--M.
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2005
- Messages
- 1,220
- Reaction score
- 83
George,
My name is Mike and I'm the guy you met in the lift ticket line at Wildcat Mountain on Saturday. You asked if I would give you a little Trip Report on how it went.
In a word, it was slow. There was so much new powder over so much old powder that only the upper reaches of the mountain provided any glide at all. If I could have switched to light touring skis (extra long), it might have "made all the difference," but even then, I doubt it.
When I found the trail entrance (behind the Ski Patrol shack and across the out-of-bounds rope), I made the initial fifty-foot drop and promptly fell on my ass in the deep snow, right at the warning sign. It was a good thing, as it revealed that I hadn't properly cinched down the snowshoes on the back of my pack. So I re-strapped it all, dumped the too-warm layers and off I went.
I must also admit that I was a bit wired from the anticipation: the high wind, the blowing snow, all those people staring, crossing the rope-line, being aware of my solo situation..., it took a few turns to settle down.
After that, though, it was intense and beautiful for the next two or three miles. The blue-square trail signs were all deliberately tilted to become diamonds, but it was easy skiing and lots of fun. As expected, the wind disappeared as soon as I was in the trees. There were tracks from those who preceded me (turned out to be three people; two of whom I passed just before the birch glades). There are lots of branches hanging over the trail that had to be ducked under or pushed past. This sometimes caused my pack to swing up over my head and bonk me with the snowshoes, but I soon remembered how to ski almost sitting down and it wasn't a big problem. It was pretty funny, though, in a slap-stick kind of way, when a low branch would coincide with a big dip in the trail. Surprise! I could see this being slightly less amusing at higher speeds. There were almost no blowdowns on the entire trail. Other than a little brushing out, this trail is beautifully designed and cut.
It was very odd to see the side-steps of the tracks in front of me on even the slightest incline. The snow was so deep that I couldn't really imagine having trouble on the few uphill sections, none of which exceeded 10 or 20 yards. Nonetheless, there they were, and I met up with their makers as they were stripping the skins off their waxable AT skis, with big, heavy bindings. I still question whether they needed skins, but then I've never skied true waxables. Maybe it would have made the bottom 2/3rds a slicker run.
The glades section was a bit of a heartbreak (like the whole day) given the depth of the powder, so I just followed the tracks of the one remaining skier and enjoyed the solitude. Descending into any kind of downhill section, the snow would pile up in front like the bow-wave of a ship. If I kept my feet moving, the snow would find an outlet between the legs, but if I skied parallel (no plow needed), the snow would build up until I ground to a stop. I really had to make peace with this, but it would become a major issue later as I tired of lifting all that powder with each step. In addition, any movement out of the trail would result in a three-foot drop to the floor. That caused a couple of stumbles & wallows that were a bit tiring.
After the glades section, the trail eventually split off to Dana Place, and, unfortunately, this is where I lost my trail-breaking angel and had to go on my own. At this point, it really became a slog, and stayed that way until I hit Route 16. It was impossible to get any speed going and I even toyed with switching to snowshoes (an idea which I resisted). I also had two big face-plants at the bottom of invisible gullies, but was lucky there were no branch stumps hiding in the snow. By the end, I was all used up and really wished I had waited on this run until the trail had had a few more people on it, if only because of how awesome it looked like it would be with a few more mph.
During this whole section, the trail was usually discernible as a faint line, or side-steps on uphill sections (not needed today). I lost the trail a few times at crossings, but was almost always able to reacquire it a few yards down-mountain. The one time I really had no idea, I back-tracked and found a crossing AND a turn that had eluded me at first. Otherwise, there was no technical difficulty anywhere on the whole thing. Other than the comparative remoteness (and the time that would be required in a rescue), this route is a total piece of cake. The orchard area is beautiful and the sun even made a brief appearance at the end of the day, revealing the Avalanche Brook Trail on the opposite ridge. It looked very inviting!
One caution: the trail dumped out unceremoniously onto a restricted, shoulder-less, snowy and curving Route 16. There is sufficient visibility to make the fifty-yard dash to safety at Dana Place Road down the street, but it was just one more hazard to be careful with.
Despite the overblown conditions, in true bc fashion, I learned a bunch of new stuff and tested myself in a real-world scenario. I wouldn't call it a "fun" day (except for the truly exceptional first mile or so), and it took five hours to do a three-hour ski, but I'm glad I got it and am looking forward to trying again asap. It may indeed be Time for Tuckerman's.
