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Ohh I hope you're right about the snow!! It has definitely been windy here the past couple of days, gusts over 50MPH and that was quite often. In fact, the wind is still blowing ARGH!! But I guess it is better than rain.
I too, thought about a move to the NEK!:) Wondered if I could move the shop and actually survive over there; I'm sure many people have shared those same thoughts.
Have a good week and hope that you are feeling better!
I skied a piece of the Catamount Trail past Stratton Pond on Sunday. Joined an official Catamount tour, where the leader was the maintainer of the section we skied. It was cold, below 10 all day, and quite windy, though a beautiful day in the woods. The original plan was to ski 9 miles with an optional bail-out at 6 miles, but the leader decided we would all stop at 6 miles given the weather and trail conditions - the last 2 miles of the longer tour would have been a steep downhill on crusty snow. The route included some woods roads, part of a hiking trail, and some snowmobile track and was well-marked and maintained. We started on the Arlington-West Wardsboro Road, stopped for lunch at the shelter at Stratton Pond and finished near some condos at Stratton Ski Area. A really nice day of skiing.
We had a glorious weekend skiing up along the North Shore of Lake Superior! Snow conditions, perfect. Weather, perfect. Ski trail, in perfect condition! Beautiful. :)
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Here's a view from the Dashney Farm Trails in the NEK.
Thanks for sharing Crankin!! How much snow have you received at home this weekend?
I just got back froma short ski, absolutely gorgeous out! The snow falling from the trees was tending to amke things a bit sticky, but nonetheless it was great!! I would guess that we received about 8", so received another 9-10" earlier in the week, so as of now things are pretty nice out. But as you know, temps are going to be warm this week.... we'll see what happens.
It was raining/sleeting until about 9 AM. We have a couple of inches of wet snow, but it will come down hard for awhile and then stop, start again. It's supposed to snow until 5 AM, and we are supposed to get 4-8 inches here in the western suburbs. I am planning on skiing tomorrow; hoping Great Brook Farm in Carlisle will open, so I can do it close to home. Otherwise, I will drive to Windblown, that has received a lot more snow, and go directly to my one client from there.
Am about to go out and do a quick snow shoe on my neighborhood/conservation land trails.
Glad to hear that you received some snow instead of just rain! I would guess that we reeived well over a foot in this last storm, so about 2 feet this week. I just finished shovelling the driveway for the second day in a row, I'll eat some breckfast and then head out for a ski. It's supposed to be warm all week, so it will be interesting to see how the snow lasts....
Have fun on your snowshoe today!
Just got back from 10K at Great Brook Farm in Carlisle. It was great to sneak in a ski during the week, but I should have driven to Windblown and just gone to work from there... it was 35 degrees when I left, so I knew I had to get out there when they opened at 10. The conditions weren't awful, as I've seen it really bad there, but they just don't groom like other places. The tracks were slushy, which I'll take over icy or twigs and rocks, but there was plenty of powder in the skating lane, so I skied there a lot. Other places will take the new snow and put it on the tracks. I went on one new trail there, which is kind of hard, since there's only ten miles of trails, but it was the best of the day, since it's rated black and mostly beginners go there... great powder and good hills.
It was getting very busy there when I left at 11:15 or so and it's already 40 degrees. More snow on Wednesday!
We haven't had any substantial snow since late December. It's getting scary for the upcoming fire season.
I hadn't skied in about 3 weeks. I just lost interest for a while. But I went out and skate skied the last 2 days. I tried out the "Map My Run" app on the cell phone for my skiing distance. I have no idea how accurate it is. I 'll have to do a road run and compare the app with a known distance. But both days it says I did about 5 miles. I'm good with that.
Well, the past week and a half has dropped about 2 1/2 feet of snow here, although the warm temps have made the snow melt/freeze several times. Got out for a short ski today, and although the sun was missing it was AWESOME to be out!! With all of the snow, more than likely it will be quite some time before we are riding outside on a regular basis.. so here's to cross training!:)
Skied about 11-12K (no GPS today) at Windblown. While it wasn't perfect powder, it was great packed powder/granular. No ice at all. Did the very bottom part of the Open Slope successfully. DH did not do so well, as he fell twice going down, as well as once from a standstill. He laughed though, and it's good for me to have a day when I do better at a sport than he does. Going back tomorrow, or maybe to Northfield MT. in western MA.
