Three Day Ski Trip in Vermont and Adirondacks

Winter finally returned to northern New England.  I had purchased a card that gave me numerous lift ticket vouchers that I have not used.  With the recent snow storms in the past week, I finally planned a trip to the slopes for a three day trip Monday to Wednesday earlier this week.  After studying snow conditions at various ski areas, I set my sights on Smugglers Notch and Mad River Glen in Vermont, and Gore Mountain in New York's Adirondack Mountains.

I left my house in Maine Monday morning at 215AM.  My first destination was Smugglers Notch in northern Vermont.  Snow fell nearly the entire trip.  The roads were covered with snow but travel was not too bad.  However I hit several areas of slow cars and the trip took longer than normal.  Numerous deer on the dark and snow covered roads kept me alert in the early morning hours.  As I arrived at Smugglers Notch the snow increased in intensity. 

My first ride up the lift was promising.  The trails were not freshly groomed in corduroy.  The trails were covered in fresh powder.  My first warm up run, down a blue trail, was the start of a great day.  I made first tracks on the trail I skied down.  With a temperature in the single digits, the powder was very fluffy and skied great.  I spent most of the morning skiing from the Madonna Chair. Most of the runs were blues with the harder double diamonds roped off.  Most trails skied wonderfully.  FIS, a black run skied alright but held some surprises with a few sheets of ice.

Snowy ride up Madonna Lift

Looking up FIS

After a quick lunch, I skied most of the afternoon off of the Sterling Lift.  The runs on Sterling are a mix of blue and black trails.  My top trails of the day were Pipeline to Full Nelson and Exhibition.  Both runs are black diamond that ski top to bottom.  They both had plenty of deep snow and good coverage.  Even Exhibition, which can have a fair amount of bare spots and ice skied extremely well.  Highlander was the only glade I skied.  It still had decent coverage and skied well despite a couple of avoidable patches of very heavy ice.  The locals advised that the woods were hiding a lot of obstacles so I didn't want to push my luck skiing the woods alone.  The fresh snow made for a great day.  Except for a short lunch, I skied from the 830AM opening until closing at 4PM.  My legs were feeling weary from the long day in the fresh snow.
For a trail map to reference, click the link. http://www.smuggs.com/pages/winter/skiride/trail-map-large.php

Looking down Pipeline, my favorite run of the day at Smugglers Notch

Looking up Exhibition on Sterling Lift

Highlander Glades (other guy in glades is skiing in jeans)

Highlander Glades

Snow continued to fall throughout the day.  Conditions were awesome with about 4-5 inches of powder on the trails at opening and another inch or so falling as I skied.  Despite temperatures in the low teens, not even a tiny breeze blew.  The mountain was pretty dead so the snow stayed in good shape throughout the day.  I skied Smugglers Notch last year and conditions were pretty shabby.  They were amidst a snow drought and the trails were extremely icy and the Madonna Lift was on a wind hold majority of the day.  I wasn't too impressed with Smugglers Notch. The primo conditions this time allow me to recommend skiing Smuggs.

My next destination was Gore Mountain in the Adirondacks of New York.  On my way I stopped at Chipotle for a burrito in Burlington.  This is a real treat for me since I live nearly three hours from a Chipotle and love their burritos. 

After dinner I made the drive into New York.  Since my accommodations were in the posh and swanky Le Subaru Motor Lodge I wasn't in a great hurry to turn in for the night.  I decided on a rest area along I87 for my home for the night.  Various radio forecast were calling for temps around 0-5F.  I was equipped with a 0F mummy sleeping bag as well as another rectangluar sleeping bag if needed.  About 130AM I woke up cold and added my second sleeping bag.  The next morning, I found that the temperature was down to -11F.

I arrived at Gore Mountain to be on the lifts when it opened at 830.  This was my first time at Gore and found that it was worth the drive on this trip.  Gore is New York's largest ski area in trail number and skiable acreage.  The ski area has a good variety of terrain and good lifts.  Unlike Smugglers Notch's powder, Gore was nicely groomed.  Only a couple of trails had soft powder on the edges.  Only a few runs were not open and I think nearly all of the glades were roped.  I still had fun skiing the nice variety of terrain Gore has to offer.  With the exception of a couple of green trails, I skied every trail that was open.  I spent most of my day in the Straight Brook and High Peaks areas of the mountain with its black and blue terrain.  I did hit every lift and explore the terrain throughout the day.

