Ski Season is around the corner!!!

[Crankin]

Just booked New Year's weekend in Jackson, NH, staying at the Thornhill Inn. This will be our 3d New Year's there. The last 2 times, one we had pretty good snow and the other time, hardly any snow. I am praying to the x country ski gods. We were able to do some good snow shoeing, when there wasn't enough snow, though.

[Kathi]

LALALALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!!!

kidding You can brag about being on the slopes as long as you post pictures!

Too much powder to stop and take pictures. Too tired to post pictures I took a couple of weeks ago at A-Basin.

We skied at Copper today. It was an epic day. Best Nov. skiing I've ever had! Actually it was one of my top Copper days. Temps and snow conditions were just perfect!

Took a walk in the woods after I got back. Views of Lake Dillon were awesome, no pictures but you should see the sun setting on the peaks up on the Eisenhower tunnel. I love winter up here!

[7rider]

A co-worker just sent me an email today about all the snow at Breckenridge! Haven't booked our flights yet for February. I wish I could find some good deals on Southwest or United, but so far, no "gotta book NOW" deals.

Just got off the phone with my friend in Mass. who's organizing our ski days over MLK weekend. Looks like five days, 4 areas - Cannon, Loon, Wildcat, and Sunday River (that one will be a haul, but I think it'll be nice to go back there).

Looking forward to it!!! Let's hope it's cold!

[Crankin]

Hey 7 Rider, I might be in that area the weekend after MLK... going up on Thursday.
We'd be in Franconia. And, yea, it will be cold.

[JennK13]

Took a walk in the woods after I got back. Views of Lake Dillon were awesome, no pictures but you should see the sun setting on the peaks up on the Eisenhower tunnel. I love winter up here!

Yes the sunset yesterday was incredible! I'm planning on doing Alpha Cross #2 Saturday, then hitting the mountain Sunday. Supposed to be another beautiful weekend!

[mudmucker]

Finally!

I’ve been able to get out the last 3 days for some fine xc skiing. It’s good to be back out – last year exactly at this time I underwent surgery, uncertain what the immediate future would bring. I did not ski at all last year because of recovery. A whole xc ski season lost. It felt DARN good to be out there again. Like cycling, xc skiing is a soul saving activity for me. All of my winter weekends are planned around it. Thursday was absolutely perfect conditions. It was invigorating, marvelous, and absolutely chi surging. Although Thurs and Fri reached 40 F, I waited until late afternoon and chose the shady side of the mountain so that the snow set up real nice and everything was fast. The snow was excellent and hadn’t deteriorated at all. I use waxable skis but I’m at the point I’ve been doing this for so long, 33 years, I don’t even wax my skis. Just throw em on and go. It’s all in the balance and I’ve been skiing for so long I’m as comfortable on skiis as I am walking. I pretty much only wax when I'm out while it's snowing, new snow, when I need green or blue. I thought I might have been out of shape but I launched right into skating immediately - that's the balance speaking, more balance, less work. I skate a lot using classic skiis. Skating is SO fun. I like to skate then go back to classic stride if I want to.

I don’t know about other state parks in Mass but I have 2 near me that groom their trails after every storm so there’s a nice wide, and I mean wide, 8-12’ swath. All for free! I rarely travel to a paid facility. I'll go to Dennison. On the spot by next day there’s a nice groomed trail. The terrain in the park though is rather flat, but that makes it perfect for skate skiing. The trails there are up to 12’ wide. I’ve been going to Dennison for 8 years now and I’ve only seen 2 other skiers. Free AND crowd free. Like cycling, most people around here don’t ski either. I go to Wendell as well. More narrow trails with a little more terrain. They have a warming hut with a wood stove. These are some of Mass best kept secrets for winter activity. I can go right out my door if I'm in the mood to break trail. Still though, at least twice a year I’ll go up to Windblown in NH. I’m partial to that place, I really like it and it gives some nice varied terrain. And I’m definitely there if there’s a winter with poor snow, which really hasn't been the case for the last 8 years where I live.