Ridebikeme, while we don't have as much snow down here, the roads are just yucky with sand/remelting, ice. I thought tomorrow might be the day for my first ride, but I am going to wait.
Glad to hear about your day Crankin! It does indeed seem a bit strange to truly be wishing for snow earlier in the season and not receive a whole lot, and now that it seems most people are 'finished' with winter sports, we start receiving it ! HA! I guess that leaves more room for the rest of us.
AS for rides on the road, if I were to get a mtn bike out, I could certainly ride that.... and may start doing just that. The roads are abit too sandy here still, not including the hidden sections of ice here and there. But in the meantime, there's still plenty of skiing to do and the occasional ride outside.
Enjoy your ski team!
Well, it appears DH tweaked his ankle and shoulder a bit in one of his falls, so we are axing the skiing today. I normally would go alone, but I am a bit sore myself and sort of enjoying a lazy morning. It looks like yesterday may have been my last ski of the year :mad:. We could take a trip north next weekend, but it's going to be 45-50 here and the bike is calling. We'll see.
If I had a mountain bike, I'd definitely be out riding. But, I'm basically down to 2 road bikes, so it will wait.
We received a nice little 8-9" snowfall the other day. Rain and sleet is predicted for tomorrow night and Saturday so last night after work I got out for a wonderful 4 mile outing under the lights on the trails at the local French Regional Park on Medicine Lake. Just after sunset along one of the lagoons, I heard two owls calling to each from across the water. What a great way to spend a weeknight and forget about work!
Crankin you're right about predicted temps for the weekend. My plans are to get out early AM for a ski, and then head back and take my mtn bike out for a ride. It feels as though it's Christmas Eve; I'm soooo excited. :)
Yup, I plan to do the same. Snow still falling here, and it looks like there will be about 8 inches at my house. Plan to ski tomorrow morning, before it gets too warm (just heard New Ipswich, where Windblown is has 9 inches now). The plan is to ride on Sunday, but since I don't have a mountain bike, it will depend on the condition of the roads.
Just got an email from my local (7 miles away) x country ski center and they are saying they'll be open at 11... I don't think I can ski fast enough to get it done, drive home, cleaned up, and to my client 30 miles away by 2:00 PM :mad:.
We got between 6-12 inches over the last 2 days. Yay! Since it was still snowing I took the touring skis to the cross country area. I'm glad I did. It was deep in some places and icy in others. But it was still a good day.
Today was probably the most amazing x country ski day I've had. Blue sky, 13 inches of new powder, and temperatures between 45 and 52. I was skiing in my Sugoi sub zeros, a base layer, and a fall cycling jersey. The jacket was off in 20 minutes, the headband in 5, and the gloves came off after 30 minutes. It's the first time in 20 years I've skied without gloves. Could have been wearing a short sleeved shirt and a vest.
We did the hard part first, skied up the Back Forty to the first "Zig Zag," where we entered the Open Slope at a much steeper point than last week. Lots of people skiing down. For your edification, the Open Slope would probably qualify as a blue trail at an alpine ski center. I've skied it from the highest point of the "blue" designation, but it goes up higher, into black territory. I will probably never do any black trail at Windblown, as they all are steep mountains, although I have skied down a few black trails in other places, and climbed up many. I let the experts descend ahead of me, got some courage from some young skiers who told me I could "just walk down," (are they kidding?) and went off. No falling, not so elegant looking descent in a very dug in snowplow. DH fell again this week, and this time he listened to me as I could see what he is doing wrong.
Don't you just love it when there are days like this? It sounds like you had a wonderful day, this is one of those days where you can be very thankful for the crazy weather! :)
We did not receive any snow here, although there still is plenty to ski on. I went out early before the trails became soft, so I could take my dog as well. It's tough on her when the snow gets soft. At any rate, we had a great ski, then I met up with a friend and we went out for ride! I have commuted back and forth to work over the winter, but this is officially my first road ride. My area has tons of sand on the road still, but I rode in an ajacent town and the roads were fairly clean for this time of year. I wasn't sure what I would get in to, so I opted to ride my mtn bike. Generally, I'm not one to ride a mtn bike on the road, but it was a great ride and I felt 'safe' with not knowing their road conditions.
