Mad River Glen
Encyclopedia
Mad River Glen is a ski
area in Fayston
, Vermont
. Its terrain has been ranked by SKI magazine as the most challenging on the east coast of the United States
. Located within the Green Mountain range
, it sits in the Mad River
Valley, close to the larger Sugarbush Resort
. Though not considered a large ski area, it has a vertical drop of 2000 feet (609.6 m), which ranks 14th in New England.
It averages over 250 inches (635 cm) of snow a year and maintains a traditional form of New England
skiing that emphasizes snow preservation on narrow trails instead of man-made snow on wide boulevards. Mad River Glen also does very little grooming and prefers to leave its trails with whatever naturally forms. It has one of only two single chairlift
s left in the country and does not allow snowboarding
. It is one of a very limited number of ski cooperative
s. Individuals purchase publicly available shares and attend regular "Town Hall" meetings, voting on issues regarding the area and management of the cooperative.
(the Rockefellers continue to own property on the mountain to this day) and headed by Roland Palmedo, one of the businessmen involved in Stowe Mountain Resort
. Feeling disenfranchised by what he felt was excessive commercial development, Palmedo wanted to create a ski area for truly dedicated skiers, with a minimum of commercial interests and amenities. The Single Chair, a marvel of engineering at the time, was completed and first operated in 1948. Additionally, five trails (Catamount, Chute, Fall Line, Porcupine, and Grand Canyon) and a small base lodge (still referred to as the "basebox") were also completed at that time. Over the next few decades, 3 double chairlift
s and a rope tow for a children's learning area, and many new trails were added. However, the general character of the area changed very little.
In 1972, the ski area was bought by Truxton Pratt, then passed on to his wife, Betsy, after his death in 1975. It remained relatively unchanged until she sold it in 1995 to a group of skiers who formed a cooperative to own and manage the ski area. Betsy now owns a small inn a few miles from the mountain called the "Mad River Barn," as well as all the land between there and the mountain.
On December 5, 1995 a new era began when the Mad River Glen Cooperative was formed. Mad River Glen is now the only cooperatively owned ski area in America. In an age when the ski industry is consolidating and becoming homogenized, Mad River Glen bucks the trend by remaining independent and preserving a ski experience that exists nowhere else. Shareholders in the Mad River Glen Cooperative have come together to fulfill their mission; "…to preserve and protect the forests and mountain ecosystem of General Stark Mountain in order to provide skiing and other recreational access and to maintain the unique character of the area for present and future generations." The mountain is managed by the hired staff with direction and leadership provided by the Board of Trustees elected by the shareholders.
In April of 1998 the Mad River Glen Cooperative fulfilled its purchase agreement with the previous owner by selling its 1,667th share. Mad River Glen is now owned outright by its dedicated skiers. The fledgling Co-op enters the 50th Anniversary season riding high. Not only was the share sales goal met but three successful seasons under the Co-op allowed management to begin addressing capital needs. Mad River’s main double chair, "The Sunnyside Double," was replaced over the summer. "This project proves that the Co-op format can work for Mad River. Not only are we surviving, we are moving forward," said Marketing Director, Eric Friedman.
The Mad River Glen Cooperative continues to sell shares in an effort to broaden the base of support and to insure long-term viability for the area. Shares cost $2,000 each and are available on a 30-month installment plan. "This gives practically anyone with a job and a desire to help preserve Mad River Glen the chance to get involved. This is no country club," says Friedman.
Mad River Glen Time Line
1947-48: Initial trails cut: Catamount, Lift Line, Fall Line, Canyon and Porcupine. November snows stop construction and the opening is postponed for a year.
1948-49: Trails improved, work tram, lift and StarkÂ’s Nest built. Opening ceremonies were held on December 11, 1948.
1949-50: No Stop No Fall and Easter Parade traditions begin.
1951-52: Father and Son Race moves to MRG from Stowe and evolves into the Family Tournament
1952-53: Jack Murphy becomes General Manager, Ken Quackenbush starts his career at MRG. Chalet 10 (little house across from Amateur Ski Club house) is built.
