Wintergreen Review

[urbaindk]

Well I rode my freaking ass off at Wintergreen Saturday. I was absolutely the only rider there. I had the whole mountain to myself and there was zero wait for the lifts. Figuring $35 for the lift ticket, I was way under a dollar per run. I started out on some of the beginner / intermediate runs. By the end of the day I was hitting the some of the advance trails, mostly Blanche's and the Ewok trails, over and over. I highly recommend it to beginner and intermediate DH / free riders. More experienced riders might find the runs to be a little short. I was doing runs in the 3-4 minute range, and I think I'm pretty slow as a DH'er. A fast rider might get down the hill in 2 minutes. It was very 'hardtail-able' although I didn't hit many of the drops. (By hardtail I mean hardtail suitable for freeride)

The only picture of the day:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y38/urbaindk/Misc_junk/wintergreen_small.jpg

The trails will be open Saturdays and Sundays until Labor Day and then Saturdays only until the end of October. Wintergreen is located just south of Charlottesville VA. On a good traffic day it would take 3 hours to get there from NOVA, 4 from Baltimore.

[redneckp3ngu1n]

Sounds good. Those ladders look a bit sketchy in my opinion though. Im not sure if id drive three hours to get to it if i have the shed 45 min from my house. It doesnt sound like they are getting very good buisness and one of the great things about going to a lift acessed hill is to hang out with other guys who do the same stuff as you. Its like going to an amusememt park, its not fun unless there is enough people.

[pirate]

Those ladders look a bit sketchy in my opinion though.

Dude... Have you seen some of the stuff at the Shed?! :D

[Brizn]

Dude... Have you seen some of the stuff at the Shed?! :Dyea, the older, heavily XC'd TTFs, but the more serious, and more clandestine stuff shows some real craftsmanship.

[urbaindk]

All the construction was made with mill grade oak. It looks ugly but it lasts a long time and has good grip. I didn't notice any flex or loose boards on any of it. Unlike the shed, Wintergreen actually has to pay big bucks for insurance and I'm sure stuff is pretty regularly inspected and repaired. That and rednecks don't go around randomly pulling boards off ladder bridges...

That said, I did see one or two dead and decaying stunts that should have been removed due to their ricketty sketch factor. It wasn't perfect.

[pirate]

Speaking of stunts at the Shed.... PM me for some pictures of some really nice stuff.

Someone has been hard at work! :D

[Jack Sparrow]

I've done downhilling and freeriding for three years now, and must warn you all that Wintergreen has completely lost their reputation as a DH/freeride park... I hear 2003 was their last "good" year.

I was there in 2004. I had a good time, but the place had a lonely feeling to it because there were only four of us riding all day. The trails were washed out, there was rebar and unprotected ski equipment everywhere, and there were holes and gaps in the earth that threatened to severely injure us. I learned to bunny-hop really quickly that day so that I could save my neck and not fall into a mini-ditch. I've heard that Wintergreen is still not well-maintained, which is why so few people go there. The management apparently is not interested in keeping that place up to the standards that other mountain bike parks have.

Wintergreen is not what today's freeride/DH scene is about.

I would highly recommend that riders who are interested in learning more about DH/freeriding drive a bit further to go to a well-maintained mountain biking park like Snowshoe (http://ride.snowshoemtn.com/) (WV) or Diablo (http://www.diablofreeridepark.com/) (NJ.) Both are about five hours from D.C.

Additionally, I attended a bike camp at Snowshoe last week, where I met a teenager and his mom who live near Wintergreen. The mom said it's a shame, but she won't let her son ride at Wintergreen since it's so sketchy. She drives her son to Snowshoe to make sure he rides somewhere that has a strong mountain bike program.

[redneckp3ngu1n]

Dude... Have you seen some of the stuff at the Shed?! :D

I saw the one that your tubles tire burped on when you crashed if thats what you mean. Yes the shed is sketchy but you would expect a lift accessed hill to be better maintaned.

I guess the best place in 3-4 hours from the dc area is WISP. I really want to get up to snowshoe this summer though.

