Note: This message in NO way encourages skiing out-of-bounds or in closed areas. It's merely a proposal for the future. The author and contributer(s) claim no responsibility if you injure yourself or lose privlidges for skiing/riding out-of-bounds/in closed terrain. Though the author states that he has infact ridden this territory, he is not to be held responsible for his thoughts and statements and never really 100% said that he even rode it in the first place.

All I can think of now that it's dipped below freezing is winter and snow and Cherry Bowl. Thinking about how lucky I was last season to ride it a multitude of times and avoid punishment and or injury... and considering how one can affect others to reopen the glades. If T-Line reopened them they could change their slogan to "Heaven".

The problem is the liability and obstructions still in the glades. If one could remove the tree tops just above the logging road into C-Bowl, then a full ride could be completed with a decent snowfall, top to bottom, without skirting much of anything. Don't be fooled, there are still lots of logs and nasties below the surface, my base a sole witness. There is a section just below the top that could be a full-hearted triple black. The rest is double-black worthy material.

If the glades are reopened, it has to be blantantly obvious to those entering that they are doing so at their own risk, that the area is unmanaged and rarely patrolled. Only one public access point can be used, meaning the entrance from Sally and further down Off-The-Wall would need to be either fenced or poled off. The top of the glades is fairly open as one works their way down and over to the right. So theoretically, a cat track could be made back to the left to OTW. Below that path, it could be fenced off towards the right, and a small gap, then more fencing to Sally. Also fence around the Ceiling and upper Sally. Put signs indicating danger not only at the entrance from OTW, but also at this fence gap. From there provide a suggested route down.

The lower bowl, below the logging road must be avoided at all costs! This needs to become a permanently closed area and marked accordingly. It's dangerous! To the right though, off towards Salamander, is actually nice gladed terrain with few logs. Fence off the part above Sally, funneling it down to the bottom of Off-The-Wall to keep people from landing ontop of beginners below. Fence the glades off on the Sally side and the OTW side other than the access point.

If all of this was done, then Cherry Bowl could be successfully navigated with difficulty, but fun difficulty. Also, it could be reopened to EXPERT skiers. I've extensively mapped out the area (not topographically yet), and I could scan this map and host it, showing the main features of the glades/bowl.

So, any thoughts?

I would love to see your map.....i went in there once and took a bad line....

I went in there once and found the perfect line, the first time.

Then I found a bunch of crappy ones.

I skied Cherry Bowl years ago (1996) and thought it was one of the finest-- if not THE finest-- glade trails south of Mad River Glen and/or Jay Peak. Went back into it-- or tried to-- in 1999 only to find a huge oak tree had fallen across almost the entire run just below the first lip. Timberline needs to clean that trail up and reopen it. Heck, Whitegrass has a trail crew work weekend every October. Why not offer it up to those of us who are willing to hacksaw that run back open? We could use the fallen logs to block off secondary and tertiary entrances to the run and aggressive patrolling to cut lift tickets off less-than-expert skiers should keep them off the run.

The south needs trails like Cherry Bowl. The only alternative is to go the way Dark Side of the Moon went at Canaan. Y'all remember that run? Seven years ago it was incredible, now it's a piece of crap. Bring back the Cherries!!!!

Every year, all sorts of people (including myself) volunteer to help clear the Cherry Glades, but nothing ever happens. I suspect that Timberline may be concerned about liability but if you create a gate warning skiers about the risk of the trail, that should get the resort off the hook. What do the lawyers on the forum think?

The Mid-Atlantic needs all the challenging terrain it can get and then some. Timberline could potentially be the domain of the expert if we could just get the Cherry Glades back into play. The resort's plan to make snow on Off the Wall proves that it is serious about attracting experts. Perhaps next year's goal should be to bring Cherry Glades back into the fold.

Then of course there is a backcountry trail not far from T-line and CV. IF you can get freeheel adapters, a topo map, a ride back to Canaan Valley, and a good snowfall, THAT might be the best run in the south. Topos indicate it could be as steep as anything T-line has to offer, if not steeper. 2000 vertical. And it's wide open the whole way down.

Roger:

What are you referring to? Cliff diving off of Bald Knob? Telemarking down the gas line right away between Bald Knob and Weiss Knob? Skiing down FS 80? There's some steep terrain between the two resorts but no real trail that one could ski on....

I guess I can get ahold of a scanner and touch the map up a little bit sometime soon. It's just a basic map... but it's pretty accurate, since I spent some time adventuring in there.

There are two particularly sweet chutes in the bowl. One from the "cross-country" trail on the first major corner of Salamander, it is flat, flat, flat, then you just go off the edge of the world.

Another can be found if one heads out to the right of Off the Wall past many trees (its actually quite open here). Then you see two pine trees with maybe a 5 foot max gap between them and its just like you approach these two huge snow-covered trees and then poof, everything drops beneath you and you spit out below them.

Laneville. Heard good things about it from the free heelers. Faces south though, so assuming it's been cleared of brush in the last couple years, you need to be on it right quick after a storm.

Roger,

Not being a West Virginia regular, I'm curious as to what happened to Dark Side of the Moon.

canaanman,

I'm definitely interested in your map. What's the best way to get access to it?

JohnL,

Dark Side of the Moon used to be this gnarly little run that dropped off the side of Weiss Meadows, maybe ten feet wide. It popped out into a separate meadows, then got even narrower and steeper in a second drop in the woods before opening into a final, large meadow and spilling into the beginners area. It was a very old-fashioned run.

About five years ago Canaan brought in the bulldozers and now, although it has a black diamond rating, it is a standard forty foot wide run that has lost its feel. It's really an overrated blue cruiser. I don't want to see T-line decide the only way they can salvage Cherry Glades is to do something similar.

Ok. If you are talking about Laneville, there's only a few options:

The gas line cut on the south slope of Weiss Knob: Great for Telemark skiing but not terribly steep.

The Bonner Slope of Mount Porte Crayon. You can only ski that slope after a storm because the wind usually blows the upper portions of the slope bare. It also sits on private land so you need permission. Also, this slope is not as steep as Cherry Glades.