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Stark Mountain is on the northern end of the Monroe Ridge of the Green Mountains in
Vermont. The mountain is home to the Mad River
Glen ski area, which began operation
in 1949 with a single chair lift (one person per chair), nine trails, a small base
lodge, and an equipment shed. Today the same lift still carries skiers to the 3610-foot
summit. The ski area expanded along Stark Mountain's ridge to the north, and today
it has an additional three double chairs, a handle tow for children, and expanded and
additional buildings in the base area. Real estate development is limited to a few dozen
ski houses. The ski area now has over forty named trails, most of which rely on natural
snow (snowmaking is limited to the bottom of the mountain). There are also numerous
runs off the trail system which were cut and are maintained by hand. The ski area
attracted generations of devoted skiers, and was purchased in 1997 by a Cooperative
composed of these skiers that has since thrived.
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Mad River Glen trail map, circa 1949 |
