2-28-04
3:40am
I arrive at the Main Lodge parking lot at Killington. Stinkyfeet and Sir Edmund are already there. While we are plotting our route up the ski slopes, we see several brightly illuminated groomers transversing the slopes...
4:02am
We start up! Trails are well groomed and perfect for skiing (and hiking).
4:32am
We are heading up a black diamond when we see a groomer heading down towards us (Yikes). We cross over to the opposite side to avoid getting in the way.
5:01
The 3 of us arrive on the summit. Such a beautiful night! To quote Carl Sagan, “Billions and billions of stars...”
5:11am
We are glissading on our butts down a black diamond. Woo Hoo! What a blast!
5:19am
We are back down, still shaking off the snow, and laughing at how much fun that was...
6:30am
The 3 of us arrive at Sugarbush South and leave my truck. Then it’s off to Sugarbush North..
6:44am
We plot our route up the ski slopes to Ellen. Even though they don’t open for over an hour, there are many people about. We head up with the sun getting brighter and brighter by the minute.
8:12am
We arrive on the summit of Ellen on this spectacular winter day. Nary a cloud in the sky! The LT heading over to Abraham looks broken out, so we start heading across the ridge.
9:40am
We reach Mt Lincoln after heading 2.9 miles across the ridge. The ridge was mostly broken out, but had many false paths that people had taken. Lots of snow! The trees were ****y-trapped with large accumulations of consolidated snow. If you touch one, 10lbs of snow will come crashing down. We head to Mt Abraham which is .8 miles away, but looks further.
10:06am
We summit Abraham. Views are amazing! We can see the ADK’s, and most of Vermont. Lake Champlain is a brilliant white.
11:17am
We reach the truck after heading down the ski trails. We followed the “Organ Grinder” for most of the way, and to avoid skiers we spend much of the time heading down the glades in the woods. Yee-haaa!!!
11:31am
We arrive back at Sugarbush North to pick up our vehicles then it’s off to Camel’s Hump.
12:10pm
We are at the Burrow’s Trail parking lot which is almost full. We leave our showshoes behind and start heading up the packed trail.
1:37pm
We reach the summit of Camels Hump with views galore. This is the 1st summit of the day that we have seen other people on (and even a few drinking Budweiser). We take a short, relaxing break then we head down.
2:22pm
Back to our vehicles, and we drive North to Mansfield.
3:25pm
We stop in Stowe to grab some pizza, gas, and coffee. The 3 essential things to keep us moving...
3:57pm
Arrive at the Long Trail parking lot at Smugglers Notch. We gear up and head up Mansfield (we saved the hardest peak for last). Long trail is broken out.
5:54pm
We reach the summit as the sun is fading on the horizon. The colors are magnificent! We again have the summit to ourselves. It is bitterly cold and windy, so we don’t stay long. We decide to take the ski trails down (hoping to do some more glissading), so we head across the ridge and down the Cliff Trail towards the illuminated slopes.
6:25pm
We are glissading down the black diamond moguls (trail is closed at night). Not as much fun as a wide open trail, and also a little painfull for us males...
6:52pm
We arrive back at our vehicles, and kid around about heading over to climb Jay peak... Awesome, memorable day, with 2 fantastic people...
A few statistics:
Total time: 14 hours, 50 minutes
Miles hiking: 20.3
Elevation Gain: 9700 feet
Miles on trails: 11.7
Miles on ski slopes: 8.6
Miles driving: 132
Hours hiking: 10.9
Hours driving: 3.9
# of incredible skier wipeouts witnessed: 2 (same person)
3:40am
I arrive at the Main Lodge parking lot at Killington. Stinkyfeet and Sir Edmund are already there. While we are plotting our route up the ski slopes, we see several brightly illuminated groomers transversing the slopes...
4:02am
We start up! Trails are well groomed and perfect for skiing (and hiking).
4:32am
We are heading up a black diamond when we see a groomer heading down towards us (Yikes). We cross over to the opposite side to avoid getting in the way.
5:01
The 3 of us arrive on the summit. Such a beautiful night! To quote Carl Sagan, “Billions and billions of stars...”
5:11am
We are glissading on our butts down a black diamond. Woo Hoo! What a blast!
5:19am
We are back down, still shaking off the snow, and laughing at how much fun that was...
6:30am
The 3 of us arrive at Sugarbush South and leave my truck. Then it’s off to Sugarbush North..
6:44am
We plot our route up the ski slopes to Ellen. Even though they don’t open for over an hour, there are many people about. We head up with the sun getting brighter and brighter by the minute.
8:12am
We arrive on the summit of Ellen on this spectacular winter day. Nary a cloud in the sky! The LT heading over to Abraham looks broken out, so we start heading across the ridge.
9:40am
We reach Mt Lincoln after heading 2.9 miles across the ridge. The ridge was mostly broken out, but had many false paths that people had taken. Lots of snow! The trees were ****y-trapped with large accumulations of consolidated snow. If you touch one, 10lbs of snow will come crashing down. We head to Mt Abraham which is .8 miles away, but looks further.
10:06am
We summit Abraham. Views are amazing! We can see the ADK’s, and most of Vermont. Lake Champlain is a brilliant white.
11:17am
We reach the truck after heading down the ski trails. We followed the “Organ Grinder” for most of the way, and to avoid skiers we spend much of the time heading down the glades in the woods. Yee-haaa!!!
11:31am
We arrive back at Sugarbush North to pick up our vehicles then it’s off to Camel’s Hump.
12:10pm
We are at the Burrow’s Trail parking lot which is almost full. We leave our showshoes behind and start heading up the packed trail.
1:37pm
We reach the summit of Camels Hump with views galore. This is the 1st summit of the day that we have seen other people on (and even a few drinking Budweiser). We take a short, relaxing break then we head down.
2:22pm
Back to our vehicles, and we drive North to Mansfield.
3:25pm
We stop in Stowe to grab some pizza, gas, and coffee. The 3 essential things to keep us moving...
3:57pm
Arrive at the Long Trail parking lot at Smugglers Notch. We gear up and head up Mansfield (we saved the hardest peak for last). Long trail is broken out.
5:54pm
We reach the summit as the sun is fading on the horizon. The colors are magnificent! We again have the summit to ourselves. It is bitterly cold and windy, so we don’t stay long. We decide to take the ski trails down (hoping to do some more glissading), so we head across the ridge and down the Cliff Trail towards the illuminated slopes.
6:25pm
We are glissading down the black diamond moguls (trail is closed at night). Not as much fun as a wide open trail, and also a little painfull for us males...
6:52pm
We arrive back at our vehicles, and kid around about heading over to climb Jay peak... Awesome, memorable day, with 2 fantastic people...
A few statistics:
Total time: 14 hours, 50 minutes
Miles hiking: 20.3
Elevation Gain: 9700 feet
Miles on trails: 11.7
Miles on ski slopes: 8.6
Miles driving: 132
Hours hiking: 10.9
Hours driving: 3.9
# of incredible skier wipeouts witnessed: 2 (same person)