The gondola at Gore Mountain

View from inside the gondola

Sagamore was one of the best runs.  It's a long black diamond with a mix of cruising sections and soft bumps where it got steep.  Twister was a solid blue cruiser.  I skied the steep double diamond Lies in the morning.  It was extremely  icy at the top but softer below the steep initial headwall.  Double diamond Rumor contained big soft bumps but held some icy stretches between some of the bumps and was more skiable than Lies.  For a trail map click the link http://www.goremountain.com/files/public/GORE-09092013-withGrnwayConveyor.jpg

The view from the top of Gore toward the top of the gondola

Looking toward the Straight Brook area

Warning sign at the top of The Rumor

I was on of the last ones to come down the mountain, finishing my day a few minutes after 4PM.  I skied another full day from 830AM-4PM with a lunch break mid day.  I wasn't nearly as tired as I was at Smugglers Notch where I was tired out by the powder and 2AM wake up.  Again the mountain was fairly empty.  Gore Mountain offers a lot of terrain variety and was well worth the drive.

My original plan was to lodge at Appalachian Gap, just above Mad River Glen.  There is a branch of Le Subaru Motor Lodge there.  With temps as low as 20 below forecast I was hesitant to stay at that elevation.  I decided on a rest area on I89 closer to Burlington where it wasn't supposed to be quite as cold.  Since I was in the area, I made another stop to refuel at Chipotle.

I settled in Le Subaru Motor Lodge at the rest area with both sleeping bags to start the night and a balaclava.  I slept well.  I slept well until 315AM when there was a knock at my door.  Since it has happened before, I was expecting to be told to leave.  I answered "yeah" to the knock.  "State Police" was the response.  I removed my cocoon and balaclava and opened my door expecting to be told I can't stay.  The policeman just asked if I was alright since it was so cold and was satisfied that I was alright and let me be.  It was -15 in Montpelier and -10 in Burlington that night.

I was at Mad River Glen when they opened Wednesday morning.  To those that never skied it, Mad River Glen is an interesting mountain.  They very rarely make snow and depend on mother nature.  They very seldom groom.  Their main chair to the summit is a single chair lift.  These features make it an interesting place to ski.  They need deep snow for ideal conditions.  A lot of the terrain that is blue and black tends to be quite bumpy.  It is a tiring place to ski, especially after my two full days of skiing on Monday and Tuesday.

Riding up the single chair

Looking over Lake Champlain toward White Face Mountain in the distance at Lake Placid in New York

Click photo for larger view

The Presidential Range in New Hampshire from the summit of Mad River Glen

 Click photo for larger view

I put in a solid half day at Mad River Glen.  There were signs recommending to avoid the woods because of tough conditions.  I skied nearly all of the open runs.  I only made a few trip into the woods.  As promised, the glades were full of surprises hiding under the powder.  Many of the runs, particularly the black runs, had quite a few bare spots.  Numerous bare spots contained very heavy ice that was hard to distinguish from rock.  With caution it could be skied and I still had fun.  For those that can comfortably ski black diamond terrain, Mad River Glen is worth a visit for a good challenge and the novelty of skiing such a ski area.  Since there are plentiful pockets of heavy powder, I wore out quickly, especially since I skied two 7+ hour days.

Looking across the lower part of Mad River Glen toward Appalachian Gap

Gazelle, under the Sunnyside Lift was my favorite run of the day.  It is relatively steep and had a very consistent cover of deep snow on it.  Upper and Grand Canyon skied like Gazelle but had a few more bare and icy patches that were hard to avoid.  Catamount Bowl offered some nice steep terrain with big soft bumps to play in.  Upper and Lower Glade skied okay but had numerous hidden surprises under the snow that ranged from rock to roots.  Chute under the upper single chair skied roughly.  The obstacle you can see going up the chair weren't always visible coming down the mountain.  Very heavy deposits of powder lined the trails edge with lots of rock and ice in the middle.  Lynx and Beaver had quite a few bare spots as well.  I avoided Paradise and Fall Line this time with so many bare spots.  Despite my report's grim sound, the skiing was still fun and most of the obstacles were avoidable.  With the next storm currently falling,  Mad River Glen should be in great shape.  For a trail map click the link http://madriverglen.com/skiing/trail-map

Antelope with Camel's Hump in distance

Typical bumped up trail

Lift Line from the single chair

I can't recall if this is Lynx or Beaver

More on Lynx or Beaver

Top of Catamount Bowl

Looking back up Catamount Bowl

Catamount Bowl from Catamount

The trip turned out pretty nicely.  After three days and 18+ hours of skiing I was ready to get home.  As always it was good to see Puma.  With the cold nights, it was nice to sleep indoors and on a real bed.  Hopefully more snow falls and I can enjoy more skiing soon.