1953-54: Hartford Ski Club builds house at MRG
1954-55: Practice Hill Rope Tow is installed. MRG hosts the NCAA Downhill Championship Race. 68 new chairs are added to the 65 all ready on the Single Chair's line more than doubling the lifts capacity.
1955-56: The Base BoxÂ’s first addition (the east end) is built.
1957-58: McCullough Turnpike (current Route 17), the road over the mountain is finally completed.
1958-59: New tower is added at the bottom of the Single Chair. Beaver trail is cut. T Bar goes in on the Practice Slope. Sugarbush Valley ski area opens.
1959-60: First Ski Shop is built over the brook.
1960-61: First Tucker Snow Cat is purchased. The second Base Box addition (currently Gen. StarkÂ’s Pub) is completed. Trails were cut for proposed Sunnyside double chair.
1961-62: Sunnyside Double Chair opens. First Green & Gold Weekend. The infamous Parachute Race into Catamount Bowl.
1962-63: A new trail, Quacky, is added and named for Ken Quackenbush.
1963-64: Lower Antelope opens. Another 25 chairs are added to the Single Chair making it a total of 158 chairs on the line.
1964-65: Upper Antelope opens.
1965-66: The last season for the Bud Phillips Ski School
1966-67: Birdland Trails open. Rudi Maier Ski School opens. Touring trails open.
1967-68: Birdland Lift opens. 10th Annual Kandahar Race. Base BoxÂ’s third addition, the upstairs, is completed
1968-69: Birdcage Opens. Last season food and beverage are served at StarkÂ’s Nest. Saturday night movies!
1969-70: National Slalom held at MRG. Four tracked vehicles used on mountain.
1970-71: Junior Nationals held at MRG. VermontÂ’s Act 250 development law is passed ending land sales on the mountain. Tennis courts built at Mad River Barn.
1971-72: T Bar dismantled and replaced by new Double Chair Lift. Mad River Junior Racing Program starts.
1982-83: Sunnyside Double Chair drive replaced.
1986-87: Snowboards first allowed at MRG.
1991-92: Snowboard ban begins at MRG.
1995-96: Mad River Glen Cooperative purchases mountain an December 5, 1995 and the mountain opens with ceremony at the Single Chair on December 7.
1997-98: The Ice Storm of 1998 hits Mad River Glen, causing a great deal of damage to the mid-mountain forest. Clean-up crews and volunteers have the mountain re-opened within a week.
1998-99: Mad River Glen celebrates 50th Anniversary with a re-creation of the original opening day. Just like the original opening the Governor, Miss Vermont (both 1948 and 1998) and George Neill were in attendance. 50th Anniversary Gala held in January 1996. Sunnyside Double Chair is replaced.
1990-2000: The Co-op sells the 1,667th share to pay off its mortgage. The mountain is now owned outright by the Co-op.
2000-01: CallieÂ’s Corner Handle Tow Area is added and Stark's Nest is renovated. Over 325 inches of snow allows skiing to continue until April 29, 2001, the areaÂ’s latest closing date on record.
2005-06: The Mad River Glen Cooperative celebrates 10 years of skier ownership of the mountain.
2006-07: On Easter Sunday, April 8, the original Single Chair brought its last skiers to the top of Gen. Stark Mountain. The last rider was long-time Mad River Glen GM, Ken Quackenbush. Fittingly the Single Chair was ushered out of service in a snowstorm that ended the season in a fabulous powder day.
2010: Mad River Glen submits application to be included in the National Register of Historic Places -
Despite several challenges, the co-op has been very successful. The mortgage on the ski area was paid off within a few years. Additionally, the ski area has remained profitable through several poor ski seasons, including the 1998 Ice Storm, and has managed to fund the replacement of the double chairlift and the restoration of the single chair.
, and operated by the Sheridan Ski Club.
The original chair was manufactured by American Wire and Steel. In the summer of 2007, Doppelmayr CTEC
was contracted to renovate the chairlift, while maintaining the classic New England feel. The tower foundations were new, along with close replicas of the chairs, grips, drive, and end terminals. In addition, all the towers were taken to Maine
for painting.