Today it reached 52 F. I still went out but waited till 3pm. Conditions had deteriorated but by 3:30-3:45 again, the snow was setting up and it was a lot slicker and I ended up having a very good ski. Wouldn’t have wanted to do it at morning or mid-day as it would have been a lot of work. Sigh. In New England, for xc skiing it’s all in the timing and knowing how to work that before conditions deteriorate.

[mudmucker]

Yep. Wait a bit and conditions for xc are lost - for the moment. It's raining. We're gonna get the cold back but if there's any base left from the thaw it'll be ice. So, it's pretty warm, 42 F. I'll go out for a bike ride or run. Wait for new snow. Even Windblown is closed. Maybe I'll hit the downhill slopes if we don't get snow for a while.

[Crankin]

Thanks for the tips about those parks. One of my favorite places to ski in MA is Northfield Mountain. Never crowded and cheap for groomed trails. There is a discount if you are over 55. Basically, you can climb the mountain on your choice of green, blue, or black trails. I've also been snow shoeing there, which was a pretty tough climb, on narrower, steep trails. At the top, there's an overlook, with a picnic table, perfect for eating lunch. They also have a flat area for skate skiing. But, my favorite place is Windblown, too. We just got back from Jackson. There was no snow left there, although we did find a good set of newly cut snow shoe trails, which were part of the Jackson trail system, which we did on Thursday. On Friday we went to Bretton Woods. That's where all of the snow was still left. The conditions were absolutely perfect packed powder for the first half of our ski. Then, it started getting a bit slushy as the temperature there even got up to 42. But, I had no trouble with my skis, which was good. I bought them near the end of last season, and used them 3 times; 2 of the times it was warmer and the snow was sticky... I ended up doing an endo when I was at our local x country area! But, I now have the stuff you use on the bottom of waxless skis, which really works. I ended up skiing about just under 9 miles, a record for me. The trails at Bretton Woods are not as challenging as Windblown, overall, and it was a good choice for me for my first ski of the year. No falls, and I really felt the difference in climbing with the shorter skis. Yesterday, it was just so warm, we thought the conditions might be crappy, so we snow shoed to the view point up to the top of Mt. Willard.
Now let's hope it snows again.

[mudmucker]

Years ago I used to go to Northfield a lot when I was in my 20's because I lived near Greenfield and it was closer. It was at that time I discovered Wendell state park and that they groom so I'll choose that first. I don't go to Northfield at all anymore because of the great resources so close to me. Dennison is 3 miles from the house and Wendell is 25 minutes. Wendell would be closer to you than Northfield but if you get a good discount you can't dispute that. Plus Northfield probably pays attention to the grooming more because you are paying for it, if grooming is what you really like.

I'm surprised you couldn't have eeked out more skiing than you were able up there. You probably had good xc if you got out of the groomed areas. I used to snowshoe a lot but I'd rather backcountry ski if I'm going to break trail flat, upslope or downslope somewhere. It's more fun than snowshoeing - at least you get some glide out of your work.

[Crankin]

I've only done a little bit of back country skiing. Basically, trails that start where the groomed stuff ends. My skis probably are not the best for true back country; they have edges, but are not very wide. I get kind of nervous being out in the woods in a back country situation, even with a GPS. Since I sometimes feel it even on a groomed trail I am not familiar with, I know my limits. DH and I have been lost snow shoeing (at a x country center, no less) and I was not happy.
I also enjoy skiing more than snow shoeing, but hiking/snow shoeing works muscles that I obviously don't use cycling . The season is just starting, so there's a few weeks left. Before I know it, March 1st will be approaching and I'll be taking my road bike out again.
I will look into Wendell. It sounds nice, though.

