Looking up to Avalanche Pass from Marcy dam
From the Loj I skied the standard hiking trail up to Marcy dam. Stopped a couple of times to adjust the wax which I initially struggled to get right. Snow was hard packed and a little glazed with the air temperature sitting at -5C… blue wax didn’t work, carrot, gave me grip but was scrapped off too quickly so I finally settled on rugged Teho green – my usual base binder. Likely a blue klister would have been ideal but applying klister in the woods isn’t an easy task so the Teho was a good alternative. It worked well and lasted me almost the whole day so thumbs up. The ski up to Marcy dam and then to the base of the pass is in general a pretty easy ski of about 3 miles. Gentle grades through hardwood forests meant a pleasant ski. I took my full winter pack (~ 18lbs) with me even though this was to be a relatively short ski day. Better to test things out with full loads and get a full sense of the tour rather than do a fast ski today and then complicate things in the future should I opt for a full day tour. At Avalanche camp the trails split. The hiking (and snowshoeing) trail, more or less, goes straight up the fall line (about 500ft) through the trees to the top of the pass. The ski trail however is beautifully cut to make three long switchbacks gaining elevation more gradually. There are indeed a few steep drops but lots of flatter sections to catch your breath on the climb or regain your composure on the descent. The switch backs are pretty wide but the straighter bits are, at times, pretty tight through the trees so they require some confidence. Adding to that, I guess most people use AT ski gear with skins to climb. With skins you can go straight up pretty much anything. For me – on waxed skis – it was a little tough at times. Herringbone worked well where there was space, some cross cut, some scrambling when things got tight and little by little I made progress up the steeper pitches switching techniques as the track deemed. An exercise for the head as well as the body!
Options for the descent - go high? or swing low.
Now, what happens at the bend below? Can't remember...
Topping out in the pass you ski through the avalanche area (no yodeling please ;) and then there is a very tight, twisty series of drops through the rocks and trees before being flushed out on a rapid drop onto Avalanche lake itself. In the summer a rocky clamber along the edge of the lake is required to get around the water but in the winter a short ski and I was across the lake and into the woods again. Another short twisty tree lined trail takes you to Colden lake and the heart of the high peaks. Beautiful day but the clouds were continually rolling overhead. Today the open area on the lakes was pretty windy so I didn’t want to spend a lot of time on them but it’s hard to pull yourself away as the views are spectacular.
Skier crossing Avalanche Lake - yes, that dot out there is a skier
The return trip across the lakes went quickly and soon enough I was back to the pass and ready for the descent. For the most part it went pretty smoothly. As I mentioned the snow was hard packed and a bit glazed so perhaps things would be a little faster than I would have liked for my first descent. There was enough texture to the snow though so one could maintain control. Steel edges would have been nice but weren’t really needed. In softer snow it would be a real treat. In spots the trail is narrow so some comfort with skiing in the trees and confidence in your ability to point in the right direction on cue are required. In spots the sudden appearance of people climbing up might be a problem forcing one to ditch but I met no one on the descent today. The trail builders are – as always –wise though and there are lots of chances to collect oneself before pushing off onto the next pitch. Much like the ascent, changing techniques as the pitch and trail size dictated made for easy passage. Christies, snowplow, sideslips, tele’s… whatever gets you down the hill can surely be deemed “technique”, no? Even though I had just climbed it there was still a degree of uncertainty as to what was around the next bend. With a somewhat narrow trail one doesn’t want to get too “over the edge” only to find a tightly treed bend. I would expect another ski or two would make the turns more familiar and one could attack the descent with some more verve. Certainly the skiing Forest Rangers I met later in the day – who ski through the pass several times a week - had no concerns about the trail and enjoyed it each time down.
Skiing Rangers get to do this route several times a week!
Once safely down from the pass the trail back to Marcy dam and the car went pretty quickly. What is usually a long trudge at the end of a hiking day was pretty much effortless. Avalanche camp to Marcy dam was 5 minutes compared to a 30 or 40 minute walk and Marcy dam to the car – normally about an hour walk – was no more than a 10 minute glide (with a few short climbs). In the future all winter hiking trips into the high peaks from the Loj…they’ll be on skis as far as I can go to enjoy those return glides to the car. Really glad to get this ski in before the end of the season. I’ve procrastinated too long on this one and in the end it was well worth the effort to make the trip. A few more pics here.
Swirling clouds above Avalanche Lake
No comments:
Post a Comment