A Tour of the Grueling, Experts-Only Castlerock Area | Sugarbush, VT
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- čas přidán 8. 06. 2024
- Castlerock has it all-steeps, rocks, cliffs, and even some trails so tight they mandate near-perfect technical precision. In this video, we give you a tour of the trails that make up Sugarbush's hardest terrain zone.
Sugarbush is a ski resort in the Mad River Valley of Central Vermont. See our full mountain review here: www.peakrankings.com/content/...
Additionally, see our full Vermont rankings here: www.peakrankings.com/vermont-...
0:00 Intro
1:11 Castlerock Run
7:06 Middle Earth
14:01 Lift Line
20:47 Rumble
25:47 Castlerock Woods
26:49 Final Thoughts
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Rocks, dirt, and pure ice are something you must embrace and get used to in order to enjoy east coast skiing
It wasn't always this bad though
also forgetting about bigger storms like 12 in at summit
Facts
@@Jay__ELI remember insane storms every year even in New Jersey growing up,1 foot drops were a regular occurrence and we got atleast 1 3 footer every year…
Agreed. Teaching my kids how to ski right now on the East Coast and Iv explained this to them repeatedly.
This is why it's so hard to compare Eastern ski areas and Western ski areas.
Most places out west wouldn't even open in these conditions
And that’s why the east coast is goated
It's also a good sign of excellent expert culture when patrol trusts skiers to get into and out of trouble in bad conditions. I'll call out Alta and Bridger Bowl in particular for opening things that they probably shouldn't, and they're better ski areas because of it.
I have skied out west when it certainly has sucked. Some who this myth of great snow all the time has spread, but that is just BS.
@@SkiDaBird totally!
Facts! ❤❤❤
East rules!
We do have one shiffrin. Love skiing by low tech plackards with her name on it!
It's a pleasure to watch someone w/the skills to take these runs and film them. How many go-pro vids of Castlerock, MRG, Stowe, etc have I watched for less than a minute because the skier just did not have the skills to make continuous turns on steep, moguled, scratchy terrain. I encourage all of them to challenge themselves but I don't want to watch them start/stop, start stop, every turn or two. Right now I ski vicariously through videos like the above, since my body has developed some serious mobility issues. Keep up the good work and I would say, conditions looked pretty damn good for area in late season.
DUDE, that was the most interesting narration of skiing difficult terrain I’ve ever seen. Thanks a million.
Agreed.
I would put Jay face chutes, Mt Mansfield Front Four, MRG Paradise, and Black Hole at Smugs equal to or more likely above Castle Rock. Rumble was the shit. Great skiing, man!
just want to say I love your channel. ive used it to plan ski trips and enjoy when you review east coast gems too
Thanks for your support! ☺
Awesome vid! I’m planning on heading up to Sugarbush for the first time some time next week and it’s really nice to get a preview.
I love East Coast ski culture because you just kinda accept that ice and dirt will always be there - hey, at least the dirt let’s you dig into your edges more than ice! Haha
Love this mountain! was my go-to while I was in college
I patrolled at Sugarbush for a number of years. Story of Rumble is that it was not a planned trail. When they were making Lift Line they had a bulldozer get stuck at what is the top of Rumble. Not being able to get back up on to Lift Line they had to cut trees to be able to back the dozer down the hill.
And a personal fun story from The Rock: First time I was stationed at The Rock I was skiing Middle Earth with a more senior patroller. We stopped at the top of Jaws - skier's left. I heard some hooting and hollering from above. I looked up at the top of the rock wall that is on the skier's right and some guy flew off the lip, sailed across Jaws, and went crashing down through the tree limbs over the left edge of Jaws. I turned to the senior patroller with a concerned look on my face. He was unphased and calmly said "Nothing to worry about - that was just Jonny Egan."
Thanks for the story about Rumble! I love Middle Earth in the Spring when the little spring becomes a cascading river and a definite no fall zone!
I rode the lift up with a former patroller today and he told me that exact Jonny Egan story. Small world.
That is one badass story..... that has lead to one of the most badass trails out there. Thanks for the big smile!
Thanks for doing this one. SO many memories. Actually, the coverage is far better than some of my days there. Jumped from top of mogul to top of mogul, there was gravel in the troughs, all the way down. The upside was that it took F-O-R-E-V-E-R, which, on a mid-Season Saturday, was FAR superior to waiting in the 45-60 min liftlines.😊
Thank you for the awesome video. So well executed and explained!
