Mad River Glen is the curmudgeon of the Vermont ski world -- just what you'd expect from a place whose motto used to be "Ski it if you can." High-speed detachable quads? Forget it. Until early 2007, the main ski lift was a 1948 single-chair lift that creaked its way a mile up to the summit. Snowmaking? Don't count on it. This hill is nearly entirely dependent on the whims of Mother Nature. Snowboarding? Nope; it's forbidden. Toll-free telephone numbers? A fancy website? Hardly. This hill long ago attained cult status among one-with-the-mountain connoisseurs, and its fans seem determined to keep it that way: Owned and operated by a cooperative of Mad River skiers since 1995, it claims to be the only cooperative-owned ski area in the country. But don't mistake this gentler approach for easy skiing -- the slopes here are twisting and narrow, and hide some of the steepest drops in New England (nearly half the slopes are classified as "expert"). A ski school and kids' program are offered, and care is taken to preserve (and explain) the mountain's ecology. A renegade spirit remains here -- even in the face of the sport's, and Vermont's, inexorable process of upscaling.
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