Gear: First real try of a new package: Karhu 10th Mountain (waxless) skis, glide wax added; Voile 3-Pin Cable binding (sans cable); Garmont Excursion boots; Black Diamond poles & skins (skins not needed); Tubbs snowshoes (ballast); my kid's old, left-over, school backpack (now a veteran of half the 48 & due for replacement) and 25 pounds of SAR insurance. The aggressive nature of the ski package was way more than appropriate for 90% of the ride (this time) and I was aching for lighter gear by the end. On the upper mountain, they ROCKED. Lots of confidence compared with touring skis and the telemark turns became a piece of cake. This package has a restricted spot in the quiver (given the weight), but it excels in there. Next time, I'll switch to a lighter three-pin boot and see how that works.
Plugs:
==Blackberry Crossing campground: yes it was plowed out, but it had no fire rings or picnic tables (unlike Hancock Campground at the other end of the Kanc). The snowbanks were higher than the car, but I was able to drive out in the morning (onto nearly a foot of fresh powder being continuously plowed by the veteran area DPW drivers).
==Upstairs Cafe, North Conway: Usual reasons; has become my go-to breakfast in the area.
==Kringle's, Jackson: Good submarine sandwiches, nice people.
==Jackson Ski Touring Foundation: One cavil: I didn't stop in there first, but went straight to Dana Place and then Wildcat, which had NO COPIES of the JSTF trail map. I relied on my Map Adventures topo and reasonably good trail signage. I stopped in at the JSTF at the end of the day and they said that Wildcat continuously runs out of the maps and they have to arrange to deliver more. Hmm. Nonetheless, WHAT A TRAIL!
==The Mountaineer, Keene Valley, NY: Great job arranging this gear package and providing personal attention at a competitive value. These skis did exactly what I expected them to, and this retailer helped put it together.
==Turtle Taxi, North Conway: $13 (plus tip) from Dana Place to Wildcat Mountain; no problem in the snowstorm; pretty prompt.
==The Mountain Wanderer, Lincoln: Met rock stars Steve Smith (AMC WMG) and Mohamed Ellozy. I was of course asking for the new Waterville Valley Map (http://vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=20919) and they laughed a lot, as I was the nth person to do so after Mohamed's outing. I also requested something on bc downhill and was well-served with David Goodman's "Backcountry Skiing Adventures: Classic Ski and Snowboard Tours in Maine and New Hampshire." I stopped in again at the end of the day and Steve shared with me his enthusiasm for the Tucker Brook Trail (Cannon Mountain), also covered in the book. He also wondered about the integrity of his roof. There's a lot of snow up there!
This was a great day, but it was one of the toughest workouts I've had in a while. It's humbling to have your weight-training at the Y scoffed at so thoroughly by an extra foot of snow.
Maybe see you next time,
--M.
My name is Mike and I'm the guy you met in the lift ticket line at Wildcat Mountain on Saturday. You asked if I would give you a little Trip Report on how it went.
In a word, it was slow. There was so much new powder over so much old powder that only the upper reaches of the mountain provided any glide at all. If I could have switched to light touring skis (extra long), it might have "made all the difference," but even then, I doubt it.
When I found the trail entrance (behind the Ski Patrol shack and across the out-of-bounds rope), I made the initial fifty-foot drop and promptly fell on my ass in the deep snow, right at the warning sign. It was a good thing, as it revealed that I hadn't properly cinched down the snowshoes on the back of my pack. So I re-strapped it all, dumped the too-warm layers and off I went.
I must also admit that I was a bit wired from the anticipation: the high wind, the blowing snow, all those people staring, crossing the rope-line, being aware of my solo situation..., it took a few turns to settle down.
After that, though, it was intense and beautiful for the next two or three miles. The blue-square trail signs were all deliberately tilted to become diamonds, but it was easy skiing and lots of fun. As expected, the wind disappeared as soon as I was in the trees. There were tracks from those who preceded me (turned out to be three people; two of whom I passed just before the birch glades). There are lots of branches hanging over the trail that had to be ducked under or pushed past. This sometimes caused my pack to swing up over my head and bonk me with the snowshoes, but I soon remembered how to ski almost sitting down and it wasn't a big problem. It was pretty funny, though, in a slap-stick kind of way, when a low branch would coincide with a big dip in the trail. Surprise! I could see this being slightly less amusing at higher speeds. There were almost no blowdowns on the entire trail. Other than a little brushing out, this trail is beautifully designed and cut.
It was very odd to see the side-steps of the tracks in front of me on even the slightest incline. The snow was so deep that I couldn't really imagine having trouble on the few uphill sections, none of which exceeded 10 or 20 yards. Nonetheless, there they were, and I met up with their makers as they were stripping the skins off their waxable AT skis, with big, heavy bindings. I still question whether they needed skins, but then I've never skied true waxables. Maybe it would have made the bottom 2/3rds a slicker run.
