Three Days of Skiing in Northern Vermont and Southern Quebec

With March upon us, I was eager to get in another few days of downhill skiing.  My destination this trip was northern Vermont and southern Quebec.  A ski voucher that I purchased early in the season had several ski areas that I could ski.  I chose to ski Burke Mountain on Wednesday, Jay Peak on Thursday, and Owl's Head just north of the border in Quebec on Friday.

My trip started about 4AM Wednesday morning with the four and a half hour drive to Burke Mountain in Vermont.  With little snow the past couple weeks I was expecting conditions to be icy.  I was very pleasantly surprised with the skiing at Burke.  I started the day with a couple of blue groomed runs to get my ski legs.  The groomers skied nicely.  I headed to some ungroomed black diamond trails.  These trails were quite bumpy but the snow was still in good shape and there was very little ice considering the cold temperatures and no recent big snows.  By mid morning I ventured into the glades.  The snow in the trees was tracked out with not a lot of powder but the snow coverage was pretty consistent with just a few rocks or roots.  Birches, a glade on the outer edge of the mountain, was the only glade that had consistent rocks or roots showing.  Wayne's World, a glade just below Birches, had crusty snow which didn't ski great.  With the so-so conditions on Birches and Wayne's World, I passed on The Jungle, which is in the same vicinity.  I had a great time skiing the rest of the glades.

The wonderfully named Throbulator Glade

 

Birches Glade

Looking back up Birches

I skied from the time the lifts started turning until the lifts closed at 4PM.  With the exception of the Vermont state slalom races, the mountain was quite empty.  All the racers were based out of the Mid-Burke Lodge and the Poma lift so they never were in the way.  The mountain was 100% open and over the course of the day I managed to ski nearly all the blue and black terrain.  The skiing remained solid throughout the day although the busy Powderhorn and Big Dipper trails started to ice up a little, later in the day.  With over 100 acres of glades, I had a fun day skiing the trees much of the day.  With a little more snow, Burke seems like it would be a great destination if you like skiing the trees.  Liftline/Rerun under the Mid-Burke was one of my favorite runs.  Despite a couple of easily avoidable bare spots, it was a fun run.  Upper and Lower Willoughby were fast and fun groomed runs.

Looking up Rerun from the Mid-Burke Express lift

A half inch of fresh snow fell before I arrived.  This didn't add much to the skiing, although I guess a dusting is better than nothing.  Light snow spitted throughout the day but it didn't seem to accumulate.  The cloudiness caused by the snow showers kept the day on the cold side. There was very little wind however so the day was not too uncomfortable.  The skiing was much better than the last time I skied Burke.  The snow was quite slushy last year when I skied there and there were quite a few bare spots on the trails and woods.  My one complaint with Burke is the flatness.  A couple of sections approaching the Mid-Burke chair are flat and require quite a bit of poling and traversing to get back to the lift.  For the trail map at Burke click the link:  Burke Trail Map

After stopping in Newport, Vermont for a quick meal, I headed to Jay Peak.  I lingered around the resort with nothing better to do until I turned in for the night at my luxury lodging at the Subaru Inn.  The Subaru Inn was just two miles away from the resort at a Long Trail/Catamount Trail parking area along the road.  The temperature was forecasted to be in the -20F range that night.  To anyone that read my last blog post about downhill skiing, I spent two nights in similar accomadations with temps in the -10 to -15F range.  I slept well with my appropriate camping gear.  I don't know how cold it got that night but different reports from the area ranged from -13 to -20F. I had a couple minor problems from the cold. My doors froze causing some difficulty initially getting out of the car.  The other problem was my ski boots.  The plastic was so cold that it didn't expand to get my boot on.  After warming them in the lodge for a bit, I was able to cram my feet into the boots.

The cozy lodging at the Subaru Inn

Last time I skied Jay Peak it dumped 14 inches of snow throughout the day making for unbelievable conditions.  You could barely see the next chair in front of you on the lift however and the wind blew quite hard making some of the lift rides interesting.  This time there was not a cloud in the sky and zero wind.  I was a little worried about icy conditions.  The mountain skied very nicely however.  I skied once again from opening at 830AM to last lift at 4PM.  I managed to ski every blue and black trail and glade at Jay Peak with the exception of the trails accessible from the top of the tram.

The mountain was busy for a Thursday.  Jay Peak is just a few minutes south of the Canadian border and Quebec had a vacation week so the mountain was full of the sound of more French than English.  The lifts generally weren't too crowed with the exception of the tram which had a fairly lengthy line.