Hope your day tomorrow is great as well... it's another to get outside and play!
I had 2 days of delightful skiing in Vermont last weekend. Stayed 2 nights at the Blueberry Hill Inn with a couple of friends. We were the only ones at the inn. It snowed Thursday and Friday night, so we had 3 inches of fresh powder to ski on Saturday. Skied a 9 mile section of the Catamount Trail from near Rikert Ski Center back to Blueberry Hill in 5 hours. No groomed trails, all backcountry powder. Saw 7 other skiers and one dog all day. Sunday morning we skied a loop on the Blueberry Hill trails with some climbing to a gorgeous viewpoint. Sunday afternoon I drove from the western side of the Green Mountains into the Conn River valley and skied 2 hours with a friend at the Strafford Ski Center. Not as much snow and groomed trails that were somewhat glazed but still nice. It was cold enough all weekend that I was skiing on extra blue and special violet wax. If that was my last ski of the season, I'll hang up the skis happy.
Skied today at Great Brook Farm, as I had proactively moved all of my clients except one to other days, due to the impending storm. They said they were opening at 11, which they were, but they weren't done with the grooming. Usually I don't mind, even though my skis are really made for the tracks and not skiing in the skate lane. Today, the skate lane had little and some not so little piles of snow/clumps, so it was slow going for awhile. I finally saw the groomer guy and then I had a bit of tracks that were clear. When I got to the top of the one sort of hill there, half of the ridge had not been cleared, so I skied up and down the other steeper (not really) hill there, which I've only done once, since it has a terrible patch of roots and stumps near the end, that are always exposed. Today they weren't exposed, but I was constantly being slowed by the snow piles and then I realized the snow had become very wet. In fact, it was sleeting/raining when I got back.
I can't believe this stuff used to scare me. It was fun to be outside, but I have been disappointed in the conditions at Great Brook the last few times I've been there. However, it's 8 miles from my house, so I can't complain. Fresh snow and I am glad I went, since I skied about 11K, almost the whole place.
On Friday I may go up to Windblown, and ski there in the AM, as I have a client about 20 minutes south of there at 1:30. They got about a foot or more of snow, and no rain/sleet like here. While I do wish I was out on my bike, I love this opportunity to ski.
It is amazing how quickly we can turn from one activity to another...:) I too, went out on ski's this morning. At the time, the snow was minimal and dry, which meant that I had very little glide. It did get a bit better once I turned around to come back to the car though. It was a beautiful day to be out, hopefully I'll get out again in the next couple of days... especially since I had to reschedule our Chili ride which was on Sunday.:(
It's amzing how an hour can tire our fourl legges friends out, although if yours are like mine, well she runs more distance than I ski HA!
We had about a foot of new snow this week, and although today was supposed to be the 'Chili ride" for the shop, it turned out to be a day on ski's.(way too windy to ride outside today) Unfortunately, my four legged friend had to stay home today because the snow was too soft... too hard on her hips. But, I will say that the conditions are probably the best of the season, and like you Roadie, I too did a semi backcountry ski today. I followed someone elses tracks, and it was a blast although a LOT of work HA!
Wow. Our season is completely done. The cross country centers closed April 1st. The one closest to me had to cancel a bunch of special events. There is dirt all around the house. The snow level is up over 7000 feet! We're at a 50% snow pack for the year. That's really scary for the fire season this summer.
I did a short late day hike yesterday (elevation only 1100-1200 feet proabably) and saw evidence that we still have lots of snow in soem areas... 2-3 feet. I'll definitely have to get out on ski's before its all gone though. We are in that in between season, where you can still find snow to ski on and some days are nice enough to get out and ride... others not so much.
Bumping this thread up, because we just made a reservation for our annual x country ski trip we do in February! We are going back to Stowe, staying in a new place, and I am hoping, this time, there will be snow. Last 2 times, we ended up snow shoeing, with one day being about 45 degrees, drizzle, and huge amounts of melting snow. The mud at our inn was so bad (it was around March 1st), that even DH's 4 wheel drive, with a special heavy duty thing for getting out of places, needed some extra coaxing to work.
