liberty
December 30, 2004
i was thinking about checking this place out maybe like the weekend after new years and i was wondering if they hvae any difficult trails and any trails with moguls. Also i noticed that they did not have any marked glades are thier any hidden glades that are not on the map?
M'friend,
Liberty is a small local hill ... lots of fun and close in to the DC area. BUT ... its not New England, Rockies, or Wasatch so furgeddabout glades, bowls and the like. Occasionally the snow making crew will bump up one of the runs on the backside but its not a given and you takes your chances.
If you are looking for more of a challenge, try Snowshoe or Seven Springs. SS generally has bumps on Widownmaker and Lower Shays and I understand there are some off-piste areas at 7S that regulars know about. Laurel has one of the gnarliest runs around (Lower Wildcat) and Blue Knob has some short "glade/bowl" runs that will shred your ptex if there hasn't been a major dump the day before. Other than that, our local hills are family hills so don't expect anything fancy or extreme, just good fun.
Liberty is small and has no glades that I know of. Since it is so close to DC their conditions are typiclaly ice. There are a couple of steeper pitches off the back headwall which give a taste of challenge, but they are short to provide and provide maybe 10 quick turns. There are some moguls that usually form on the back side as well. Its fun for the day if you can't get out further to larger hills with more snow.
You need natural snow for glade skiing and Liberty averages 40-50 inches (if that) a year. For any hope of glade skiing in the Mid-Atlantic you need to head to West Virginia, Western PA (7 Springs, Laurel, Blue Knob) or Northern PA (Denton, Elk). No tree skiing to be found right now in the Mid-Atlantic due to lack of snow and some rain events. (Maybe some real sketchy backcountry at Whitegrass, WV.) Northern Vermont barely has any tree skiing open right now.
I was Liberty today. There is no mogul trail yet. My best guess is a couple of weeks (at least) before we get some moguls. The snow is becoming mashed potatoes with the heat but that's probably the same as many mid-atlantic slopes right now.
I was skiing Liberty on Tuesday night, and Upper Heavenly and Upper Blue Streak both had decent moguls. I wouldn't be surprised if they groomed to try and make it through the upcoming warm spell, though.