The Single Chair is the fastest fixed-grip chairlift in the United States. Only detachable quads and other such chairlifts are faster. Depending on the volume of skiers, average lift rides from base to summit are 9.7 - 12 minutes in duration. The Single Chair has a midstation that skiers can either unload or upload at and is the only chairlift in the lower 48 states where skiers do not need to return to the base area to return to the summit.
, along with Utah
's Deer Valley
and Alta
ski areas. This has caused significant discussion, especially among the snowboarding community. The Mad River Glen cooperative seeks to preserve the area as a "skier's mountain."
Mad River Glen was one of the first places in the U.S. to allow snowboarding during the 1986-87 season and lasted until the 1992-93 season. Unloading issues due to a flat run-off exiting the old single chair led the owner of the resort to limit them to the Sunnyside Double and the practice area chair. Due to heated debate over this issue, Betsy Pratt, Mad River Glen’s previous owner, decided to ban snowboards entirely.
Four years later the owner sold the mountain to the Mad River Glen Cooperative. During the 1999-2000 season the co-op sold the 1,667th share to pay off its mortgage. The mountain is now owned by the co-op, who addressed the snowboard ban with a vote. Over 75% voted to keep the ban, and it will take a 2/3 majority to overturn that, making it unlikely that the ban will be lifted soon.
and regularly hosts the North American Telemark Organization's yearly festival weekend each March.
Alpine skiing
Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...
area in Fayston
Fayston, Vermont
Fayston is a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,141 at the 2000 census.-History:The town was chartered in 1788 and sold to a speculator. The town was organized in 1805. This town has produced many greats such as Sir Samuel Luke Brown...
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. Its terrain has been ranked by SKI magazine as the most challenging on the east coast of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Located within the Green Mountain range
Green Mountains
The Green Mountains are a mountain range in the U.S. state of Vermont. The range extends approximately .-Peaks:The most notable mountains in the range include:*Mount Mansfield, , the highest point in Vermont*Killington Peak, *Mount Ellen,...
, it sits in the Mad River
Mad River (Vermont)
The Mad River is a tributary to the Winooski River in Vermont. It has its headwaters in Granville Gulf, then flows north through the towns of Warren, Waitsfield, and Moretown before entering the Winooski River just downstream from Middlesex. Other towns within the Mad River watershed are the...
Valley, close to the larger Sugarbush Resort
Sugarbush Resort
Sugarbush Resort is a ski resort located in the Mad River Valley in Warren, Vermont. It is one of the largest ski resorts in New England. The resort encompasses more than 4000 acres total, 578 acres skiable, 53 miles of trails, and 16 ski lifts...
. Though not considered a large ski area, it has a vertical drop of 2000 feet (609.6 m), which ranks 14th in New England.
It averages over 250 inches (635 cm) of snow a year and maintains a traditional form of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
skiing that emphasizes snow preservation on narrow trails instead of man-made snow on wide boulevards. Mad River Glen also does very little grooming and prefers to leave its trails with whatever naturally forms. It has one of only two single chairlift
Chairlift
An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel cable loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs...
s left in the country and does not allow snowboarding
Snowboarding
Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...
. It is one of a very limited number of ski cooperative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
s. Individuals purchase publicly available shares and attend regular "Town Hall" meetings, voting on issues regarding the area and management of the cooperative.
History
Mad River Glen was founded in 1947 by a group of investors including members of the Rockefeller familyRockefeller family
The Rockefeller family , the Cleveland family of John D. Rockefeller and his brother William Rockefeller , is an American industrial, banking, and political family of German origin that made one of the world's largest private fortunes in the oil business during the late 19th and early 20th...
(the Rockefellers continue to own property on the mountain to this day) and headed by Roland Palmedo, one of the businessmen involved in Stowe Mountain Resort
Stowe Mountain Resort
Stowe Mountain Resort is a ski resort near the town of Stowe in northern Vermont, comprising two separate mountains: Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak. The vertical drop from Mount Mansfield of is the fifth largest in New England and the fourth largest in Vermont. The resort is primarily owned by...