The glades section was a bit of a heartbreak (like the whole day) given the depth of the powder, so I just followed the tracks of the one remaining skier and enjoyed the solitude. Descending into any kind of downhill section, the snow would pile up in front like the bow-wave of a ship. If I kept my feet moving, the snow would find an outlet between the legs, but if I skied parallel (no plow needed), the snow would build up until I ground to a stop. I really had to make peace with this, but it would become a major issue later as I tired of lifting all that powder with each step. In addition, any movement out of the trail would result in a three-foot drop to the floor. That caused a couple of stumbles & wallows that were a bit tiring.
After the glades section, the trail eventually split off to Dana Place, and, unfortunately, this is where I lost my trail-breaking angel and had to go on my own. At this point, it really became a slog, and stayed that way until I hit Route 16. It was impossible to get any speed going and I even toyed with switching to snowshoes (an idea which I resisted). I also had two big face-plants at the bottom of invisible gullies, but was lucky there were no branch stumps hiding in the snow. By the end, I was all used up and really wished I had waited on this run until the trail had had a few more people on it, if only because of how awesome it looked like it would be with a few more mph.
During this whole section, the trail was usually discernible as a faint line, or side-steps on uphill sections (not needed today). I lost the trail a few times at crossings, but was almost always able to reacquire it a few yards down-mountain. The one time I really had no idea, I back-tracked and found a crossing AND a turn that had eluded me at first. Otherwise, there was no technical difficulty anywhere on the whole thing. Other than the comparative remoteness (and the time that would be required in a rescue), this route is a total piece of cake. The orchard area is beautiful and the sun even made a brief appearance at the end of the day, revealing the Avalanche Brook Trail on the opposite ridge. It looked very inviting!
One caution: the trail dumped out unceremoniously onto a restricted, shoulder-less, snowy and curving Route 16. There is sufficient visibility to make the fifty-yard dash to safety at Dana Place Road down the street, but it was just one more hazard to be careful with.
Despite the overblown conditions, in true bc fashion, I learned a bunch of new stuff and tested myself in a real-world scenario. I wouldn't call it a "fun" day (except for the truly exceptional first mile or so), and it took five hours to do a three-hour ski, but I'm glad I got it and am looking forward to trying again asap. It may indeed be Time for Tuckerman's.
Gear: First real try of a new package: Karhu 10th Mountain (waxless) skis, glide wax added; Voile 3-Pin Cable binding (sans cable); Garmont Excursion boots; Black Diamond poles & skins (skins not needed); Tubbs snowshoes (ballast); my kid's old, left-over, school backpack (now a veteran of half the 48 & due for replacement) and 25 pounds of SAR insurance. The aggressive nature of the ski package was way more than appropriate for 90% of the ride (this time) and I was aching for lighter gear by the end. On the upper mountain, they ROCKED. Lots of confidence compared with touring skis and the telemark turns became a piece of cake. This package has a restricted spot in the quiver (given the weight), but it excels in there. Next time, I'll switch to a lighter three-pin boot and see how that works.
Plugs:
==Blackberry Crossing campground: yes it was plowed out, but it had no fire rings or picnic tables (unlike Hancock Campground at the other end of the Kanc). The snowbanks were higher than the car, but I was able to drive out in the morning (onto nearly a foot of fresh powder being continuously plowed by the veteran area DPW drivers).
==Upstairs Cafe, North Conway: Usual reasons; has become my go-to breakfast in the area.
==Kringle's, Jackson: Good submarine sandwiches, nice people.
==Jackson Ski Touring Foundation: One cavil: I didn't stop in there first, but went straight to Dana Place and then Wildcat, which had NO COPIES of the JSTF trail map. I relied on my Map Adventures topo and reasonably good trail signage. I stopped in at the JSTF at the end of the day and they said that Wildcat continuously runs out of the maps and they have to arrange to deliver more. Hmm. Nonetheless, WHAT A TRAIL!
==The Mountaineer, Keene Valley, NY: Great job arranging this gear package and providing personal attention at a competitive value. These skis did exactly what I expected them to, and this retailer helped put it together.
==Turtle Taxi, North Conway: $13 (plus tip) from Dana Place to Wildcat Mountain; no problem in the snowstorm; pretty prompt.
==The Mountain Wanderer, Lincoln: Met rock stars Steve Smith (AMC WMG) and Mohamed Ellozy. I was of course asking for the new Waterville Valley Map (http://vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=20919) and they laughed a lot, as I was the nth person to do so after Mohamed's outing. I also requested something on bc downhill and was well-served with David Goodman's "Backcountry Skiing Adventures: Classic Ski and Snowboard Tours in Maine and New Hampshire." I stopped in again at the end of the day and Steve shared with me his enthusiasm for the Tucker Brook Trail (Cannon Mountain), also covered in the book. He also wondered about the integrity of his roof. There's a lot of snow up there!
This was a great day, but it was one of the toughest workouts I've had in a while. It's humbling to have your weight-training at the Y scoffed at so thoroughly by an extra foot of snow.
Maybe see you next time,
--M.
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