Rip the Greens!

It is not spring yet. Don't be fooled by your calendar. Its cold and still snowing in the mountains. I drove up last friday night/saturday morning (thanks garet) to meet/ride with the Green Mountain Rippers film crew.  I've been admiring their work from afar for a couple months, so once Cruz put me in touch with them (he knows everybody), I was eager to "shred their Vermont", if you will.  

 I'm a lazy writer, so here's a blurb from their website: 

"Green Mountain Rippers Films, based in Northern Vermont, is dedicated to recording and producing the best of East Coast backcountry snowboarding films available.

As a team, GMR riders have been ripping through the Green Mountains and documenting these experiences for years.  The riders take on the challenge of riding the most remote locations, incorporating a style heavily influenced by years of park riding into their riding deep in the mountains of Vermont."

  

Keep driving, it gets better.

 For those of you who only venture as far into VT as Killington, and have never been to Jay, Smuggs, Bolton, Stowe, (and to a lesser degree Burke and Sugarbush), you're missing out. There's a whole different character to the northern Green Mountains, They're bigger, steeper, curvier and they get far more snow than the crowded, straight-lined hills to the south. That said, its nice to have locals show you where the gnar is, because it tends to be dumping snow with low visibilty all day, and the trail layout (or lack thereof) will have your head spinning if you're not familiar. At one point I mentioned on the chairlift that I had been to Jay 4 times, and actually seen the mountain only once. Another rider said I was lucky, because he had probably gone over 50 times before ever seeing a glimpse of the whole mountain.  Due to a weather formation affectionately dubbed  "the Jay Cloud". It never seems to stop snowing there. As I write this, Jay's season total snowfall is 359".... Park city, Utah? 378"..I know, its not quite as much, but its definitely no "Ice coast".

Jay, April 30 2010. The only time I've ever actually seen it.

That Chevy was completely sideways a few times on rt242 on the way up the hill. He didn't seem bothered by it. Sketch.

Being 5 miles from Canada, half the traffic here is from Montreal, and everything is bilingual. Yes, that sign says : "Bienvenue". There are no cigar-smoking, deer-hunting, red state skiers here. Suck it Okemo.

Green Mountain Rippers roll call left-right: Chris Tower, Dave Bradley, Elliot Roberts, Alex Miller, Nick Richards.

Dave 

Le tram.

Rip The Greens.

Elliot

Dave and Chris

 Elliot & Dave at lunch time:  real men don't go inside. The seating is more comfortable out here, anyway.

Un petit promenade dans la forêt pour accéder au gnar.

Nous voyageons outre du piste. 

Alex  Miller gets the pass off through tight coverage.

 Elliot applying park steez , while exiting the treez. ............. Anybody wanna write for this website? ...email me.

Alex Miller, blasting ridonkulous.

Dave, on the best run of the day. You could ride these woods for years, and never repeat a line.


Thanks to GMR for letting me tag along! Look forward to more from these guys ASAP.

Thanks to GMR for letting me tag along! Look forward to more from these guys ASAP.Peace!