We had originally planned on going back to the Northeast Kingdom, but about 2 weeks ago, we got an email from the inn saying, "good news," the out the door trails are now all for fat tire bikes :eek:. Not good for us, though. We snow shoed there, and the only reason we didn't ski was the snow cover was a bit sketchy. There is a dedicated x country center, but it's not that big and not worth going there for a few days. I know that Burke is promoting fat bikes/mountain biking to make the area more desireable to people, but that is one sport I will never do. Since most of the clientele at the inn looked like families with kids, I am wondering how this will play out.
There's still lots of riding time left, but I am getting excited.
Although at present I don't own a Fatbike, more than likely I will buy one at some point. I don't think that there will be much of an issue, there's plenty of room in the NE Kingdom to do what one wants...
When I moved back to Maine in 2000, I judged the conditions of the snow by what I took out on the trails... great snow I'm on my nordic ski's, if it was icey than I went with my mtn bike with studded tires or chains. Nothing has changed, although a Fatbike would me allow me to get more outside miles over the winter than simply being on the trainer. And of course, I'll always be on ski's when there is snow:)
1st ski of the season at our local touring center. I am always doubtful about the conditions here, but today they were fabulous! All powder, even though we had some ice under the snow on our driveway. Did about 10.5k, and even though it was crowded, we do an outer loop which includes the only 3 bigger climbs (nothing compared to other places) here, after about the half way point, we hardly saw anyone. Lots of parents teaching very little kids to ski, also.
I'm pretty tired, from skiing, 2 hours of snow shoveling, and still recovering form my dental surgery. Nobody fell, so that's good. I did feel a little more wobbly than usual, but I always think about when I started skiing at this place, about 22 years ago, when I never left the little beginner loop and the one teeny hill used to scare the crap out of me. I didn't *really* begin to ski until 2005.
Happy.
Skied again today, same place, same loop. We had 5-8 inches of powder last night, but conditions were not as good :mad:. It's gorgeous out, bright, sunny and was 28 when I left. I got there at 10:30, about a half hour after they opened. Didn't start too well when the about 80 year old woman selling me the ski ticket asked if I was a senior :eek:. I know I don't look great without make up, but geez, my hair wasn't even sweaty yet. I told her i had 5 years to go, according to their standard. Anyway, it was really gorgeous and things were fine until I did the first part of the climb and got to the top, which is an open field, exposed, with no trees. As I was skiing around the loop to catch the second part of the climb, I almost did a face plant. I realized it was getting warm out, I didn't put any Glide on my skis and the snow was getting sticky. When I got back into the woods, it was better, but then I started getting annoyed at the poor grooming. The tracks were fine, but the skating lane, where I usually ascend and descend was not groomed and the sticky snow, combined with lots of powder and big lumps kept slowing me down on the downhills. I do have edges on my skis, but they don't do well in deeper powder. Getting back was slow and one guy near the end told me pass him, as his skis were no longer functioning!
Glad I went, though. Crossed paths with an AMC group skiing, I hung with them for a bit, but they were going even slower than me. I cringed when one of them yelled, "There's my bike leader."
It was 33 when I got back, so no wonder my skis were sticking.
Sounds like a great day to be out! I remember those days well with sticking snow etc... Those are the days the days when we all need the "Zero" base ski's which are made for those conditions:) Ummm... maybe I'll have to think about getting a pair HA!
I've felt the need for a second pair of skis, but not sure what. DH is not so convinced about this... tell me more about those zero based skis.
Maybe I should get some back country skis so I can play in the real woods a bit more.
Managed to get out and ski yesterday for just under an hour on the local rail trail (that the snowmobilers use, and pack down nicely for skiing). Unfortunately it is going to rain this weekend so will probably have to wait until the next snowfall to go again. Next time I will have to try some of the side trails for more of a challenge since the rail trail doesn't give me any practice turning or going up/downhill.
Snow shoed in our neighborhood/conservation land trail late this afternoon (Jolt, the one we hiked on years ago). Really warm out, about 50. The snow was pasty and it was quite a work out. I didn't do quite the whole thing as I have neighbors coming over for dinner and I had to start preparing. This is the trail that has the really steep (20+%) climb back up to the street. Although I only went about 3 miles, it felt like 30 between the snow and the climb. I kind of am hoping to ski at Windblown tomorrow, as it's always colder up there and the conditions may be OK, if it doesn't start raining. There's going to be a lot of ice in northern NH and Maine, Vt., so I hope everyone is safe up there.
