{"id":10732,"date":"2021-02-16T14:31:49","date_gmt":"2021-02-16T19:31:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/v2.mappyhour.org\/blog\/?p=10732"},"modified":"2021-02-16T14:42:11","modified_gmt":"2021-02-16T19:42:11","slug":"splitboarding-in-northern-vermont","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mappyhour.org\/blog\/2021\/02\/splitboarding-in-northern-vermont\/","title":{"rendered":"Splitboarding in Northern Vermont"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the snow continued to pummel the East Coast, my friends and I decided to explore the backcountry zone between Smuggler’s Notch and Stowe in Vermont.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Knowing that we had a big day ahead, I decided to wake up at a 5:00AM, getting ready as the quiet mountains remained dark. The group arrived at the parking lot of Mt Mansfield State Forest around 7:00AM, pulling out splitboards and triple checking our backpacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It had just snowed and this backcountry zone is known for having small slides so we were ready with our avalanche gear – beacons on and shovels and probes in our packs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Soon it was time to start heading up the Notch Road (also known as Route 108), a fully functioning road in the summer that stays closed during the winter. We passed street signs and the trailhead for the famed Hellbrook Trail<\/a> as we continued to skin up.
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\"Splitboarding_Skinning_Mansfield_Kyle_Crichton\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

About a quarter of the way up it got too steep to skin so we continued our slog by bootpack, boards in hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Splitboarding_Bootpacking_Mansfield_Kyle_Crichton\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

At the top, we took a short break to change up our layers and then enjoyed fluffy snow through chutes and gullies as we explored on our way down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mansfield_Downhill_Snowboarding_Kyle_Crichton\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We finished our day with hot chocolate and Sierra Nevada brews at the car, definitely tired yet definitely exhilarated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Splitboarding in Northern Vermont<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":10734,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[878],"tags":[885,886,221],"yst_prominent_words":[734],"class_list":{"0":"post-10732","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-backcountry-touring","8":"tag-backcountry_skiing_stories","9":"tag-kyle-crichton","10":"tag-sierra-nevada-brewing-co"},"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n