On almost any day of the season—from opening to closing—Mount Snow’s Carinthia will be jamming with pros throwing huge airs, freeskiers and riders hitting features or riding the rails and young kids (a.k.a ‘groms’) just learning to jump. And thanks to Mount Snow’s extensive snowmaking, just five days after the ski area opened for the season in 2022, Carinthia’s The Gulch was the only terrain park in the East that was open top to bottom.
Carinthia was once its own ski area. Now, it’s connected to the rest of Mount Snow, an annexed base area with a $22-million base lodge that opened for the 2018/19 season with a top-floor restaurant, The Iron Loft, with views of the action below.
One of the largest terrain parks in the country, Carinthia comprises more than 100 aces of trails, woods runs and terrain challenges, with man-made features that can range from a monster 500-foot-long superpipe and 65-foot jumps, to a rotating set of creative features such as Rockstar-branded rails to hit, a Toyota-branded staircase, the popular Mamba (a long, large metal pipe that’s half sunk in the snow), rails and others. There are also a series of dedicated terrain areas designed to help younger skiers and riders and those who are just learning to progress.
“We’ve always been known for our really big features,” says Kevin Harrington, Mount Snow’s Senior Operations Manager, “but recently we’ve been focusing on making Carinthia accessible to all and finding that our progression parks like Fools’ Gold and The Gulch are some of the most popular areas on the mountain.”
Progressing with the Terrain
“Being able to ski or ride Carinthia requires you to learn and understand every single possible principle that you would need to become a well-rounded skier or rider, from the development of turn fundamentals, all the way through skiing in the woods and moguls and, obviously sliding on metal and plastic, hitting jumps and all that,” says Brian Knowles, the head freeskiing coach at Mount Snow Ski Club’s weekend freesking program.
In total, Carinthia has ten dedicated terrain parks. For top-level skiers and riders, there’s Inferno (back this year following a two-year hiatus) and for those who want a chairlift audience, Nitro runs below the lift. Inferno, which has played host to the X Games, features big jumps and rails. “On any given day you’ll probably see a few pros or people whose names you know there,” says Knowles. Junkyard has a rotating set of creative rails and other features. The Farm incorporates Vermont icons such as wooden rail fences and sap buckets while Prospector is constructed out of timber sourced on hill. “It looks like what would happen if Paul Bunyan got behind the wheel of a PistenBully,” an article in New Schoolers once claimed.
Mount Snow’s staff often works with local skiers and riders on ideas to craft many of these. “The diggers are out there every day and if you throw them a compliment or recognize their hard work, they’ll usually take your input,” says Knowles.
But what Knowles values the most is that “Mount Snow’s Carinthia is really all about progression. There are places and features for pretty much every ability from never-evers to pros.”
A World Champion Training Ground
Carinthia is also where many pros got their start. “There's so much history at Carinthia, it has led the way in the industry for a long time,” says Knowles, who has been in the area for several decades and has coached the likes of Mac Forehand, a former World Champion in Big Air who calls Carinthia his home training park. “There are a lot of resorts out West now that have huge parks, but they really came up on the back of what Carinthia was doing years ago. People come here for that history and legacy.”
Since it was first developed in 2008, Carinthia has been as a training ground for the best freeskiers and riders on the planet. Kelly Clark, three-time Olympic medalist, was there before the park was even built. She was born in 1983, when Carinthia was still its own ski area, separate from Mount Snow. But by the time she was riding a snowboard, Carinthia had become part of the larger Mount Snow resort and by 1992, the ski area had a small terrain park, Un Blanco Gulch.
In 2008-2009, all of Mount Snow’s terrain parks were moved to Carinthia and Un Blanco Gulch became simply, The Gulch—an easier park, with progressively more difficult features leading up to the big, bad-ass Inferno.
Devin Logan was 13 when “Carinthia Parks” came to be. “I was a grom and for me freestyle still meant training on moguls, but I was learning how to slide rails and chase my brothers around the park,” recalls Logan, who went on to become a three-time Olympian and the only halfpipe and slopestyle skier to win the overall World Cup for freestyle skiing.
“There is so much that Carinthia has to choose from—all these cool little trails and boxes and rails to slide,” Logan says. “You can start at the grommet level and then move up. When I was little, Inferno scared me so much. My brothers and the boys dared me to do these huge jumps there. There’s a great feeling when you end up conquering something that scared you. When you do, you ask yourself ‘why did I not do that before?’”
Freeskier Mac Forehand (the 2019 World Cup overall champion in Big Air) and his U.S. Ski Team teammate Caroline Claire also learned the tricks of their trade here, driving over from Stratton Mountain School where they were enrolled, to train. Freeskier Ian Compton and the Level 1 film crew also got their start here.
