The Valley’s Grim Reapers

More often than I think is statistically normal, humans in the Mad River Valley perform heroic tasks. 

Case in point is the annual hand-scything of trails at Mad River Glen which recently got some pre-season attention from Powder Magazine.  

While most trails on this legendary ski mountain use machine power to mow saplings and fauna down to a skiable level, there are about 20 trails that are too steep for a motorized vehicle. These signature “ski-it-if-you-can”  trails require human power to “mow.” 

“Mow” seems like an optimistic word when the tool of labor is the scythe, a long curved-blade instrument that is swung back and forth to eliminate any plants in its path. A team of hardy humans walk up and down these steep slopes every year, swinging their blades to keep Mother Nature in check.

To read more about this amazing endeavor, check out the article at Powder Magazine. 

And for those of us tuning our skis for MRG opening day, we thank you, mow crew!  

Photo credit: Kintz/Mad River Glen