Cross Country Skiing

[Crankin]

I love this part of Vermont; unless you are into winter endurance sports, most New Englanders never go this far north. There are 2 downhill ski areas here, but it’s a 3+ hr drive, so families don’t like the drive. We have pretty much decided no more Stowe area. It is too crowded, less dependable snow, and not that much closer. Skiing at Von Trapp Lodge is great, but the most expensive nordic center around. You do get to see the grandchildren of Maria, of the Sound of Music fame, running the place. They are all my age...
I am feeling much better and the most exercise I will do tomorrow is a walk at lunch.

[north woods gal]

I get the crowd thing. The older I get, the more I avoid crowds. The, too, I am now very spoiled, living where we do. Can't see a single neighbor from our property. Just a lot of forest and our lake and all the wildlife. I am so very blessed.

[Crankin]

We had a great and unexpected xc ski trip to Prospect Mountain, in southern VT this weekend. I have not spent any time in this area, so it was an adventure. The ski area is at 2,290 ft of elevation, used to be an alpine hill, so they get snow when it is raining just 5 miles down the road. We stayed in Bennington, VT, a nice place, in a great small B and B. We were the only ones there. So, the snow shoe Nationals were at the mountain this weekend, so it was crazy there on Saturday, less so today, as it was a snowshoe marathon and we did not cross paths with that! On Saturday, it snowed the whole time we skied, so much so, it was like backcountry conditions. We skied to the summit, hard, but doable, and descended an easier trail for a bit, until we had to descend a pretty steep hill that was intersecting with the racers going up on a cross trail. I had stopped to size up how I was going to descend and then stop without running the racers over. DH had already gone to the point where he had to stop; as I was standing, getting ready to go down, I just fell over. From a standstill! Problem was, I was on the side of the trail, in deep snow. My pole was in deep and one of my skis was buried. I could not get up and my knee was feeling twisted from the position I was in. I screamed and screamed until DH came up and pulled me to a sitting position, where I managed to stand and not fall down on the descent. What a dumb thing! No worse for the wear, and after I got through the racers, I realized I was skiing down on what was once a downhill trail. A lot of concentration there!
Today we stayed on mellow trails until we got lost and climbed a lot, and I convinced DH to turn around. I think we were on the trail up to the summit, but since it was groomed, it seemed different than yesterday. The downhill was awesome and then we made our way around some beautiful forested trails. We only skied 3.7 miles today, but we were both sore from climbing Saturday, so we headed home around 12:30, stopping at a great diner in Wilmington, VT. It's near Mt Snow, so filled with downhill skiers on their way home.
We are getting hit with another 6-12 inches of snow on Tuesday.... probably one more ski day.

[north woods gal]

You folks are really getting nailed with these big storms. Unbelievable.

Your adventure in that deep snow sounds very familiar to my skiing, since all my skiing is backcountry in nature. No groomed trails. Just trails I make on my own. Oh, yeah, burying the skis is oh so familiar. More than once I'e had to unclip from a ski while on my back in the snow. Not very glamorous, but at least no one other than some squirrels to see me.

I have wide, relatively short expedition type skis for my use, though. Can't imagine what you went through in that deep snow with typical trail skis. Sounds like you managed very well, though, all things considered.

[Crankin]

My skis are long, but not as long as the ones I used to have! They are Fischer Spyders, billed as skis for New England skiing, a kind of hybrid between regular touring skis and back country skis. They handle ice and powder.
Yes, I was about to unclip from my skis, but I couldn't figure out how I was going to do that, in the weird position I was in!
When we went to the Methow Valley in Washington 3 years ago, the rental skis we were given were short and really skinny. I thought they were skate skis at first, but they were not. I definitely could ski faster, but I doubt I could climb the way I do here, as they didn't have edges. I didn't get a real chance to test them as the conditions were horrible, with like 3 inches of snow in a place that usually gets 200 inches a year.
Our snow prediction for tomorrow is now 12-18 inches in my area.

[north woods gal]

12-18" ? Good grief. Well, you won't have to drive anywhere else to go skiing. When I lived in my Chicago suburb apartment, I used to ski over to a local park and have some fun. Found a few other folks were skiing there, too, when we had enough snow. Would even ski out in our residential area streets before they were plowed. Lots of fun. Good memories.

[Crankin]

They are too vigorous with plowing here to really do that. We tried last year, in the neighborhood behind our little condo street, and there was not enough snow on the street, despite a foot on the ground and still snowing. So, we snow shoed on the unplowed sidewalk, and that, in a nut shell is how I hurt my back! Heavy, wet snow.
So, our private road has had the contractors out here at least 5 times since 6 AM. They have plowed the street, shoveled our walks, and the driveways of those who have garages. I don't, so I went out twice and brushed the snow off of my car. First time, at noon, had about 8-9 inches. At 6 pm at least the same amount, but light and powdery, thankfully, because this morning, it was heavier. The snow between my car and my neighbor's was up to my knees or higher. Thankfully, DH is out of town, so they plowed his spot. I live off of Main St., a numbered state road, so it is always plowed well. Yes, some neighborhoods are not plowed so vigorously during the storm, but are down to the ground, the next day. Kind of amazing.
I have lowered my expectations for tomorrow; I wanted to go to NH (just about 45 min-hr away to the best ski place), but I am not sure the roads up to there will be OK, so I will go to the local ski area in the next town. With this amount of snow, it will be fine. When the snow gets sketchy, too many rocks, twigs, etc. And, most golf courses around here don't allow skiing, because of liability. That's how I taught myself to ski, in 1992. I will report back tomorrow!