Chip
Well-known member
Family will be skiing and boarding Saturday, which I might do...unless there are any great snowshoe or x-country skiing opps in the immediate area. Also if you wanted to join me, we'd be there around 9:30am tomorrow. Thanks
any interesting hikes/x-country ski @ Mt Sunapee ?
- Thread starter Chip
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DougPaul
Well-known member
Was just there at the DH area yesterday (Thurs).
Anything that is not groomed is covered with boilerplate ice.
A number of the runs were very scratchy, some had a good supply of death-cookies. The trails served by the Sunapee Express (summit) lift had the best conditions. By late in the day, ice crystals from the trees had blown onto the trails to create 1-2 inches of powder over a hard surface. The Sunbowl area was scratchy.
There are some hiking trails on south side of the Mt Sunapee, including the Monadnock-Sunapee Trail. The Andrew Brook Tr leads from Mountain Road up to Lake Solitude and connects to the summit via the Solitude Tr. IIRC, there is a guidebook for the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway (name?). I'd carry snowshoes with aggressive crampons and crampons.
Did about 20K vert ft--was rather nice once we found the good snow.
Doug
Anything that is not groomed is covered with boilerplate ice.
A number of the runs were very scratchy, some had a good supply of death-cookies. The trails served by the Sunapee Express (summit) lift had the best conditions. By late in the day, ice crystals from the trees had blown onto the trails to create 1-2 inches of powder over a hard surface. The Sunbowl area was scratchy.
There are some hiking trails on south side of the Mt Sunapee, including the Monadnock-Sunapee Trail. The Andrew Brook Tr leads from Mountain Road up to Lake Solitude and connects to the summit via the Solitude Tr. IIRC, there is a guidebook for the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway (name?). I'd carry snowshoes with aggressive crampons and crampons.
Did about 20K vert ft--was rather nice once we found the good snow.
Doug
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Chip
Well-known member
thanks. I found the local hike;
"Mount Sunapee’s summit is graced by a snack bar with all the accouterments, and, even in summer, hosts sedentary types who arrive by chairlift to enjoy the limited view. Fortunately, inveterate hikers can avoid all this commotion by circling around back and walking directly to the mountain’s genuine attractions about a mile below the peak. Few chairlift passengers ever discover the contemplative shore of tranquil Lake Solitude and the wondrous views from the top of White Ledges that are really the highlights of this hike. Special attractions: Distant mountain views overlooking Lake Solitude, a contemplative pine shaded shore, and refreshments available at the summit."
I'll probably hike/shoe this in the morning and ski in the afternoon if anybody wants to join in.
"Mount Sunapee’s summit is graced by a snack bar with all the accouterments, and, even in summer, hosts sedentary types who arrive by chairlift to enjoy the limited view. Fortunately, inveterate hikers can avoid all this commotion by circling around back and walking directly to the mountain’s genuine attractions about a mile below the peak. Few chairlift passengers ever discover the contemplative shore of tranquil Lake Solitude and the wondrous views from the top of White Ledges that are really the highlights of this hike. Special attractions: Distant mountain views overlooking Lake Solitude, a contemplative pine shaded shore, and refreshments available at the summit."
I'll probably hike/shoe this in the morning and ski in the afternoon if anybody wants to join in.
Quietman
Well-known member
DougPaul said:
Gotta love them death cookies, hadn't heard that term in a while. Not a great surface for skiing!
Have fun!
DougPaul
Well-known member
I also heard them called peanuts and golf balls, but death cookies sounded like more fun...Quietman said:
Thanks, I did...
Doug
Quietman
Well-known member
Funny, for some reason I don't see any of those terms in Sunapee's snow report. Talk about accuracy in reporting.
Early Bird
Active member
Yes, that's the name of the guidebook- Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway. I bought mine at the Monadnock Park Headquarters. I've been up that way through Lake Solitude a couple of times, and it is very nice. I did find the trail at the top of the ski lifts at Mt. Sunapee hard to find.DougPaul said:
Enjoy!
DougPaul
Well-known member
I think I got mine at EMS.Early Bird said:
I went on an AMC trip several years ago that Tele/AT skinned up the Andrew Brook Trail, hung a right at Lake Solitude (some difficulty with trail finding here), over to the summit (some more difficulty with trail finding near the summit, but we were close enough to a ski trail to exit to it), and skied down one of the DH trails. Looked nice, but visibility was pretty poor that day.
Doug
Quietman said:Funny, for some reason I don't see any of those terms in Sunapee's snow report. Talk about accuracy in reporting.
http://www.mtsunapee.com/mtsunapeewinter/onthemountain/sunapeesnowreport.asp
Machine groomed granular or frozen granular= death cookies
death cookies + hardpack + windblown ice = variable conditions
variable conditions means there is a need for some of the fresh
some of the fresh = pow pow
pow pow = light fluffy snow aka "Powder"