. Feeling disenfranchised by what he felt was excessive commercial development, Palmedo wanted to create a ski area for truly dedicated skiers, with a minimum of commercial interests and amenities. The Single Chair, a marvel of engineering at the time, was completed and first operated in 1948. Additionally, five trails (Catamount, Chute, Fall Line, Porcupine, and Grand Canyon) and a small base lodge (still referred to as the "basebox") were also completed at that time. Over the next few decades, 3 double chairlift
Chairlift
An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel cable loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs...
s and a rope tow for a children's learning area, and many new trails were added. However, the general character of the area changed very little.
In 1972, the ski area was bought by Truxton Pratt, then passed on to his wife, Betsy, after his death in 1975. It remained relatively unchanged until she sold it in 1995 to a group of skiers who formed a cooperative to own and manage the ski area. Betsy now owns a small inn a few miles from the mountain called the "Mad River Barn," as well as all the land between there and the mountain.
On December 5, 1995 a new era began when the Mad River Glen Cooperative was formed. Mad River Glen is now the only cooperatively owned ski area in America. In an age when the ski industry is consolidating and becoming homogenized, Mad River Glen bucks the trend by remaining independent and preserving a ski experience that exists nowhere else. Shareholders in the Mad River Glen Cooperative have come together to fulfill their mission; "…to preserve and protect the forests and mountain ecosystem of General Stark Mountain in order to provide skiing and other recreational access and to maintain the unique character of the area for present and future generations." The mountain is managed by the hired staff with direction and leadership provided by the Board of Trustees elected by the shareholders.
In April of 1998 the Mad River Glen Cooperative fulfilled its purchase agreement with the previous owner by selling its 1,667th share. Mad River Glen is now owned outright by its dedicated skiers. The fledgling Co-op enters the 50th Anniversary season riding high. Not only was the share sales goal met but three successful seasons under the Co-op allowed management to begin addressing capital needs. Mad River’s main double chair, "The Sunnyside Double," was replaced over the summer. "This project proves that the Co-op format can work for Mad River. Not only are we surviving, we are moving forward," said Marketing Director, Eric Friedman.
The Mad River Glen Cooperative continues to sell shares in an effort to broaden the base of support and to insure long-term viability for the area. Shares cost $2,000 each and are available on a 30-month installment plan. "This gives practically anyone with a job and a desire to help preserve Mad River Glen the chance to get involved. This is no country club," says Friedman.
Mad River Glen Time Line
1947-48: Initial trails cut: Catamount, Lift Line, Fall Line, Canyon and Porcupine. November snows stop construction and the opening is postponed for a year.
1948-49: Trails improved, work tram, lift and StarkÂ’s Nest built. Opening ceremonies were held on December 11, 1948.
1949-50: No Stop No Fall and Easter Parade traditions begin.
1951-52: Father and Son Race moves to MRG from Stowe and evolves into the Family Tournament
1952-53: Jack Murphy becomes General Manager, Ken Quackenbush starts his career at MRG. Chalet 10 (little house across from Amateur Ski Club house) is built.
1953-54: Hartford Ski Club builds house at MRG
1954-55: Practice Hill Rope Tow is installed. MRG hosts the NCAA Downhill Championship Race. 68 new chairs are added to the 65 all ready on the Single Chair's line more than doubling the lifts capacity.
1955-56: The Base BoxÂ’s first addition (the east end) is built.
1957-58: McCullough Turnpike (current Route 17), the road over the mountain is finally completed.
1958-59: New tower is added at the bottom of the Single Chair. Beaver trail is cut. T Bar goes in on the Practice Slope. Sugarbush Valley ski area opens.
1959-60: First Ski Shop is built over the brook.
1960-61: First Tucker Snow Cat is purchased. The second Base Box addition (currently Gen. StarkÂ’s Pub) is completed. Trails were cut for proposed Sunnyside double chair.
1961-62: Sunnyside Double Chair opens. First Green & Gold Weekend. The infamous Parachute Race into Catamount Bowl.
1962-63: A new trail, Quacky, is added and named for Ken Quackenbush.
