Burrows->CHSA

Another week of not much snow and warmer than normal temps. I read the various ski conditions on Fri and had low expectations for today. At elevation (above 2K) it was actually very good. I hiked part way up the Burrows trail at Camels Hump and connected with the trail that goes around Camels Hump. At that point I put on the skis and they stayed on for the rest of the day. I went left up to the saddle near the top of Bald Hill. The snow was good, about 6 inches of powder on top of an OK base, and wasn't tracked all the way to Camels Hump Ski Area (CHSA). The ski to CHSA was nice with very little wind and good views. I went up Lions Ridge at CHSA and then headed back. On the way back I went to the top of Bald Hill which had great snow and some open areas for some good downhill skiing. A surprisingly good day.

Camels Hump from Lions Ridge

Great snow!

How many pictures of Camels Hump can I take? It is impressive from Bald Hill.

Huntington Sat, Underhill Sun

Nice weekend with temps near 0 in the AM going up to 20 in afternoon. Clear on Sat night with a full moon and temps around 0. Saturday was a nice ski in Huntington from Carse road to the Catamount trail heading South. Snow was good although still a thin base. Avoided the snow mobile trails on the way down and found some nice powder turns in the woods.

Sunday was a trip from Stevensville road up to the Devils Dish pan and then over into the Stowe x-country trails. Then up Burt to Sky top and over to the Trapps area. Plenty of snow up high and not a lot of tracks. The first part up to Devils Dish pan did have a lot of past traffic and some rocks in that area. Sky top had tracks from maybe 2 other people and lots of snow. Long day from 8 to 3. Tired!!

Carse Road:

Underhill:

Devils Dish Pan

Looking at Adirondack's from Sky Top?

Sky Top

Mansfield from Burt or somewhere like that

Madonna and luck

I am talking about the mountain, not the singer. The lift up Madonna at Smugglers Notch was closed yesterday due to wind. It opened today and it was powder skiing most of the day. Not a lot of people skiing with most of the chairs going up empty. The mountains probably got 4 inches of snow each of the last 3 days. The base is still thin but with 8+ inches of nice powder who cares? I went in the woods in a number of places and it was good. Some stumps and sticks sticking up here and there but mostly visible and I didn't have any problems. One of those days that far exceeded expectations.

Finding Snow

Sat 1/9 the snow was good in Smugglers Notch on the closed road. Nice packed powder that made for some good practice skiing. The next day it rained. Pretty hard. I went hiking yesterday 1/16 at Honey Hollow and the snow was very thin and wet. Honey Hollow has some serious logging going on this winter so that is out for skiing this season anyway.
It has been snowing some in the mountains since the rain last week. Today we decided to give Bolton a try. Starting at the parking lot at 2K feet it was a little crunchy but the snow quickly turned to good powder. Not much of a base but enough and the snow was good. The higher we went the better it got. Went up the Wilderness lift and then into the x-country trails up high to get to Heavenly Highway and Paradise Pass. Everything in the woods up there was great and toward the end of the day I found Moose Glen which had not been skied yet this year. Much better conditions than expected!

Wilderness lift is closed - Nice!

Stowe - Trout Club

At the end of Nebraska Notch road is Lake Mansfield and the Trout Club. A trail goes from the club up to the long trail at the Taylor Lodge. I went up to the Lodge and then went on the LT South toward Mt Mayo. I turned around before the top and went back to the lodge. From the lodge I took a trail that goes down toward the cliffs. I had not been there before. The trail goes down toward the big bowl that you see on the way up and goes through some caves. After wandering around in that area I went back up to the lodge and then back to the club. A cloudy day with light snow. Enough visibility to see close mountains. Interesting area and good snow for hiking. Not enough for skiing yet.

Pond on way to Mt Mayo

Caves below Taylor Lodge

Caves below Taylor Lodge

Trout Club