep my mouth shut more often.