1963-64: Lower Antelope opens. Another 25 chairs are added to the Single Chair making it a total of 158 chairs on the line.
1964-65: Upper Antelope opens.
1965-66: The last season for the Bud Phillips Ski School
1966-67: Birdland Trails open. Rudi Maier Ski School opens. Touring trails open.
1967-68: Birdland Lift opens. 10th Annual Kandahar Race. Base BoxÂ’s third addition, the upstairs, is completed
1968-69: Birdcage Opens. Last season food and beverage are served at StarkÂ’s Nest. Saturday night movies!
1969-70: National Slalom held at MRG. Four tracked vehicles used on mountain.
1970-71: Junior Nationals held at MRG. VermontÂ’s Act 250 development law is passed ending land sales on the mountain. Tennis courts built at Mad River Barn.
1971-72: T Bar dismantled and replaced by new Double Chair Lift. Mad River Junior Racing Program starts.
1982-83: Sunnyside Double Chair drive replaced.
1986-87: Snowboards first allowed at MRG.
1991-92: Snowboard ban begins at MRG.
1995-96: Mad River Glen Cooperative purchases mountain an December 5, 1995 and the mountain opens with ceremony at the Single Chair on December 7.
1997-98: The Ice Storm of 1998 hits Mad River Glen, causing a great deal of damage to the mid-mountain forest. Clean-up crews and volunteers have the mountain re-opened within a week.
1998-99: Mad River Glen celebrates 50th Anniversary with a re-creation of the original opening day. Just like the original opening the Governor, Miss Vermont (both 1948 and 1998) and George Neill were in attendance. 50th Anniversary Gala held in January 1996. Sunnyside Double Chair is replaced.
1990-2000: The Co-op sells the 1,667th share to pay off its mortgage. The mountain is now owned outright by the Co-op.
2000-01: CallieÂ’s Corner Handle Tow Area is added and Stark's Nest is renovated. Over 325 inches of snow allows skiing to continue until April 29, 2001, the areaÂ’s latest closing date on record.
2005-06: The Mad River Glen Cooperative celebrates 10 years of skier ownership of the mountain.
2006-07: On Easter Sunday, April 8, the original Single Chair brought its last skiers to the top of Gen. Stark Mountain. The last rider was long-time Mad River Glen GM, Ken Quackenbush. Fittingly the Single Chair was ushered out of service in a snowstorm that ended the season in a fabulous powder day.
2010: Mad River Glen submits application to be included in the National Register of Historic Places -
Management
The cooperative holds annual elections for a board of trustees, who oversee the management and business of the ski area. They also hire a general manager to handle day-to-day operations.Despite several challenges, the co-op has been very successful. The mortgage on the ski area was paid off within a few years. Additionally, the ski area has remained profitable through several poor ski seasons, including the 1998 Ice Storm, and has managed to fund the replacement of the double chairlift and the restoration of the single chair.
Single Chair
Mad River Glen is one of two ski areas in the country to utilize a single chairlift. The other single chairlift is operated at Mt. Eyak which is located and owned by the City of Cordova, AlaskaCordova, Alaska
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,454 people, 958 households, and 597 families residing in the city. The population density was 40.0 per square mile . There are 1,099 housing units at an average density of 17.9 per square mile...
, and operated by the Sheridan Ski Club.
The original chair was manufactured by American Wire and Steel. In the summer of 2007, Doppelmayr CTEC
Doppelmayr CTEC
Doppelmayr is an aerial lift manufacturer based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Saint-Jérôme, Quebec, and a subsidiary of the worldwide Doppelmayr Garaventa Group. The North American company was formed in 2001 after the merger of Garaventa of Goldau, Switzerland, and Doppelmayr of Wolfurt, Austria....
was contracted to renovate the chairlift, while maintaining the classic New England feel. The tower foundations were new, along with close replicas of the chairs, grips, drive, and end terminals. In addition, all the towers were taken to Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
for painting.
The Single Chair is the fastest fixed-grip chairlift in the United States. Only detachable quads and other such chairlifts are faster. Depending on the volume of skiers, average lift rides from base to summit are 9.7 - 12 minutes in duration. The Single Chair has a midstation that skiers can either unload or upload at and is the only chairlift in the lower 48 states where skiers do not need to return to the base area to return to the summit.
