Skiing Mt Equinox

[Gratefuldad]

Does anyone know if you can hike and ski the trail at the top of Mt Equinox in Manchester? Can't find any info on the internet

[skiyak777]

I've done it (from the trail behind Burr and Burton school.) The front side is quite thickly treed at the top and not too good for skiing. The land is owned by some kind of conservancy who would probably not be too happy about gardening, but there is a trail that runs along the ridge for quite a ways north that has some good lines off the backside with reasonably spaced trees. There is also a road (Mount equinox auto road) from the top heading south which is a snowmobile trail in winter, with a loop around the bottom of the backside which could facilitate access. I wanted to do the slide you can see from Manchester, but it looked to involve some serious bushwacking and I haven't made it back up to try it.

[Gratefuldad]

Thanks for the info. The slide looks like a great run if it has enough snow on it but you probably have to hike back up when you get to the bottom of the trail because the trees below look to thick to ski all the way down. If you could ski down to Manchester the total vertical will be over 2300'. The slide looks like it is in the 30-35 degree range. Accessing the summit by snowmobile would make for easy access to the slide from the top however it will be a steep climb back up.

I have the sleds now all we need is some snow.

[VTtoCC]

I grew up in Dorset and went to school at Burr & Burton. While I can't speak to any experience off of the access road, I can tell you that there is some fantastic skiing on the lower half of the mountain closer to the school, all within a short hike. Your best bet is to head up past the school (school will be on your right), take your next right onto West Union and there will be a small parking lot for cars at the top (you'll see the water tank, trail will head up past it and around, just keep heading straight up). There are likely to be several other cars there on nice days, as it's a popular snowshoe/ x-c area. The stuff that I've skied is off of the main trail (called the Burr & Burton trail) that pretty much heads straight up the mountain. Mostly mature hardwood forests with relatively clear understory in areas. The path itself is quite a good run with lots of switchbacks. The lower portion of Equinox is well marked with x-c trails, and is managed by the Equinox Resort. You should be able to track down a trail map pretty easily. Don't think sleds are allowed on this portion of the mountain. Lots of areas of wide open shots off the B&B trail, with plenty of pitch. Might be a bit tough right now, your best bet is to wait until they get a few more storms through the area. A couple of local guys christened that slide the year after it went off (went in the middle of the night during a rainstorm). Looks fun, but would be a helluva lotta work to get there.

If you're up for it, I've had a great time skiing off the backside of Bromley (following the LT), its tight and steep in places but is an absolute blast when there is good coverage. The trail can be accessed from the Run Around trail off the summit, it'll be on skiers right, fairly close to the top. Look for a single track/blaze trail. This is some pretty tight stuff, probably not a wise choice for all, and is best savored in the spring after things have filled in quite a bit. The trail is fairly well pitched until the last quarter mile or so, and there are one or two creeks to cross. The LT will dump you right out on Route 11/30 about two miles from the Bromley base area (look for the clearing/parking area just west of the route 11/30 junction). Local folks at EMS in town are pretty helpful if you're not too familiar with the area. There is likely to be a ton of stuff that you could get to by sled, including the now defunct Snow Valley (we used to run laps all day long up there, very sled friendly).

[Gratefuldad]

thanks for the info. Hopefully we will get the snow to make the slide possible later this season.

[Chugach001]

The Slide goes under the best conditions. There are two amazing patches of tree skiing below the slide that are worth the trip.