Mad River Glen

62 Mad River Road
Waitsfield, Vt. 05673
802-496-3551
madriverglen.com

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If you learned to ski way back in the '50s or '60s, Mad River Glen will bring back fond memories. The country's only cooperative-owned ski resort, Mad River Glen is the way skiing used to be -- and the way some say it still should be. (Case in point, it is the only resort in America to prohibit snowboards.) As epitomized by its trademark single chair lift (the recipient of a $1.5 million restoration this year), Mad River Glen is a certainly a dinosaur with its original 1948 base lodge, minimal snowmaking, and only four slow lifts. But it boasts some of the best (read: most challenging) natural-contour skiing in the East, lots and lots of trees (roughly 1,000 acres worth). It's a bargain price wise, but Mad River Glen still only appeals to a narrow, retro segment of the skiing population. Ski it if you care!

MOUNTAIN INFO

Base elevation: 1,600 feet
Summit elevation: 3,637 feet
Vertical drop: 2,037 feet
Skiable acres: 115
Lifts: 4 (3 double chairs, 1 single chair)
Lift capacity: 3,574 skiers per hour
Trails: 45 (see trail map)
Trail breakdown: 30 percent beginner, 30 percent intermediate, 40 percent expert
Must-ski trail: Upper/Lower Antelope
Snowmaking capability: 15 percent

HOURS

Weekdays: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Weekends/holidays: 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.

PRICING

Weekday: $35 adult, $35 (ages 6-high school)
Weekends: $54 adults, $40 (6-high school)
Holiday: $56 adults, $42 (6-high school)


30-day pass
$299 adults, $229 juniors/seniors

Rental rates
Full day: $30 adult (over 15), $25 (ages 6-15), $15 toddler (under 5)
Half day: $25 adult (over 15), $ 20 (ages 6-15), $ 10 toddler (under 5)

Lessons
Group beginner package (includes lift ticket, equipment rental, and two-hour lesson) $70, second two-hour lesson the same day, $50
Private beginner package (includes lift ticket, equipment rental, and two-hour lesson) $90, second two-hour lesson the same day, $60
1-hour private clinic, $65; each additional person, $25

OTHER SNOW ACTIVITIES

Snowboarding is banned at Mad River Glen. Telemark skiing, however, is big

FOR THE KIDS

Children's programs (available only on weekends and holidays) $95 full day, $65 half day (includes lift tickets but not rentals)
Rockin Robins (ages 4-12) for first-timers
Otherwise Chipmunks (ages 4-6) and Panthers (ages 7-12)
Kids' private lessons: $40 an hour, additional child, $25

Cricket Club daycare: Infants (up to 18 months): $60 full day, $45 half-day. Ages 18 months - 6 years: $55 full day, $40 half day. Hourly rate: $15

OFF-SITE LODGING

Slide Brook Lodge, 10-room architecturally interesting wooden lodge from the 1960s recently remodeled and offering comfortable and affordable lodging only minutes from the slopes, 3180 German Flats Rd., Warren, 802-583-2202.

Hyde Away Inn, 1824 farmstead offering 10 rooms, Route 17, Waitsfield, 800-777-HYDE.

The 1824 House Inn, small, intimate Vermont country inn featuring 10 comfortable rooms with private baths and superb dining, 2150 Main St., Waitsfield, 800-426-3986.

Wait Farm Motor Inn, affordable motor lodge with perfectly adequate standard rooms located conveniently in the heart of Waitsfield, 4805 Main St., 802-496-2033.

Waitsfield Inn, 1825 parsonage converted to a classic, homey Vermont inn with 12 rooms featuring queen-size featherbeds, spacious common spaces, and a hearty county breakfast, 5267 Main St., Waitsfield, 800-758-3801.

ON-SITE FOOD AND DRINK

Two options in the 1948 base lodge known as the "basebox," a cafeteria and the General Stark Pub.

OFF-SITE FOOD AND DRINK

Easy Street Market, a restaurant, 802-496-7234.

Purple Moon Pub, a MRG institution featuring a fireplace, mahogany full-service bar, and serving hearty pub food, especially burgers and steaks, live music at night, near jct. Rtes. 17 and 100, 802-496-3422.

The Den, historic storefront decorated with antique bric-a-brac that has become a casual dining mainstay for the past 30 years, serving good-value, steak and seafood, Jct. Rtes. 100 and 17, Waitsfield, 902-855-8200.

Hyde Away Restaurant & Tavern, large portions of basic American comfort food featuring daily specials served upstairs, while pub food and local microbrews prevail in the cozy, rustic tavern downstairs with its legendary sloped floor, Route 17, Waitsfield, 800-777-HYDE.

Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc.

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