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backcountry

Every mountain on the Green Mountain ridgeline has good skiing on it somewhere! It also has tight trees, open riverbeds, and way too many little striped maple trees. The only way to discover the best spots is to go out looking for them, but there are plenty of user-friendy ways to get the goods.

Catamount Trail Section 19 (Phenn Basin): the Catamount Trail Association maintains a cross-country trail from Massachusetts to Canada. Parts of the trail go through higher elevation forests with backcountry skiing. Section 19, maintained by the Mad River Valley Backcountry Coalition, is one of those zones. You won’t get much help finding the goods on their website, but the trail itself is a great way to venture out into the backcountry–and back–with one marked option to keep you oriented.  

 

Thanks to the Ridgeline Outdoor Collective, some of best marked, maintained and most accessible backcountry skiing is 35-40 minutes away. Steep, open, gorgeous hardwood glades reward you for the climb up and, unlike almost all other spots in Vermont, ROC has mapped the 2 best zones. 

 

Brandon Gap: 40 minutes to our south, Brandon Gap is big, steep and open–really some of the best backcountry skiing in the state. Especially if a nor-easter hits the southern half of the state, head to Brandon Gap for memorable turns.

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Braintree Forest: More off the beaten path than Brandon Gap but still well-marked, Braintree Mountain Forest offers great fall line ski touring only 30 minutes from Madbush Falls. Ridgeline Outdoor Collective went to town making these glades, so there’s plenty of room.

 

Mt Ellen Uphill Trail: Often, the uphill route at a resort means skinning straight up an icy groomer. Not so at Mt Ellen. This well-marked backcountry route meanders through the woods on either side of Lower FIS. From the top you have the pick of any terrain off of the Green Mountain Express… and you might just discover some little-skied zones on the way up. 


Bolton Backcountry: If there is one place that has it all for backcountry in Vermont, it’s Bolton Valley. 40 minutes away, you’ll find lessons, guides, equipment and most importantly a vast zone to discover Vermont powder. Be careful, because the terrain leaves from the top of the resort or the nordic center and does NOT return to the base without a climb, but it’s a pretty special place if you want to experience open Vermont hardwood skiing.

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HOURS:

Friday: 8-10am | 3-9pm (Bar 'til 10)

Saturday: 7-10am | 3-9pm (Bar 'til 10)

Sunday: 7-1pm | 3-9pm

Monday: 8-10 | 4-5pm Bar & Snacks | 5-9pm Full Menu

Tuesday: 4-5pm Bar & Snacks | 5-9pm Full Menu

Wednesday: 4-5pm Bar & Snacks | 5-9pm Full Menu

Thursday: 8-10am | 4-5pm Bar & Snacks | 5-9pm Full Menu

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CONTACT

7575 Main St
Waitsfield VT 05673
802 496-7575
info@madbushfalls.com

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