Words, Photos and Captions: Brian Mohr and Emily Johnson 2017-10-31 17:07:45
Although temperatures might be on the retreat by the usual opening time of 9 a.m., the mercury still hovers in the red on days like this. Waterfalls gush on the lower mountain. Chickadees chirp and hop around in apparent glee.
But the hill’s loyal locals aren’t surprised. It’s simply one of the mountain’s many moods. They know that in 24 hours it may be zero degrees, with the resort’s single chair spinning as snow squalls attempt to cover up the evidence of yesterday’s meteorological atrocity. Or it may be classic dust-on-crust, known locally as Green Mountain glacial, a ski’s edge deep. Or it might be an East Coast powder day, cold, deep and dreamy. Did we say cold?
Whatever it is, the skiers show up, and they are stoked. Some have waxed their skis the night before. Many haven’t tuned their skis in years. Veterans attempt to wait for not-so-experienced friends, but that often doesn’t work. No problem—all the terrain funnels back to a single base area, and the bar usually has Lawson’s Finest Liquids on tap.
This East Coast emotional roller coaster began on December 11, 1948, when avid skier, pilot and businessman Roland Palmedo presided over Mad River Glen’s ceremonial opening. Palmedo had built the single chairlift at nearby Stowe years earlier, and—disenchanted with the growing commercialization of the ski industry—he dreamed of a ski area that truly prioritized skiing over profit. Located in the steep, snow-catching shadow of Vermont’s 3,637-foot-tall General Stark Mountain, Mad River was that area.
By the numbers, the resort showed huge promise. But on that December day, there wasn’t enough snow on the mountain to go skiing. It remained so until January, and the season’s meager revenues barely covered the cost of plowing.
But the following years weren’t nearly as disheartening. Soon Mad River Glen became, as Palmedo put it “not just a place of business, a mountain amusement park…instead, it is a winter community whose members, both skiers and area personnel, are dedicated to the enjoyment of the sport.”
The then-state-of-the-art single chair—today the fastest fixed grip chairlift in the United States, and one of two remaining singles in North America—whisked skiers more than 2,000 vertical feet to the top in just 12 minutes, providing stunning scenery along the way. The narrow, winding trails made the most of the mountain’s contours and features, and in 1961 a double chair was installed on the sunnier side of the ski area’s northeast-facing bowl. Most years, the snow gods cooperated, treating skiers to an average annual snowfall of more than 150 natural inches, and a season that could span from late November into April.
During lean times, skiers learned to embrace the added challenges of thin cover skiing, offered to help pack snow in exchange for lift tickets and good karma, and simply made the most of what nature had to offer. And what started as a necessary tolerance for all conditions, ice, rain or powder, soon became a prized tradition.
In 1972, a partnership led by Truxton Pratt purchased Mad River Glen from Palmedo, and after Pratt passed away just a few years later, ownership ultimately passed to his wife, Betsy, who continued to carry Palmedo’s torch. With little water for snowmaking, and rugged terrain that made grooming a challenge, the decision to shun snowmaking and groomers was an easy one. And while most ski areas succeeded in crowding their slopes by expanding lift capacity and slope-side accommodations, Mad River Glen resisted—they have even kept snowboarders off their lifts. Financially, this was not an easy track to follow, but when Betsy sold the mountain to a newly formed cooperative of skiers in 1995, the dream continued.
Today, skiers flock here as soon as the first snows of autumn dust its hand-scythed trails. Over the past 20 years, the Mad River Glen Co-Op—now 2,000 owners strong—has raised and invested millions of dollars into deferred maintenance and infrastructure work. It remains a special place for families and expert skiers alike, who will show up for rain, ice or powder, with skis tuned or rusty, all stoked on whatever their beloved mountain’s mood may be.
©Funny Feelings LLC. View All Articles.