Cross Country Skiing in Maine

Winter started out nicely in December for snow sports in the middle of Maine.  Plenty of snow fell and the temperatures stayed cool making for great conditions.  Then as the new year rolled in the weather changed.  The temperatures remained quite cold.  However, when a storm system made its presence, the are warmed up and we received ice or rain, lots of it.  The temperature would drop and freeze the remaining snow into a solid mass of ice hampering most winter activities.  January, which can normally be quite snowy in the middle of Maine, has seen only about 6 inches of snow so far while there has been more than three inches of rain.

After a weather imposed rest from most winter activity, I was eager to hit the snow.  I decided to go to the AMC's 100 Mile Wilderness cross country ski trails last Saturday.  Conditions were still questionable, however, their website claimed they were fixing the icy trails after a couple of inches of new snow fell earlier in the week.  Saturday sounded a little more favorable since Sunday was forecasted to have windchills approaching -30.

I headed to the AMC trails outside Greenville, Maine Saturday morning and decided to ski a loop around the Gorham Chairback Lodge.  The AMC's trail system is built around backcountry lodges for overnight stays.  Guests are welcome to visit the lodges however without an overnight stay.  When I ski the trails here I usually stop at the lodges to take a short break and perhaps refill my water.

My route started at the parking area on the Katahdin Iron Works Road (KI).  I followed the KI, which is a multi-use snowmobile and ski trail in this area, for a couple of miles before heading down the Deadwater  and Gorham Lodge Trails to the lodge.  Once off the KI, the trail stays on dedicated ski trails that see relatively little ski traffic while passing on old logging roads and narrower trails through the forest.  Along the Deadwater Trail there is a Yurt that can be used overnight complete with a bunk, woodstove, and gas stove.  There also appears to be more yurts planned for the future as they already have the platforms in place.  Views  of the Barren-Chairback Range and Long Pond are the highlights along the way.

Yurt

View of Barren Mountain near Yurt

Long Pond in the distance (photo from last month)

Trail near Gorham Chairback Lodge (last month)

After a short break at the lodge I continued along the Long Pond Trail.  This trail rolls through the woods above Long Pond until reaching the pond's outlet.  From the outlet, nice views across the pond take in parts of the White Cap Range.  The trail from the outlet is more uphill than downhill but never steep.  It becomes the Trout Brook Trail after passing the pond outlet before reaching the KI again.  The last mile retraces the KI to the parking lot.

Looking over Long Pond toward Indian and Gulf Hagas Mountains

This route is about 15 miles long. Despite the AMC's efforts to groom, the trail conditions were still somewhat icy, making for a more tiring trip than normal when I ski here.  A couple of sections that were freshly groomed skied nicely but the ungroomed sections were very hard and particularly challenging on long climbs.  I skied this route in late December in much better conditions.  I am glad I chose to ski this loop however because it is more forgiving in icy conditions than the trails leading to the Little Lyford Pond Lodge which traverses hillier terrain. 

For a map of click this link http://www.outdoors.org/pdf/upload/L2Lski_2013.pdf

If interested, you can look back to my posts from last January and February. I have several other blog posts on the cross country skiing at the AMC trails.

That night two inches of powdery snow fell.  On Sunday morning I decided to cross country ski again with the better conditions.  The temperature was 4F at 10AM when I left my house and the wind was quite strong, but I couldn't turn down the fresh snow.

This time I skied a local loop that is just a couple of miles from my house.  This route follows local snowmobile trails that see little traffic.  This route covers about 15-16 miles.  Much of the route travels through the woods with a couple of sections through open fields and offers a nice mix of flat and hilly terrain.  When the conditions are right, this is one of my favorite cross country ski trips. Usually for good conditions, it has to be skied within a few days of a fresh snow or it can get quite icy.

I start my route at Sebec Lake and followed a snowmobile trail called the Dundee Trail into town in Dover Foxcroft before heading back to the lake on another snowmobile trail called the Grey Valley Trail.  While the trails are generally rolling in nature, there are a couple of steep technical descents on narrow sections of trail that are quite challenging.  Depending on conditions this loop takes between 3-4 hours to ski.