Rumble has always been such a mystery. Maybe this will be the year - going this wknd.
I skied castle rock area a few years ago on a rare day when Cotillion was groomed and the castle rock lift opened for the first time in days after a 12-inch dump… It was divine.
Rumble this year after that one huge storm we got was one the most magical skiing I've experienced in my life so far.
Survival skiing for some but just a not so good day in the NW Cascades. I've ejected a few times this year by covered rocks or submarining my skis. To do a continuous run in any difficult condition is a workout I love. Thanks for sharing!
If you're still on the East Coast I'd recommend Wildcat mountain. Lots of expert terrain and insane unmarked tree trails
The cat, jay, sugarbush, saddleback, mrg. Top tier
First time skier in 1978 at Sugarbush. Bus trip from Brooklyn with the whole bar crowd. Took a few lessons on bunny hill T bar and then my friend said I was ready for the top. Oh boy. What a mistake. So steep and icy. I couldn’t believe it. The cold was incredible. I had long Johns on with dungarees. Hey, I was a teen. Thinsulate gloves didn’t work either. Guess what? I went back up. lol. Thanks for showing me terrain I’ll never ever at temp lol. Blues and single blacks groomed and I’m having fun. Moguls? My knees are hurting just watching.
I worked top shack as a lift operator back in 1992…it was the best hidden gem.
Someone didn’t visit Mad River Glen
Face ridge of jay also has some insane terrain.
gnarly stuff! I hope to get out there some day and get some videos up.
I was there in early March and the conditions were better, they had more coverage. I only skied Castlerock and MiddleEarth and not Lift Line or Rumble. The nice thing not mentioned in the video is the long slow chairlift ride which is great to recover from the run you just had!
awesome!
Great skiing with a good commentary - I went up Castlerock once took ages to come down 1 or 2 mogels at a time! - didn't go up again!
East coast conditions are different every single day. Great place to gain experience fast. Plus the day after a storm is the greatest day on earth.
I knew the castlerock section was no joke as soon as i went to get off the lift at the top! Even trying to get off that lift is a feat and a half. Theres no smoothly riding off of it like with most lifts, rather, you literally drop down about 2 feet through the air, from the swiftly moving chair, onto a steep and icy little mound that you then ride down to get to the flat section at the top. What i realized is that the castlerock lift is almost like a test for if youre ready for castlerock. If you cant get off thst lift smoothly, then you sure as hell arent ready to go down the trails there! I didn't do either part too smoothly! I was there on an ice day, and i did the LEAST difficult of the castlerock trails. That was a one and done for me!
CastleRock is sublime when the snow is deep and fresh but more often than not it's an endurance test. As for as east coast difficulty I'd say the slides at Whiteface easily trump it.
If you didn't ride up the lift with rock skis no worries cause you would have a pair by the time you got back down
Love this area. Skied this 2 days ago and it was spring conditions. Plenty of dirt and rocks. Today it rained today so I may have gotten it on the last day lol
Anytime I feel like I'm not having a good ski day i watch this video. Your complaining about how hard this is to ski really boosts my ego 😂
Made the mistake of taking my first ever run on Castlerock on my heavy Head Titanium GS skis. Big mistake. Luckily made it down with just major sweat through two layers and a bloody nose from nerves. Definitely a cautionary tale.
I did these trails when there was no powder at all and all ice!
It was awesome with 2 new feet of snow in that last storm.
Sent middle earth and castlerock on my last trip! Castlerock wasnt all that difficult but middle earth was crazier than I thought it would be. Chickened out on the double black runs lol I did do exterminator on the other side of the mountain though.
I got a change to Ride DJ's tramline on my snowboard couple weeks ago after that big storm. Had to down climb one section. I've ridden castle rock it was similar as well as magic and wildcat has similar vibes. Tough to ride some of these old trails being a snowboarder unless its untracked. I almost hike to castle rock one day the lifts were on hold after a 2 foot dump to get fresh tracks but I didn't want to die out there alone lol
I skied Castlerock years ago but Cannon is my home mountain. You can find terrain all over Cannon/Mittersill that looks like Rumble (most of it is on the map too) so I’m not sure I agree with the assessment that Castlerock is the toughest in the Northeast.
Great video! Huge fan of Castlerock. Does this mean you will be doing a full mountain review of Sugarbush?
Yes!