A Place for Spectating
Mount Snow has also played host to some of the biggest freeskiing and freeriding events, including the X Games, which it hosted in 2000 and 2001, before Carinthia came to be; the first winter Dew Tour (2008-2009) and the Carinthia Classic. Last held in 2019 the Carinthia Classic was rail jam held in a one-of-a-kind, plaza-style setup loaded with rails, boxes, and a whole arsenal of unique features and a $20,000 purse. “It was often held after hours under the lights which made for great spectating,” says Knowles. This year the Carinthia Classic is back as a daytime event, being held March 11.
Knowles is excited to see events come back to Carinthia. “We’re hosting the Futures Tour this January 16-19 and I’m stoked to see the Classic come back,” he says. “Events are so much a part of the scene here and they make for great spectating, whether you’re a park skier or rider or not.”
Vermont's Legendary Terrain Parks
Carinthia Parks
Carinthia Parks: Vermont's Ultimate Terrain Park Destination
Looking to throw down at Vermont's top terrain park? Check out Carinthia Parks, our all-park mountain face with 100 acres of features packed with a collection of jumps, rails, boxes, and more. With features designed for every level of skier and rider, from our Grommet beginner park to Inferno's XL rails and jumps, it's the perfect playground for all.
Carinthia Terrain Parks , opens in a new window
Carinthia boasts 100 acres of parks loaded with rails, jumps, creative lines, and a tree-skiing zone. There's no place like Carinthia for pure variety of freestyle terrain and features. Carinthia's parks are the perfect destination for all abilities from the little groms to the top pros.
Park Smart
Carinthia Parks at Mount Snow adheres to the guidance, logos, and signage developed through the Park Smart Freestyle Safety Program. All of Carinthia Parks and Safety Signage are designated by an orange color.
Almost all terrain at Carinthia may contain jumps, hits, ramps, banks, fun boxes, jibs, rails, half pipes, quarter pipes, and other constructed or natural terrain features.
For more information about Park Smart, please visit http://www.terrainparksafety.org/
Almost all terrain at Carinthia may contain jumps, hits, ramps, banks, fun boxes, jibs, rails, half pipes, quarter pipes, and other constructed or natural terrain features.
For more information about Park Smart, please visit http://www.terrainparksafety.org/
Start Small | Make a Plan | Always Look | Respect | Take it Easy |
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Work your way up. Build your Skills | Every Feature. Every Time. | Before you drop. | The features and other users. | Know your limits. Land on your feet. |
Grommet
Our park for the little ones or those of us out there still learning the ropes of sliding and spinning. Filled with XS features and serviced by its own covered surface lift, Grommet is the best place on the mountain to learn the basics and beyond.
Inferno
Inferno has become a legend since it first hosted the 2000 X Games. Inferno is for the experienced park rider or skier only. With XL rails and jumps upwards of 70', it's not for the faint of heart.
Junkyard
Challenge yourself in our large park on technical rail combos, big tanks, and unique features like the Toyota stair set. Located at the bottom of the Nitro Express lift, Junkyard is the perfect place to showcase your skills during events like our signature annual rail jam, the Carinthia Classic, and night sessions once a month.
Fool's Gold
A winding, flowing mile-long trail scattered littered with jumps, unique snow features, rails, and boxes, Fool's Gold is our premier progression park and has quickly become one of our most popular parks for many ability levels.
Nitro
Our most popular park sits directly under the Nitro Express Quad and is a full mile long stocked with medium sized jumps, rails, and boxes.
The Gulch
With direct access from Heavy Metal (Lift 3), this park is where it all started in '92. Home to our early season park, this trail is focused on progression with a stacked line up of jumps and jibs. Utilizing the wide section at the bottom of the park, the Gulch provides plenty of room for a jump line and a rail line.
Prospector
Prospector is one of the more unique and popular parks on the mountain with all natural features like log rails, rock drops, wooden wall rides and more.
The Farm
The Farm provides lots of options to shred, with exciting features like volcanoes, hips, jumps, rails, boxes, and tanks. Skiers and riders love The Farm for its flow and diversity
Inferno Action
Carinthia Classic
For the latest photos and park updates, follow us on Instagram (@carinthiaparks) and use #carinthiaparks to be featured.
Best Terrain Parks in Vermont: Explore the Legendary Carinthia Parks
Mount Snow’s famous terrain parks have turned out more Olympians and World Champions than any others in the U.S. But they are also a great place for young kids to anyone who simply wants to progress.