Trail Name Series: Doc Dempsey’s
A Wonderful Cartoon From Mike Roth, Ski Journalist From Albany.
Mike writes and draws cartoons for the Albany Times-Union Ski Blog. This one is about Smuggler’s Notch’s Doc Dempsey’s run.
Credit: Mike Roth
Tag Archive for: Trail Names
Trail Name Series: Pennsylvania
Extrovert, Powder Puff, and The Elevator
Spend a little time looking at resort maps and you’re sure to find some attention-grabbing trail names. When I looked at Pennsylvania resorts I found some beauties. Powder Puff and The Elevator at Jack Frost along with Extrovert at Blue Knob topped the list.
Among the best is High Hopes also at Blue Knob. Seven Springs has three trails making it into the top of the list; Santa’s Beard Terrain Park, Lost Boy Trail and Lost Girl Trail. Also noteworthy are Vertigo Park at Liberty Mountain and White Lightning at Montage Mountain.
See if you can spot Draufganger on Big Boulder’s Trail Map.
Rounding out the list is Draufganger (German for daredevil) at Big Boulder.
Several Pennsylvania resorts stand out for having trail names that follow a theme. At Roundtop Mountain many trail names relate to the Revolutionary War. These include Recruit, Bunker Hill, Lafayette’s Leap and Fife and Drum. At Camelback trails are Egyptian themed such as Nile Mile, Pharaoh, Asp, King Tut and Cleopatra.
As you’d expect, at Eagle Rock trails (and lifts) are eagle-related. Trails include Baldy, Talons, Nestling and Screaming Eagle. Lifts include Wings and Soaring Heights. At Elk Mountain trails have Native American names such as Mohawk, Kickapoo, Seneca, Iroquois and Chippewa.
Do you have a favorite trail name that’s been overlooked? Please let us know in the comments section.
This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Nov. 23)
Free (Or Almost Free) Skiing Directory, Skis For Seniors Recommendations, Chile Wrap, Trail Name Series, Ski History Gala, Skiing In Skirts.
Here’s one Tom who made it past Thursday, glad to be trotting on the snow. Credit: SnoCountry
Happy Thanksgiving On The Snow! For the first time in recent memory, there are plenty of lifts spinning in New England areas and in Colorado and other places in the West. The recent East Coast Nor’easter brought a snow covering and this week’s persistent precipitation has raised the snow level up to the top of boots in many areas. Fingers crossed this is a harbinger of a long, cold season. By the way, that is counter to the official El Nino-fused forecast for warm and wet here in the North East.
Last week, we published an update to our listing of resorts where the US and Canada where seniors can ski for free or almost free. We believe this is the only listing of its kind in the ski world. You can access this list by clicking on the third menu box from the left under the blue ribbon at the top of the page.
We also published our list of ski recommendations for seniors which we compiled with the help Realskier.com, a long-time and respected reviewer of and commentator on skis and ski design. You can find this listing on the second menu from the left, next to the free (or almost ski list) list.
You may be asked to re-enter your name and email address to access these resources. There is no charge for any of these assets. We’re presenting them to the SeniorsSkiing.com community of readers to give you more specifically tailored resources for senior.
This Week
Casey Earle reports on the ski season in Chile, sharing some good news-bad news. Despite a shortage of snow, there were some great days and he took advantage of them. If you haven’t even seen pictures of South American skiing, his article is a good introduction. We’ve also included a link to more comments on Casey’s Ski Chile page on Teton Gravity Research.
We continue Don Burch’s trail name series with a swing through Michigan’s many resorts. Also Harriet Wallis reports on the University of Utah’s Ski Archives Gala where awards were handed out to Olympic visionary Harold Peterson and the US Forest Service and the Utah Avalanche Center, a team which has played a major role in controlling errant snow flows in the state.
Finally, our Mystery Glimpse looks at a pair of young ladies skiing in skirts more than a hundred years ago. We report on what the significance of that big brass bell was from last week’s puzzle.
Thanks for reading SeniorsSkiing.com. Tell your friends, and remember, there are more of us everyday and we aren’t going away.
Chile skiing. Credit: Casey Earle
Trail Name Series: Michigan
Idiot’s Delight, Fun Bubble and Crisis.
[Editor Note: Last week, we launched Don Burch’s Trail Name series with a round-up of trail names from resorts in California. This week, we move to Michigan. If you have some trail names that stick in your memory, please let us know in the comments section below.]
Look at some resort maps and you’ll find some very creative trail names. Among resorts in Michigan, I found some gems. Making the top ten are Idiot’s Delight at Boyne Mountain, Fun Bubble at Marquette Mountain and Crisis at Pine Knob.