[DebW]

I skied at Great Brook Farm in Carlisle on Friday. The snow was adequate and fun but of course melting fast. Yesterday I did a snowshoes hike in the Whites. Had to work Wed and Thur so missed the better snow. Waiting anxiously for more.

[mudmucker]

I've only done a little bit of back country skiing. Basically, trails that start where the groomed stuff ends. My skis probably are not the best for true back country; they have edges, but are not very wide. I get kind of nervous being out in the woods in a back country situation, even with a GPS. Since I sometimes feel it even on a groomed trail I am not familiar with, I know my limits. DH and I have been lost snow shoeing (at a x country center, no less) and I was not happy.
I also enjoy skiing more than snow shoeing, but hiking/snow shoeing works muscles that I obviously don't use cycling . The season is just starting, so there's a few weeks left. Before I know it, March 1st will be approaching and I'll be taking my road bike out again.
I will look into Wendell. It sounds nice, though.

Hmm. Well, if you get lost easily and get nervous you maybe shouldn't look into Wendell. Not that I consider it that remote, but it's not like Northfield, Windblown, or Great Brook where there are hoards of people. Chances are you might be the only ones there, depending on when you go. There might not be any brightly clad skiers whizzing by to sight on, should you need assistance. And, it's not always well marked and there aren't any green, blue, or black markers to let you know what level of difficulty is ahead. But I consider these as positive attributes. I'll ski these places alone oftentimes being the only one there but I am unaffected by that so from my perspective I think it's great. You might not.

[Crankin]

Well, I figure any state park isn't that well marked. DH would like the outdoors aspect of it, but maybe not the skiing part. I am a better skier than he is, though he got new skis which have helped him tremendously. He feels perfectly fine using the GPS to track our where-a-bouts. We hike a lot and ski a little in Estabrook Woods, which while you usually see people on the main trail, once you go off on the side trails, you can go without seeing anyone. There aren't any markers there, either. We once got lost in there mountain biking during a fierce thunderstorm and it was very scary.
I actually do not like going to Great Brook that much anymore, since the conditions deteriorate so quickly from over use... but, it is so close to my house, that if I can get out there first thing in the AM, I will go. I kind of consider it like my 15 mile cycling loop in Concord and Carlisle; boring, but close. Deb, maybe we can ski sometime in the next few weeks.
Yeah, i diagnosed myself with some type of agoraphobia when it comes to being in unfamiliar territory. I certainly don't feel that way about going out in general, but the anxiety reaction I get makes me have to use the strategies I teach my clients!

[mudmucker]

Dennison might be more up your alley as a couple. It's flat and very widely groomed, for the Mr. You'd see more people there so it gives the appearance of being less remote if you go to the more well known access areas, for the Mrs. In the known access areas, I do see people, but none of them are skiing,or it's pretty infrequent. You'll get walkers who'll walk along the side of the trail but you won't see them going in far. You'll see horses, folks out on the lake ice fishing, and there's a couple of dogsledders that go there too. And as in any state park you'll see some snowmobiles, who out my way are extremely courteous partners to be sharing the park with.

I know the park very well though so I know where to go where the people ain't. Dennison would also be closer to you than Wendell or Northfield by 30-45 minutes.

[Crankin]

It's snowing everywhere but here . I thought I might be able to go to Windblown tomorrow, but obviously, that's out.
Mudmucker, thanks for all the info on the state parks. Actually, DH doesn't need "flat" skiing; he's fine on hills, it's just that until he got the shorter skis, he fell a lot. I guess since I learned on long skis almost 20 years ago, I just was used to it. I find flat skiing to be very boring, actually. There's a new wildlife refuge in Sudbury (they redid an old army installation), with lots of trails, but they are very flat and boring. I hiked in the snow there last winter and decided I'd have to be desperate to ski there, although a lot of people were skiing. But, I do prefer wider trails, as although I can maneuver downhill OK, my turning and leaning skills still need some work, so I like to leave a little room for error! I am not a downhill skier, so it's not entirely natural for me.