I'd love to see the aftermath on your ski bases
You should come ski the backside snowfields here at sugarLOAF, or any of the woods in bracket basin. Nice vid
This is insane. Always wonder how people have the nerve to do this! Amazing video. What was scarier to you, this, or the A-Basin chutes?
Fell 100 feet down a chute at A-Basin, so that one.
@@PeakRankingswhat about A-Basin or Jay’s face ridge?
You should do a video like this for Crystal Mountain's Northway area. Also has just about everything, served by a double chair.
Great suggestion!
"It skis worse than it looks" should go on a Sugarbush T-shirt!! ;)
This guy is a very good skier. I was going to make a crack about 'Get ready to go down on your bass.' Like I have many a time at Castlerock.
I think a lot of skiers try to hit this on the one weekend they are there, but locals and this guy know to leave it for the best days after a storm. Not saying it’s easy, but 3” of fresh powder over a halfway decent base really helps. Trying to hit this on a 0 degree day after it rained days before…not wise.
Did that in 8th grade when my buddy invited me. I’m a senior now it’s still the hardest run I’ve ever done
Apply to school at UVM and you can ski this every week!
Nah. Try Paradise and Fall Line at Mad River Glen!!! But, yes. Castle Rock was consistently base repair. Every day. For me years ago.
The ability to still narrate is impressive. I usually am out of breath within minutes on Castlerock.
castlerock is fye but if you want an entire mountain full of this go to MRG lol
This isn’t Pennsylvania comment was hilarious! 😂
Another really hard mountain would be Orford on the Canadian side, some of the tree runs there are really hard (but are not open for long, this season the hard runs opened for about a month)
Middle Earth looks like it could be a double black. I only got to do Castlerock Run when I was there
Just went to shugabush for the first time yesterday with my friends and sent rumble 3rd run. Killer run but pretty bad conditions
Request: Top 20 best lift improvements for 22-23 season
i suggest reviewing the washington resorts. the snow is bad, but i would be interested in your take
We've visited! Just need to make a return trip to hit them with non-foggy conditions 😅
Take a tumble on the Rumble as we used to say back in the day. See if You can stay in the bump line!
Snow in the trees… nah, sugar in the bushes👌
Y'all think you'll ever do any content on Snowshoe, WV? Would be cool to see some mid-atlantic love on this channel
Hopefully within the next season or two!
Is there a review of Stowe coming soon (in video format)?
Yep! Within the next few months.
Try "Church" at Sugarbush.
Great vid! How is your audio so clean and clear?
By going on a day that wasn't windy!
wow... very clean audio. On just your go pro? @@PeakRankings
any external mic?
Yes I know it’s not the west coast but it would be nice if you would have picked a decent time to film. I have never skied Castle Rock when it was not completely covered and good pow. Then again I don’t ski it when I know the conditions suck.
thanks to your video, I will avoid this area like plague 😂😂😂
dust on crust...
I'm a Colorado native. We don't do those type runs... LOL!
This is easy for New England skiers
I would say this is pretty comparable to goat and Starr on the front four at Stowe
Have you done DJ's Tramline or Kinsman Glade at cannon?
Not yet!
I just did both a few Sundays ago for the first time and they were pretty cool! DJ's Tramline was definitely gnarlier with more rocks than up in Castlerock imo. My favorite gnarly areas on the east coast will always be the terrain past Paradise at MRG, and The Ridge at Jay Peak.
These two trails are a must ski before you can claim anything on the east coast is the gnarliest or toughest. DJs is only open a handful of days and not every year. I had the opportunity this year to put first tracks on Kinsman with 18” (including 2’+ snow drifts). Wish I had a GoPro because it was a run to remember. As far as toughness goes, trying to find a rhythm on Amazon glade or the creek at Cannon is some of the toughest skiing I did this year. Wicked Haahhd is also appropriately named.
You didn’t send the Cliff on Lift Line?!?
What model skis are you on?
Blizzard Bonafide 97s!
You sound exactly like that guy on the shorts who tours famous places mostly in New York for shorts
Damn, I thought Vermont had more snow right now.
no, this is just normal conditions. Average winter will have this kind of gnarly stuff
Where the word 'gnarly' was invented! lol.
OK I get the challenge aspect (and the need to use rock skis) and that's cool but it certainly does not seem like much fun.
So not sure this is harder than Mad River?