Looking up Jay Peak from Tramside Base

I began my day skiing  the terrain off of the Jet Chair and worked my way across the mountain.  I was quite surprised at how well the mountain skied despite not having a big snow storm recently.  Despite some hard pack conditions there was basically no ice except for a few patches late in the day on Ullr, Goat Run, and other busier trails.  Even steep trails like Can Am remained mostly free of ice throughout the day.  Ungroomed runs with steep pitches like JFK had icy patches that could be avoided by skiing the steeper bumps.  The glades were tracked out for the most part but skied well considering the prior traffic.  Some of the bigger glades still had stashes of fresh snow at places.  The only trail that gave me a hard time was Vertigo, a steep and narrow wooded trail.  It was one of the few trails that had hard to avoid rocks.  With its steepness, lack of good lines, and prominent rocks; it was one of my less graceful runs.  Upper Exhibition and Upper River Quai were two challenging ungroomed runs that I had found enjoyable.  It's hard to pick a favorite tree run since they all skied nicely. 

Looking up Upper River Quai

Can Am from the Bonaventure Chair

Because of the crowds, I avoided the tram except for one ride.  I did one run from the top following Vermonter off the summit.  Perhaps the best part of the tram was the summit view on a cloudless day.  The view extended across Lake Champlain into the Adirondacks to the Presidential Range in New Hampshire and well into Quebec. 

The Tram approaching the summit

Looking at the trails of Jay from the summit

(I didn't realize my camera's lens cover didn't open completely in the cold)

Looking toward Lake Champlain

Mt Mansfield in the distance

The Presidential Range in New Hampshire with Burke Mountain in front of it

Jay Peak is one of my favorite northern New England ski areas, perhaps second only to Sugarloaf.  There is a lot of terrain variety.  For the advanced skier there are a lot of woods and challenging trails.  The tree skiing is perhaps one of Jay's best features and what it is known for.  It is also the snowiest ski area in the east.  With lift ticket prices sky rocketing, Jay is still one of the least expensive walk-up ticket prices among bigger ski areas in the east.  For bargain hunters, it's still relatively easy to find a discounted ticket at Jay through various outlets.  For Jay Peak's trail map click the link:  Jay Peak Trail Map

Timbuktu Glade

Another view in Timbuktu

I believe this is Kitz Woods

I spent the evening at the resort before heading back to the Subaru Inn.  The night was downright balmy and my warmest night this season sleeping in my car with the temps only in the single digit negative numbers.  In the morning I left for Owl's Head in southern Quebec.

Owl's Head is a decent sized ski area.  It has nearly 1800 feet of vertical and 50 trails.  I skied here last year and had fun with excellent spring conditions.  This time I wasn't so lucky.  The trails that weren't groomed were very icy.  Because of the ice, skiers stuck to the groomed trails.  This led to some heavy traffic on these trails and caused the groomed trails to get icy.  Being Quebec vacation week, the mountain must have been skied heavily all week and snow showed it.  By the time I left at mid day it was getting quite crowded.

The pointy peak in the middle of the view is Owl's Head from Jay Peak

Again I managed to ski all the blue and black trails.  The groomers skied well early but like I said many iced up after a few hours with the crowds.  The woods skied decently but there were more obstacles showing than at the other two mountains I skied.  Most of the ungroomed black diamond trails had large bumps with lots of ice.  Although you could still pick your way through and avoid most ice.  It took a lot to pick the right line without hitting some ice.  The worst trail was probably Colorado, a steep double diamond.  At the steepest pitches, the trail was a sheet of ice.  The only thing that made the trail passable was skiing the bumps on the edge of the trail.  I put in a solid half day of skiing with no breaks.  After my two previous days with good conditions, I didn't have as much fun. 

Despite the less than stellar conditions, Owl's Head didn't let down completely.  It was a clear day and the views from the mountain are among the best for eastern ski areas.  Thirty mile long Lake Memphremagog sits at the base of the mountain and makes for some great scenery.  The lake isn't the only nice view.  To the south you can see the snowy summits of the Presidential Range.  From the top of the Peak trail there are excellent views looking at the trails of Jay Peak.  I know from experience, Owl's Head can be a fun mountain and well worth the trip.  This day just didn't have the best conditions at the mountain.  To see the trail map click on the link:  Owl's Head Trail Map

Lake Memphremagog from Lilly's Leap

Skiing down to the lake on the Upward Trail

The lake to the south extends into Vermont

Willoughby Notch in Vermont, Burke Mountain is in the distance just to the left of the pointy peak (Mt Pisgah) in the middle

Jay Peak from the Peak trail

Close up of Jay Peak from Owl's Head

After leaving Owl's Head I returned back home.  Having never traveled in Quebec, I decided to return to Maine via Jackman traveling through the Quebec countryside.  This section of Quebec is very rural once you get past the city of Sherbrooke.  It really does feel like you left North America.  Unlike other parts of Canada that are signed in English and French, this was 100% French.  It was an interesting cultural diversion only a couple hours from home.  Oddly enough at Owl's Head, just a few miles north of the border, some of the staff speaks English among themselves, others French; and many of them went back and forth between the languages.  About five hours after leaving Owl's Head, I was home.

