Going out like a lamb?

Ramparts
Originally uploaded by kenmores

March skiing continues to be amazing. Still lots of snow and today was another perfectly sunny day that stayed below zero. This meant the skiing was in excellent shape just about everywhere I skied. It only got a little slushy towards the end of the afternoon but for the most part the trails were firm and fast.

I skated a good loop today and while the Parkways and Ridge road were pretty busy I still managed to find a few quiet spots to ski. After a warm up on the Parkways I flew down Burma and then - halfway along - crust skied up to the Ramparts (which was a fun challenge with skating gear). From the look of the trail I was the first to ski up there in a while. The crust is starting to get thin and the backcountry trail made it a bit of a challenge but I got to try some rarely used techniques to conquer the descents. The "grab for some trees" to slow down (when moving slow towards a drop off) or "clamber away from the trees" (when moving fast down the dropoff) worked pretty well and then there was the "all hope is lost, make a quick prayer" technique which worked twice (and failed once). At any rate I made it to the top and enjoyed the lookout for a while. I was also surprised to see that someone had recently skied up from the Meech lake side to the lookout... must of used skins to climb the precipice. Nice!

Next stop was the race trail near Camp Fortune. It was freshly groomed and looked like only two people had used it today. Its a great trail with lots of big climbs and fun, fast descents. I guess it doesn't see much use as - like most race trails - it doesn't really go anywhere but just snakes back and forth on itself.... but its a lot of fun regardless.

Tomorrow looks to be more of the same (sunny days and sweet skiing) but some seriously warm/wet weather is headed in for next week. It will change the consistency of the trails but should only go a short way to reducing the snow pack. Should be some good skiing next weekend as well.