Skiing into a tight grove of trees

Long section of flat and easy skiing

With fresh snow, the trail conditions were excellent compared to my outing at the AMC trails the previous day.  The biggest challenge however was the windchill.  The high for the day reached about 7F, which isn't too bad while cross country skiing.  The problem was the gusty wind.  Much of the trail travels in the woods and offers some shelter from the wind.  However when in the open fields, the wind was treacherous and approaching windchills of -30.  Luckily the trail never stayed in the fields too long.

Skiing along an open field

Despite travelling on snowmobile trails, this route is relatively quiet. Most snowmobilers in Maine stick to the main routes.  This loop follows "local" trails.  Even though it was a Sunday after a fresh snow, I only saw three pairs of snowmobiles, and they were all courteous, each rider giving me a wave.  If skied midweek, it isn't uncommon to have it to yourself the entire loop.

Skiing Black Mountain of Maine

Winter is in now full swing in Maine.  I have hit the trails a handful of times already to cross country ski.  The J Man suggested we go downhill skiing this weekend.  A great place to start the ski season in Maine is Black Mountain.

Black Mountain Ski Resort in Rumford, Maine is a somewhat obscure ski area.  Outside of Maine it is relatively unknown.  As far as ski areas in New England go, it is not a big resort.  There are only 35 trails and glades and two chairlifts.  It does have nearly 1400 foot of vertical drop however, making it the fourth highest lift served vertical in Maine.  Perhaps the greatest draw to skiing Black is its price.  Lift tickets are an amazingly low $15 all day, every day.  This has to be one of the best skiing values anywhere.

Riding up the summit chairlift 

There is a solid mix of green, blue, and black runs at Black Mountain.  Most of the black runs don't ski too difficult.  Kennebago is one of the more challenging trails.  It is a relatively short trail without too steep of a pitch but probably the most narrow trail at Black Mountain.  Webb and The Dead are probably the steepest trails.  The double diamond  Dead is the more challenging of the two with a steep pitch and no grooming making for a fun but relatively short natural trail.  Sticky runs under the lift for a short distance and has no grooming and provides a nice change of pace from the groomed runs.  Most of the other black trails would probably be rated blue at a bigger mountain.  To see the trail map click on the link  http://www.skiblackmountain.org/images/maps/Black-Mountain-Alpine-Trail-Map.pdf

Looking up The Dead.  It's hard to see but it has a good pitch and fairly deep powder.

I only skied two glades.  The unmapped Allagash glade has a shallow pitch with wide tree spacing making it a good choice to skiers new to skiing the trees.  Swift glade is a longer glade with tighter tree spacing and a pitch that gets steeper the longer you ski it.  Some of the other glades that I didn't ski looked fairly tight and steep.

Skiing in Swift Glade

Most of the mountain has solid intermediate terrain.  Allagash winds a mile down the ski area boundary  from the summit to base.  It's a nice cruising run to warm up or wind down the day.  All of the trails accessible from the summit chair are rated blue or black.  The main summit triple chair travels from base to summit so every run offers a solid vertical run of nearly 1400 feet over a nice mix of intermediate terrain.

Looking down Piscataquis

Like I said, Black Mountain isn't on too many people's radar.  If it wasn't for the $15 lift ticket, I would have overlooked myself.  The past two winters I have skied Black.  With regular ticket prices at the bigger Maine resorts of Sunday River and Sugarloaf running over $80, it's refreshing to find a value like Black Mountain.  Sure the bigger resorts have much more terrain, but for its price, Black Mountain is a steal in an increasingly expensive sport.  If you are a Maine skier and haven't skied Black yet,  I highly recommend it.  You will get a decent day of skiing at a great price.

View getting off the summit chairlift

Value isn't the only reason to ski Black Mountain.  Despite the cheap prices, the place never gets crowded.  I've skied there the past two seasons, both times on a Sunday and there has never been more than a couple chair wait to ride the lift.  The terrain is expanding too.  They are continually cutting more glades and even starting to cut new trails.  The new trails were not open yet.  They appear to be opening soon as they had signage in place and the access to the new terrain roped.  The trail map also shows the future expansion.

Black Mountain was nearly lost.  This past summer the mountain lost funding and ceased operation.  Due to interest of the ski community close to the mountain, fund raising campaigns saved the mountain.  This is one last reason to ski Black.  It would be a shame to lose this ski area for good.  For more on Black Mountain see its website at http://www.skiblackmountain.org/.

