Mount Bohemia MADNESS (March 2025) [4K]

Описание: DATES OF RECORDING: March 1st-2nd, 2025

SNOW CONDITIONS: Dust on Crust

DESCRIPTION:
I've been attending the University of Wisconsin Madison since 2022. Every time I talked to my Midwest ski friends, they'd always tell me something along the lines of "yeah, hills out here don't really compare to mountains out West. But they'd also tell me about 1 specific mountain that I absolutely had to check out while I was out here no matter what. They said it was the only hill in the Midwest that could compare to the extreme terrain offered in the North American West. That mountain was Mount Bohemia. I'd vaguely heard of Mount Bohemia prior to these conversations, mainly because I knew it was one of the few mountains in the United States to use a triple black rating. But I didn't know what to truly expect until I saw this video:    • Insider's Guide to Mount Bohemia | Complet...  

My mind was absolutely blown; I couldn't believe a mere Midwest hill could have such wild terrain. So 3 years in, I finally pulled the trigger and checked out Mount Bohemia for our ski club's annual Mardi Gras trip there (I actually led the trip funny enough). And I was pleasantly surprised! The snow wasn't the best (definitely dust on crust), but terrain has always mattered a little more to me than snow quality. And the terrain, for the most part, did not disappoint. I say for the most part, b/c the true extremes are really concentrated in Mount Bohemia's Extreme Backcountry zone. The rest of the mountain is honestly fairly mellow glade terrain. If you're trying to compare Mount Bohemia's trail difficulty to the average mountain Out-West, I'd say subtract 1 destination from each rating (IE: Boho Triple Black = Out-West Double Black. Boho Double Black = Out-West Single Black, etc...). The terrain in the Extreme Backcountry, however, is legit by any standard. There are some truly insane cliffs back here that would have been spectacular on a deep day (the conditions were just not right to do anything truly risky). There were also some crazy chutes that I'd love to try if the snow was a bit deeper (IE: Apex Chute). Even though the rest of the mountain was admittedly fairly mellow, the trees were extremely flowy and fun. The mountain has a 900 foot vertical drop, and honestly, that was perfect. Runs didn't feel too short, but you also wouldn't be gasping for air by the time you reached the bottom.

Mount Bohemia also fulfilled for me a dream I've had since I was a kid. I'm from California, and outside of Boreal (which I've never been to), we don't really have night skiing. So I initially assumed that night skiing was a premium package, similar to heli-skiing, where you were taken in guided tours to ski the mountain at night with no lights other than one coming from a headlamp. I eventually figured out that it was not that and have since enjoyed traditional night skiing at both Tyrol Basin and Steamboat. Now, Bohemia does offer traditional night skiing on a few of its main frontside runs. Note that what I'm about to say is not offered by the resort and could potentially get you into trouble. Please do not do this unless you're an experienced rider. However, while I was there, I met a ski instructor who I noticed had a headlamp. I asked him about it and he said that the resort while technically not allowing it, "didn't really care" if you went into the trees at night. I asked him if he had an extra pair and he told me he did. Now I don't have any footage to prove I did this (I left my GoPro in the Yurt), but I then followed him into the frontside glades in the pitch black. The main runs were lit up, but in the trees were dense enough to where you couldn't see anything. The only light source was from your headlamp. This was, hands down, one of greatest experiences I've had skiing in almost 20 years. I cannot express to you how badass it felt to be absolutely ripping through the trees with the only light being from your headlamp. It felt like I was playing a horror video game while skiing and I absolutely loved every second of it.

So yeah, Boho lived up to my expectations from a terrain perspective. But where it exceeded it was the night-tree-skiing that I did. I've never experienced anything like it at any other ski resort and don't think I ever will. Something like this would only be possible at Boho b/c it truly is a skier's mountain first. I will be back to ride here next season, which is my last in the Midwest. I absolutely cannot wait to be ripping through those trees in the pitch black!

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - Horseshoe Chute
0:57 - Wandering Grizzly
1:38 - Horseshoe Chute
2:01 - Wandering Grizzly
2:10 - Horseshoe Chute
2:31 - Wandering Grizzly
2:36 - Rabbit Hole
3:42 - Icefall 1
3:56 - Icefall 2
4:02 - Asteroid
4:35 - Meteor
4:58 - Black Hole
6:01 - Extreme Backcountry
6:07 - Bohemia Bluffs
6:40 - Apex Chute Alt. (Blooper 1)
6:53 - Rabbit Hole Straightline (Blooper 2)
7:03 - Rabbit Hole Drop (Blooper 3)