 

A Great Cross Country Ski Trip in the 100 Mile Wilderness

I have been cross country skiing the trails on AMC land in the 100 Mile Wilderness for several years.  Each year I ski here a handful of times. Nearly all of the ski traffic in the area is focused around the AMC's backcountry lodges.  Despite the activity around the lodges, you don't see too many people on the trails.  They have about 80 miles of trails on the 100,000 acre property with many of the trails groomed for cross country skiing.  Best of all, the trails are free to use, even if you don't pay to stay at one of the lodges.

The AMC often recommended Baker Loop Trail as a scenic route to ski.  I never skied this route.  I use the trails for day trips.  Skiing this trail as a day trip requires about 18 miles of skiing.  The route is usually recommend as a trip for guests staying at Little Lyford Pond Lodge, where it is about seven or so miles of skiing.  With a nice Sunday forecasted, I decided to finally explore the Baker Loop Trail.

My trip started from the trailhead on the Katahdin Ironworks Road just east of Greenville, Maine.  I had several miles to ski before reaching Baker Loop.  I chose one of the more challenging skiing routes on the AMC land.  I started on the Hedgehog Gate Trail.  This five mile trail, especially the second half is windy and hilly.  It was somewhat icy early in the morning when I started.  The ice  made for some tricky descents on the longer downhill stretches.

Hedgehog Gate Trail

White Cap Mountain in the distance

The White Cap Range

One of several warnings for steep sections along the Hedgehog Gate Trail

Perhaps the most difficult section of skiing on the AMC land is the Indian Mountain Circuit.  I only skied this trail once.  It is a fun and challenging trail that I was eager to try again.  This trail consists of two sections.  The north section runs about two miles and is usually groomed.  This is easily the most challenging of the groomed trails in the area.  The trail is seldom flat and is usually climbing or descending quite steeply for cross country skiing.  There are numerous sharp turns to add to the challenge.  To make this trail even more demanding, the trail was quite icy.  Turning quickly with cross country skis on steep icy slope can be difficult.  Nonetheless I made it through the Hedgehog Gate and the northern half of the Indian Mountain Circuit with no issues.  The southern section I will discuss later in this post.

Baker Mountain appearing through the trees on the Indian Mountain Circuit

After crossing the groomed section of the Indian Mountain Circuit, I finally reached the Baker Loop.  The loop is only about 3.5 miles.  After skiing nearly all of the southern half of the AMC trail system, I think this is the most scenic ski trail on their land.  The trail travels between Indian, Elephant, and Baker Mountains with one of the peaks in view most of the loop.  The most scenic spot is where the trail crosses the ice of Mountain Brook Pond.  All three of the mountains are visible in different directions.  When returning back to the Indian Mountain Circuit, Katahdin is clearly seen as you ski down the trail.  Most of this trail was freshly groomed and skied nicely.  Near the pond the trail was in dense woods with little sun and quite icy as it dropped steeply to the pond on a windy trail.

Baker Mountain coming into view

Unobstructed view of Baker Mountain

Elephant Mountain (Left) and Baker Mountain (Right)

Indian Mountain

Skiing over Mountain Brook Pond toward Indian Mountain

Elephant Mountain from Mountain Brook Pond

Baker Mountain from Mountain Brook Pond

Close up of Baker Mountain

Katahdin in distance

Close up of Katahdin

I returned to the southern section of the Indian Mountain Circuit.  This section of the trail is ungroomed.  This trail was manageable until it entered the woods.  The section of trail before the woods, in direct sunlight, was softer and skied nicely.  The unbroken snow in the woods was covered in a thick crust.  My weight rarely broke the ice and I glided on the surface.  As I entered the woods the trail began to descend.  It was never steep but with the ice, I couldn't stop or turn.  I just slid across the ice.  I would go a few feet, lose control, then fall.  My arms would usually sink up to my shoulder as I broke the crust.  Getting back to my feet out of the mid-thigh deep snow was challenging.  A handful of these slopes provided the same results.  Luckily this stretch was only a mile or so and not consistently steep.  I skied over 120 miles this season and only fell twice.  I think I fell close to ten times in this mile.  Luckily the deep snow made for soft landings.  I did end up with snow down my pants, up my shirt, in my shoes, and under my sunglasses however.

Southern section of Indian Mountain Circuit on untouched snow

Virgin tracks on the Indian Mountain Circuit

Soon enough I returned to the Hedgehog Gate Trail.  I was able to ski quickly and return to the trailhead without any problems.  The sun warmed nicely and softened the snow, eliminating nearly all of the morning iciness.  I made it back to the trailhead around 1PM, 18 miles and about 4.5 hours later.

Hedgehog Gate Trail

Despite the few mishaps on the Indian Mountain Circuit, I enjoyed this trip.  With clear skies, the Baker Loop was quite scenic. The entire Indian Mountain Circuit is normally a fun loop with its challenging terrain and ungroomed southern section but recent rain made the skiing a little tougher than normal. On a day with better snow conditions, this would be an unbeatable day trip.

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.