BTW, Middle Earth is actually not steeper than Castlerock. I’ve done them both on high snow years when they have been groomed, and it is very clear that Middle Earth is not as steep. And that area with the stream at Middle Earth is called “Jaws”. And you’re wrong about those Rumble conditions being “good”. Good is on a powder day with 12” of snow. There are tons of lines you can take that are super fun - more than just one or two lines you claim, and you skipped many jumps and other lines that the locals do. Speaking of which, glad to see you got one local in the video. But there are tons of more interesting woods that you skipped.
When was this shot?
In Feb!
@@PeakRankings awesome this should keep the crowds away 😂
Classic New England trails. Unfortunately, the east just doesn't get enough snow any more. I remember skiing Sugarloaf back when I was in college. Winters Way, Bubblecuffer, Gondola Line...insane runs. But there just isn't enough natural snow anymore. Sad. Unless of course you go to Jay Peak. They claim to have received 27 feet of snow so far this year. Wink. Wink. What is amazing is that some people actually believe they get that much.
This winter has been a late bloomer but we just skied the Snowfield's this week with some of the best conditions I've seen there in decades.
Been to Sugarbush multiple times ... castlerock never opened, not even once ... I wonder why
Did you go in December or January?
@@PeakRankings I got Epic this season, but I went there twice last season in late December/ mid January I think... Bad snow year and not opened :(
Great trail for sure. I think GOAT is tougher.
Under the RED CHAIR at Magic!
Do ppl snowboard this?
I have, middle earth and castle rock weren’t too bad, after this video i’m happy I didn’t try rumble.
East gang
Totally missed Greg’s Poop Chute!!!
Want to ruin your expensive skis or snow board? Try this run at sugarbush. Should do the trick.
Or, keep your precious skis in mint condition and only ski boring, groomed cruisers with snowmaking coverage. 🤦♂️
@@johns3106 I’m all about going off the trial but let’s be honest this doesn’t look that enjoyable. Foot foot and a half of fresh? I’m in.
why do you call it a pod ?
I think it’s because it’s kinda on its it’s own where you can only go down a couple trails
I was with you till you said rumble was the hardest on mountain... not quite...
There are three more challenging trails...
Easiest to hardest
Paradise glade
Rumble woods
Paradise cliffs to waterfall
Ive done the first two and rumble last sat while it was 'bulletproof'.
Lots of witnesses watched me race by.... 😂😂😂 skate?
Haven't had right conditions for the cliffs yet.
Maybe next year...
Ps... this videographer made it look easy and conditions were better than avg. there is no out at the top.
They never should have fired John Egan😡
I agree, so fucked up 😡😡😡
Trails like that are subsidized by the repair shops.
"Rumble"!? More like "Crumble" amirite? East Coast skiing is no joke
Keep tackling these moguls because they don’t really end until you get to the bottom….perfect description of Killingtons Superstar
In the spring, yes. Killington's superstar in the winter right after a powder dump is smooth sailing and just incredible.
Huh? Superstar is a 8-lane highway compared to this.
Looks hella easy compared to the triple at smuggs.
Gnarly
Meh, that double diamond looks like a regular black at my local ski hill in Colorado especially early or late season. Nothing to write home about. Try the same "dust" on a wind blown 55 degree pitch at 12k feet.
I straight-line each of those runs. They're easy.
Easy
Looked like a hike with moguls 🤷♂️
It’s expert , but there’re tougher runs up the road at MRG IMO . Do some squats your stopping too much
Ok I've destroyed some gear on this run.
Smugs and MRG have tougher terrain
Madonna Liftline (and Freefall) for the win!
If you Spend a little more money and take a flight out west, you can leave this hell behind and enter heaven. Try the same run out west after 12 inches of powder and you’ll know what I’m talking about
As a LOCAL 2 SB.
Nice try bud.
But usually we have a base depth to ski over.
Middle Earth and Rumble are sick.!
Ski it top to bottom nonstop n call me pussy.
Typical east coast skiing. Love Rumble and Lift Line but the real goods are elsewhere.
That does not look enjoyable at all.
Ok, some are judging the area without consideration as to the experience on powder days... When a friend and I were 14, we we got an 18" storm (11pm - 2pm) on a Sunday night -called.in sick to school, and hit Castle Rock first thing.... It was obviously an eye opening experience, we didn't have powder skiis (i had dynastar beta carve 9.18) but we jist leaned back and made some life-affirming turns. That day will never be forgotten. (We didn't try Rumble... I dont know if we were even wearing helmets - it was 98 or 99) i was a short kid, snow was at times nearly waist high. 🎉⛷️
especially because there is no snow in the east anymore. ugh!