Schoodic and Black Mountains in Downeast Maine

Travel in the mountains can be tricky this time of year.  Snow now covers the ground on most of Maine's mountain trails.  However, the coverage isn't very deep.  This makes for treacherous travel.  The snow isn't deep enough most places to cover roots and rocks completely, making trails extremely slippery.  With recent rain and freezes, large patches of exposed ice are also encountered.  With these challenging fringe season conditions, I decided to head to the coastal mountains.  The coastal mountains haven't seen much snow and I expected better hiking conditions than the interior mountain trails.

The J Man suggested hiking Schoodic and Black Mountains a few months ago.  These mountains are located in Downeast Maine in Donnell Pond Public Reserved Land north of Frenchman Bay.  For reference, Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park are on the south side of Frenchman Bay.  From the mountains in Acadia National Park, these two summits are the prominent peaks seen to the north when looking across the bay. With clear skies forecasted Sunday, the J Man and I headed to these mountains for a hike.

Our seven mile trip started at the Schoodic Beach trailhead.  This trailhead sits between the two mountains so either mountain can be climbed first.  We started with the climb to Black Mountain.  The trail climbed immediately along the Black Mountain Cliff Trail.  In less than two miles we reached  the West Peak of Black Mountain.  The summit is wooded and viewless.  After a brief descent into a saddle,we reached the East Peak of Black Mountain after another half mile of hiking.

Gentle trail on Black Mountain's West Peak

The views from the summit surprised me.  Black Mountain, at just under 1100 feet,  is free of trees and offers 360 degrees views.  Numerous ponds and neighboring peaks provide nice scenery.  The most impressive views however are looking to the south and east.  The summits of Acadia National Park stand behind Frenchman Bay's numerous islands.  The Atlantic Ocean disappears into the horizon to the east of Acadia.  You can even see a lighthouse off the coast from the summit.

Atlantic Ocean in distance beyond Tunk Lake

Caribou, Catherine, and Tunk Mountains from Black

Catherine Mountain and Tunk Lake

Looking across Black Mountains summit with Atlantic in distance

Mountains of Acadia National Park

Closer look at Acadia's mountains

Leaving Black Mountain, we lost all of our elevation as we descended to Donnell Pond.  The trail in this section passed through a coniferous forest carpeted in bright green moss.  Upon reaching Donnell Pond, the trail crossed the sandy Schoodic Beach before climbing Schoodic Mountain.

Looking toward Black's West Peak with Schoodic Mountain peeking out behind it

Forest carpeted in moss

After a steep mile of hiking from the beach, we reached the summit of Schoodic Mountain.  Even before reaching the summit, the Atlantic and Acadia's mountains come into view.  Sitting just a few feet lower than Black Mountain, Schoodic Mountain has a rocky summit with 360 views similar to Black Mountain.  The only downfall to Schoodic is that a large communication tower sits on its summit.  Despite the tower, vast views make it easy to linger at the summit.  To the northwest, we could just barely make out Katahdin's snowy summit.  Acadia's mountains and the ocean again provided the most dramatic scenery.  To the southwest, the coastal mountains in Camden, Maine could easily be identified.  After circling the summit to enjoy the scenery in all directions, we returned to trailhead.

Acadia's mountains coming into view

Looking across Schoodic's shoulder toward Acadia

Summit of Schoodic looking toward Acadia

Islands in Frenchman Bay

Black, Caribou, and Tunk Mountains from Schoodic

A few of the many ponds visible from the summits

View north from Schoodic Mountain

I wasn't sure what to expect on this trip.  I wasn't familiar with the area.  The hiking was pleasant and summit views were far reaching.  The scenery, while not quite as dramatic as Acadia National Park, was still quite impressive.  After dozens of trips to Acadia, it was interesting to look at the park from this prospective.  Even though the outing covered seven miles and gained more than 2000 feet, the hike didn't seem too difficult. Black and Schoodic Mountains would be a good alternative to Acadia National Park on a busy summer weekend.

Despite a chilly windchill in the single digits on the summits, we didn't encounter snowy trails.  Only a few heavily shaded sections had a light dusting.  A couple sections of the trail had some thick but avoidable ice. Otherwise the trails were in good condition and the hike was a worthwhile trip.

Icy flow on Schoodic's summit

Click on the link for a map of the trails in the area:  http://www.maine.gov/dacf/parks/docs/maps/donnellpond.pdf