Rocks, dirt, and pure ice are something you must embrace and get used to in order to enjoy east coast skiing

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

DUDE, that was the most interesting narration of skiing difficult terrain I’ve ever seen. Thanks a million.

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.

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!

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

just want to say I love your channel. ive used it to plan ski trips and enjoy when you review east coast gems too

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."

Love this mountain! was my go-to while I was in college

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.😊

If you're still on the East Coast I'd recommend Wildcat mountain. Lots of expert terrain and insane unmarked tree trails

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.

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.

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.

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!

I worked top shack as a lift operator back in 1992…it was the best hidden gem.

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!

gnarly stuff! I hope to get out there some day and get some videos up.

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!

awesome!

Someone didn’t visit Mad River Glen

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.

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!

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.

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

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.

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 did these trails when there was no powder at all and all ice!

castlerock is fye but if you want an entire mountain full of this go to MRG lol

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?

I'd love to see the aftermath on your ski bases

"It skis worse than it looks" should go on a Sugarbush T-shirt!! ;)

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

Great video! Huge fan of Castlerock. Does this mean you will be doing a full mountain review of Sugarbush?

It was awesome with 2 new feet of snow in that last storm.

You should come ski the backside snowfields here at sugarLOAF, or any of the woods in bracket basin. Nice vid

You should do a video like this for Crystal Mountain's Northway area. Also has just about everything, served by a double chair.

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.

This isn’t Pennsylvania comment was hilarious! 😂

The ability to still narrate is impressive. I usually am out of breath within minutes on Castlerock.

Nah. Try Paradise and Fall Line at Mad River Glen!!! But, yes. Castle Rock was consistently base repair. Every day. For me years ago.

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)

Snow in the trees… nah, sugar in the bushes👌

Just went to shugabush for the first time yesterday with my friends and sent rumble 3rd run. Killer run but pretty bad conditions

This is easy for New England skiers

i suggest reviewing the washington resorts. the snow is bad, but i would be interested in your take

Request: Top 20 best lift improvements for 22-23 season

Take a tumble on the Rumble as we used to say back in the day. See if You can stay in the bump line!

Middle Earth looks like it could be a double black. I only got to do Castlerock Run when I was there

Y'all think you'll ever do any content on Snowshoe, WV? Would be cool to see some mid-atlantic love on this channel

thanks to your video, I will avoid this area like plague 😂😂😂

Great vid! How is your audio so clean and clear?

Where the word 'gnarly' was invented! lol.

Try "Church" at Sugarbush.

Is there a review of Stowe coming soon (in video format)?

I would say this is pretty comparable to goat and Starr on the front four at Stowe

Great trail for sure. I think GOAT is tougher.

Have you done DJ's Tramline or Kinsman Glade at cannon?

dust on crust... I'm a Colorado native. We don't do those type runs... LOL!

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.

You sound exactly like that guy on the shorts who tours famous places mostly in New York for shorts

What model skis are you on?

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.

Damn, I thought Vermont had more snow right now.

Totally missed Greg’s Poop Chute!!!

They never should have fired John Egan😡

You didn’t send the Cliff on Lift Line?!?

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.

East gang

When was this shot?

Want to ruin your expensive skis or snow board? Try this run at sugarbush. Should do the trick.

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.

So not sure this is harder than Mad River?

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.

Been to Sugarbush multiple times ... castlerock never opened, not even once ... I wonder why

Trails like that are subsidized by the repair shops.

Do ppl snowboard this?

"Rumble"!? More like "Crumble" amirite? East Coast skiing is no joke

Looks hella easy compared to the triple at smuggs.

Keep tackling these moguls because they don’t really end until you get to the bottom….perfect description of Killingtons Superstar

I straight-line each of those runs. They're easy.

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.

Gnarly

Under the RED CHAIR at Magic!

why do you call it a pod ?

Looked like a hike with moguls 🤷‍♂️

Easy

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

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!