Meteorology
Mad River Glen is situated favorably on the backbone of the Green Mountains. The elevation allows for cooler air and more precipitation than surrounding terrain. The highest ridge of the Green Mountains not only gets the same snow that blankets the rest of New England but also picks up significant "backlash" snow after the storms have passed. Strong northwest winds behind the storms pick up moisture from Lake Champlain and are forced rapidly upward on their perpendicular ride over the Greens. This "orographic enhancement" of snowfall is the primary reason that Mad River Glen and similar locations often average triple the snowfall of the rest of northern New England. The north and northeast facing slopes of the ski area then allow for maximum retention of the snow that does fall. By late winter or early spring, it is not uncommon for 40 inches of snow to lie on the mountains with no snow at all in nearby towns and villages.Trails
Mad River Glen offers forty five trails with a wide variety of difficulty. They range from the flat, open greens of Birdland to the large number of steep, moguled trails that dominate much of the mountain. These are the trails that have given Mad River its reputation as the hardest ski area in the Northeast. They have been kept much as they were when they were first cut, often by the skiers themselves, decades ago, and many are gladed and have natural features lying just beneath the snow; rocks, logs, bushes, etc. Even among these black diamond trails there is tremendous variety; the ambiguous short but steep Waterfall is sometimes rated a black diamond and sometimes an intermediate blue square, and the infamous 38 degree pitch of Paradise is still only rated at a black diamond, when it would earn two or three of those diamonds at other ski areas.Snowboarding
Mad River Glen is one of three ski areas in the U.S. that completely ban snowboardingSnowboarding
Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...
, along with Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
's Deer Valley
Deer Valley
Deer Valley is an alpine ski resort in the Wasatch Range, located east of Salt Lake City, in Park City, Utah, United States. The resort, known for its upscale amenities, is consistently ranked among the top ski resorts in North America...
and Alta
Alta Ski Area
Alta is a ski area located in the Wasatch Mountains, just east of Salt Lake City, Utah. With a skiable area of 2200 acres , beginning at a base elevation of 8530 ft and rising to 10,550 ft for a vertical gain of 2020 ft . Alta is one of the oldest ski resorts in the country,...
ski areas. This has caused significant discussion, especially among the snowboarding community. The Mad River Glen cooperative seeks to preserve the area as a "skier's mountain."
Mad River Glen was one of the first places in the U.S. to allow snowboarding during the 1986-87 season and lasted until the 1992-93 season. Unloading issues due to a flat run-off exiting the old single chair led the owner of the resort to limit them to the Sunnyside Double and the practice area chair. Due to heated debate over this issue, Betsy Pratt, Mad River Glen’s previous owner, decided to ban snowboards entirely.
Four years later the owner sold the mountain to the Mad River Glen Cooperative. During the 1999-2000 season the co-op sold the 1,667th share to pay off its mortgage. The mountain is now owned by the co-op, who addressed the snowboard ban with a vote. Over 75% voted to keep the ban, and it will take a 2/3 majority to overturn that, making it unlikely that the ban will be lifted soon.
Woods Skiing
Mad River Glen is also famous for its tree skiing. It is one of the few mountains that allows and even promotes off-trail skiing. Mad River's most difficult marked trail is a steep, rocky, thin, and usually icy path down from the top of the mountain called Paradise. To embark, skiers hike over and out of view of the chair lift. The entrance to the trail is not marked, although in 2004 it was added to the official trail map. The first pitch features mandatory air over a four foot (1.3 m) high frozen waterfall that spans the full width of the trail.Telemark
While Mad River Glen does not allow snowboarding, it does have a larger than normal proportion of telemark skiersTelemark skiing
Telemark skiing is a form of skiing using the Telemark turn. Unlike alpine skiing equipment, the skis used for telemarking either have a binding that only connects the boot to the ski at the toes, just as in cross-country skiing, or may be released to only connect there.Telemark turns are led with...
and regularly hosts the North American Telemark Organization's yearly festival weekend each March.