[urbaindk]

Capt. Sparrow,

By all accounts Snowshoe and Diablo are better but I wouldn't cross Wintergreen off the list. I would say that I rode maybe 70-80% of the trails there and I got a much different overall impression. They must have put some maintanence in over the last year or so. They had quality protection set up around the lifts and snow making equip. Trails were very well marked as far as difficulty and direction go. Intersections were marked to alert riders of the possibility of cross traffic. They also had new-looking wooden bridges over all the drainage ditches that I saw. I didn't notice any rebar. Maybe it was there, maybe it wasn't... Some of the trails were washed out but were no worse or better than anywhere else I've ridden.

As far as lonely goes, I thought that was pretty cool. I only get to ride seriously every-so-often and fewer (no) people just makes for shorter lines. I'd rather not stand around and talk anyway but I'm just anti-social like that. :D

[pirate]

I saw the one that your tubles tire burped on when you crashed if thats what you mean.

Actually, I've seen WAY sketchier than that one, out there. I saw one a ladder the other day, that was one large stick with smaller sticks nailed across it. I couldn't imagine how it could actually hold somone.

Wow... I just realized how far off topic this thread was. Sorry!

[redneckp3ngu1n]

Capt. Sparrow,

By all accounts Snowshoe and Diablo are better but I wouldn't cross Wintergreen off the list. I would say that I rode maybe 70-80% of the trails there and I got a much different overall impression. They must have put some maintanence in over the last year or so. They had quality protection set up around the lifts and snow making equip. Trails were very well marked as far as difficulty and direction go. Intersections were marked to alert riders of the possibility of cross traffic. They also had new-looking wooden bridges over all the drainage ditches that I saw. I didn't notice any rebar. Maybe it was there, maybe it wasn't... Some of the trails were washed out but were no worse or better than anywhere else I've ridden.

As far as lonely goes, I thought that was pretty cool. I only get to ride seriously every-so-often and fewer (no) people just makes for shorter lines. I'd rather not stand around and talk anyway but I'm just anti-social like that. :D

Well if the lines are short then it doesnt matter but i would get the feeling that i would start seeing wierd things and then would hear some dualing banjos from in the woods. I seriously believe that a resort needs a crowd as long as the lift lines arent too long.

[Jack Sparrow]

Capt. Sparrow,
....As far as lonely goes, I thought that was pretty cool. I only get to ride seriously every-so-often and fewer (no) people just makes for shorter lines. I'd rather not stand around and talk anyway but I'm just anti-social like that. :D
I haven't ever had to wait more than two minutes to get on a Snowshoe lift.... What worries me about Wintergreen, too, is that it really felt like if I fell and broke my neck no one would come down the trail for another week or more, what with so few people riding there. Riding with others isn't always about being social, it's just about being safe!

[middle-ring]

Additionally, I attended a bike camp at Snowshoe last week, where I met a teenager and his mom who live near Wintergreen. The mom said it's a shame, but she won't let her son ride at Wintergreen since it's so sketchy. She drives her son to Snowshoe to make sure he rides somewhere that has a strong mountain bike program.


Jack Sparrow eh? Hey I was at the Shaums March camp with my son Greg - who are you?? Bryan?

[redneckp3ngu1n]

Im not sure but i thought i heard someware that jack sparrow is really a jill sparrow.

[urbaindk]

Riding with others isn't always about being social, it's just about being safe!

Very valid point.

[Jack Sparrow]

Jack Sparrow eh? Hey I was at the Shaums March camp with my son Greg - who are you?? Bryan?
This be Jenn! :)

[middle-ring]

Funny how things end up sometimes.....great to hear from you again!!!!!!!!!!!

You know, after you left Friday, I went down the race course again and on the second run I crashed. Nice road burn on my arm, jambed my right thumb. It wasn't fun. Other than that, I had the best time ever!! I still felt bad though, that you didn't ride Friday.

PM me if you want to chat more, and /or I'll give you my email.

Mike

[themonkeyman]

Woops, this post was supposed to go in the thread on how late wintergreen is open. If a mod wants to delete, I won't care. Sorry.


Sounds like fun. For someone like me where time is more of a concern, I'm gonna try hitting wintergreen before the season closes. Thanks for all the good info guys.

--Graham