I love winter.
Snow shoed on Friday and skied yesterday. I have never seen so many people at Great Brook Farm. Since it was about -5 early in the AM, we went at 1 PM. Conditions were Ok, but I was just off, feeling like my arms and legs were dead, back was hurting, but, hey, I went and skied about 10K. Saw She Fly early in the ski, which was about the only time I smiled! There were a lot newbies out, with poor trail etiquette, as well as many skaters, who fly by and make me feel like an old lady. I slipped and fell going up the bigger climb, just from pure tiredness. Only I would fall going up a hill.
Going to Windblown today, which, no matter how crowded it looks, never feels crowded, once you get out a bit from the lodge. And, the grooming is much better.
Sounds like a great day Crankin! It seems as though this last bout of weather has really wiped people out... in terms of effort, holidays etc... I'm hearing from people everywhere that they are tired, and those are the folks that "never" say they are tired:)
Hope you have a great ski today!!
We went back to Great Brook this morning for a skate before things got busy. Much better, but still lots of newbies out standing in the middle of the trail, or skiing two abreast. Did manage to get in a solid workout though! Great to see Crankin and her DH out yesterday, if only briefly! I am pretty beat now - 3 days of nordic in a row, using muscles I didn't know I had.
SheFly
Windblown was awesome today, albeit, a bit icy in spots. Now I know why I go here to prepare for trips further north. Climbing like crazy. Some of the descents had moguls and it was slick. No falling on those, but 2 stupid falls sort of trying to be coordinated :).
I am also feeling like SheFly, after 2 days of nordic and one of snow shoeing. Tired, but happy. DH and I left before our friends, as he was starting to fall a bit and had a blister. I did not fight this decision. There's an AMC ski at Windblown on Wednesday, but I will have to check on the conditions. Don't want to drive an hour for ice.
Skied yesterday at Great Brook, after a "surprise" 6-8 inches when a "dusting" had been predicted. Went at 9:15 AM, by myself, with no expectations of conditions. They had stated it was a bit dicey in the woods, but I have actually seen worse, much worse. Was debating on whether to go down the steep, but short descent on one trail, as this is where I once had to take my skies off when there were rocks and roots poking through the snow! But, I like the climb, so I ditched the alternative route and up I went. The conditions were getting a bit slick and mushy, with snow piles on the sides of the descent (which curves). My edge caught and down I went. No one saw, but my back was already hurting, and I do feel the fall today.
I feel like I haven't had a really perfect ski day yet, except maybe the first one. Hoping for some snow for next Sunday, maybe, but I hope I get to ski somewhere more challenging before my trip to Stowe!
OK, so today I realized what a rotten skier I am. I went to a local XC ski place with a Meetup group of people I hadn't met before, and warned them that I am not very good yet. A couple of others said they weren't either. We split into two groups based on skill level, with the idea that the less advanced group (of which I was a part) would stick to some of the easier trails. First of all, I was by far the worst skier in the group and was the straggler, which I absolutely can't stand. It is so awkward to be slowly trying to get up a hill without sliding backward and having everyone else waiting at the top and staring at you...I finally advised them to just go ahead rather than wait, knowing how annoying it can be to stand around waiting a long time for someone slow as well as not wanting an audience for my klutziness. Also, the trail junctions weren't always well marked and somehow we ended up on what I suspect was a black diamond trail, with lots of ups and downs that I really wasn't ready for. I lost count of how many times I wiped out...going downhill is scary right now especially if there is a curve and there are trees etc. along the sides of the trail. Not being very good at turning yet, there were quite a few times where I had to fall down in order to avoid hitting something. Time to take a lesson...or two or three. Preferably without a lot of other people around. I suppose I should just be thankful I didn't get hurt in the process of crashing that many times...unfortunately one woman did, right at the end. She hit a fence that was next to the trail, injured her shoulder and had to go to the ER. Haven't heard what the outcome of that was, but hoping it isn't serious and that she has a quick recovery. Really a bummer too, as it was her first time skiing.
Jolt, it's better to go alone, or with one person at first. Take a lesson or two, it helps.