Marquette Mountain has another trail in the top ten, Oh, Zone. Nub’s Knob also has two in the top ten; Hot Flash and Bark Eater (there is also a Bark Eater at New York’s Titus Mountain). Rounding out the list are Don’t Chute at Big Powderhorn, Coffin Canyon at Mt. Holly, Elf Buster at Schuss Mountain and Old Face Full at Treetops.
Michigan has a slew of great trail names making the Honorable Mentions list: At Alpine Valley there are Mineshaft and Hidden Splendor. At Big Powderhorn Crazy Trail and Vertical Drop make the list as do Lois Lane and Joust at Boyne Highlands. Big Snow has No Name Trail making the list which is also the name of a trail at California’s Mt. Waterman and New York’s Labrador Mountain.
Crystal Mountain has three trails on the Honorable Mentions list: Abbey Road, Penny Lane and Giggles. Mountain Slayer Chute at Caberfae and both Old School and Bear Trap at Cannonsburg are also noteworthy (there is also a Bear Trap at Vermont’s Mount Snow).
Bonsai and The Sweet Spot at Mount Ripley, Mogul Mania at Mt. Holly, Chicken Chute at Brighton, Kingdom Come at Schuss Mountain, Whitewater at Ski Brule and Boneyard at Marquette Mountain round out the list ( there is also a Boneyard at Dodge Ridge in California).
Mount Bohemia deserves its own paragraph for the number of creative trail names at the resort. These include Cursing Werewolf, Thirsty Vampire, Hungry Vulture and Wacky Jackrabbit. Not to be overlooked are Dynamite Blast, Forbidden Cliffs and Ghost Trail.
A final note about the popularity of skiing in Michigan: Michigan ranks number two as the state with the most ski resorts (42). It is only surpassed by New York with 48. Tied for third are Colorado and Wisconsin each with 30 (based on 2015-16 data from SnowBrains.com).
Do you have a favorite trail name that’s been overlooked? Please let us know in the comments section.
Mount Bohemia. Credit: Ramada Hancock
How Do Ski Trails Get Their Names?
Themes That Pick Up The Resort Name Can Be Catchy And Easy To Remember.
What’s in a name? A few resorts create a theme for trail names. Memorable. Cutesy. Provocative (?) Here’s a trail sign from Waterville Valley Resort.
Credit: Don Burch
Sometimes trail names are descriptive (Easy Mile at Suicide Six), sometimes they are a tribute (Thanks Walt at Mt Snow for its founder Walter Schoenknecht), sometimes they’re humorous (True Grit and No Grit at Waterville Valley), sometimes sensational (Widowmaker at Sugarloaf and Snowshoe) and at several mountains they follow themes. What follows are ski areas where some or all of the trails are themed-named. (This article sourced some of these factiods from a Boston Globe article, What’s The Most Popular Ski Trail Name In New England?)
Gore’s trails are named after Adirondack local sites. The 46er trail is named after the 46 high peaks in the Adirondacks, and the Tahawas trail is named after a ghost town in the area.
Guess where? Wildcat, of course.
Credit: Don Burch
At Wildcat, trails have feline names like Wild Kitten, Polecat and Hairball.
Pat’s Peak trails have names related to types of wind including Tornado, Backdraft, Squall Line and Vortex.
Camden Ski Bowl, within five miles of the ocean, has nautical themed trail names such as Spinnaker, Crow’s Nest, Scrimshaw, Mainsail Glade and Clipper.
Mt Abram’s trails are named after the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. These include Dudley-Do-Right, Boris Badenov, Snidley Whiplash, Fractured Fairytales and Frostbite Falls. Wonder how that happened?
Whaleback has trails named Leviathan, Fluke, Blow Hole, Blubber and Harpoon.
Many of Saddleback’s trails are fly-fishing themed. Examples are Jitterbug, Wooly Bugger, Gnat, Nymph, Tight Line and Warden’s Worry.
King Pine’s trails are, of course, related to pine trees and their products. Pokey Pine, Pine Board and Knotty Pine are examples.
Many of Loon’s trails are terms from the logging industry; Flume, Ripsaw, Crosscut and Walking Boss.
Oz Peak at Sunday River has trails named Flying Monkey, Tin Woodsman, Emerald City and Poppy Fields.
Gunstock has trails named Trigger, Ramrod, Flintlock, Recoil and Pistol.
Magic Mountain has trails named Magician, Hocus Pocus, Wand, Up Your Sleeve and Wizard.
What’s your most notable trail name?