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Skiing the Underhill Glades by way of the Four Runner Quad
When Stowe still had club days, and the lift tickets were cheap, a group of hardy SWCers decided to take the Four Runner Quad to the top and then hike to the “nose” of Mansfield so we could ski the glades of Underhill.
This awesome idea had been talked about at length the season before over cocktails during après. So, in the summer of 2009, myself and a few others hiked to the top of Mansfield from the Underhill State Park, hiking up the trails to the “forehead” and then along the ridge line to the “nose”. This is near the top of Toll Rd. Finding the intersection, we got the GPS coordinates for where we would start our descent.
The ski season of 2009-2010 was good; there was a deep base by March, around 8’ at the snow stake! Stowe club days in mid-March looked like the prefect time to go on this adventure. It was a 5-day club discount and many of us who often skied together were there for all 5 days. After our 1st few days on the hill we had the plan together for our adventure. I called the afternoon before to find a taxi that would pick us up in Underhill State Park and bring us back to the SWC House. Thinking I’d have to explain, I was surprised when the response was “oh yeah you are skiing down from the Stowe side, we do that a lot.” Having our ride sorted we started to plan for the next day.
As the sun rose in the morning so did we. Having a wonderful club breakfast and packing our gear, our group headed to the mountain. We planned to ski in the morning then ride up the Forerunner to gather for the hike up the Toll Rd around noon. After we all made it up, hiking in ski boots and carrying packs, we took a rest and started to look for the trailhead to Underhill - interesting what 8’ of snow does to the tree line. The path that was clearly visible and marked in the summer was hiding amongst the tops of trees. The group fanned out and calling back and forth to each other managed to find our way to the “glades” (maintained by volunteers). It was a warm day, and the snowpack was a bit punky and rotten, but we found the goods!
With much cheering and great enthusiasm, we were on our way! The glades of Underhill are beautiful, open and have a great pitch. It was a great run, with ear-to-ear smiles from everyone. As the vertical started to level out, we started to make our way skiers left to cut out some walking on the access road. It’s closed to vehicles in the winter, and we needed to meet our taxi at the trailhead. After several minutes of walking, in ski boots with skis over our shoulders, we made it!
One of our party had packed beers for the group. (Yes, he was very popular!) We all toasted to a ride that would live in our collective memories for a lifetime. After, on the way back to the House we relived all the moments and again there were laughs and smiles all around.
Sandy (Leith) Culver
