We realize skinning up at your local mountain isn’t real backcountry skiing, but more and more people are getting into it. It’s a great workout, a good way to sneak in a run or two before work, and if you’re new to the backcountry it’s a great way to start to learn efficient uphill technique and get familiar with your equipment.
Due to the influx of participants in this area of the sport there has been more and more pressure on the resorts to develop official policies regarding uphill travel. Each resort is different and has a different set of concerns to address, but it’s nice to see that most resorts are working to find ways to allow uphill travel in ways that help ensure the safety of the skiers and the on-mountain workers that are typically on the slopes even after the lifts stop running.
Two new recent additions to the list of resorts that are allowing uphill travel are Bolton Valley and Sugarbush Resorts. They’ve both developed generous policies and, before suiting up, we recommend taking a minute to make yourself familiar with their rules.
Here at the CTA we will be taking advantage of Bolton’s new policy every Tuesday morning at 6:30am when we will be hosting a weekly Dawn Patrol. You can find out more about this event, and others like it over on our Meetup.com Page.
If you’re interested in the uphill policies at other resorts around New England head over the the Uphill Policy Page on the Adventure Skier Website.
