Be careful what you wish for...

This past weekend I took a long enjoyable ski out to the McKinstry hut. Winter has finally given us something to ski with and - in spite of the occasional warm spell with some rain or freezing rain - the ski base has become decent. Of course with the bouts of freezing rain we've had the groomers have been working hard to grind it up and convert it to skiable snow but all things considered we've had really (really)good tracks of late. Still, when I skied out to the hut it was a warm day with glazed track conditions. Add to that a few flurries of fresh (wet) snow and I struggled with getting the wax to work. Still a beautiful ski but when I was done I was wishing (hard) for a powder day. The ungroomed trails - which shine in a big dump of powder - have been pretty much a no-fly zone as the freezing rain forms an ugly crust which may (or may not) break when you ski it and if it does break under your skis will more than likely shred your ankles - no fun. So those trails have remained untouched in my annual redlining project while waiting for the right snow to fall. And waiting, and waiting...

Murky days but beautiful skiing
Monday I decided to go back to the Adirondacks and see how winter was shaping up. I thought by this point I could maybe use the touring boards to go back up to the Avalanche pass or maybe ski the Lake road to the Lower Ausable lake... but like here, winter hasn't been too kind with limited snow and lots of rain/freezing rain events. Trail reports of people using full crampons and still being turned away from summits encased in ice have been all too common of late. So as I loaded up the car, I looked forlornly at my skis... and then left them behind replaced in my pack with the crampons and ice ax. Of course my wish for a powder day was heard by someone and , pulling into the Adirondack Loj I was greeted with 5" of soft powder. Not enough to have warranted the skis (although I did see tracks of skiers - who clearly hate their skis!) as the fresh blanket of snow had barely covered the summer rocks and roots down low... but enough that my hike today was going to be a bit more challenging than I anticipated.

Fresh snow on the bridge
Fortunately I had lingered over my egg mcmuffin and one (1) person had already broken trail toward Marcy dam. One track though is hardly a beautiful smooth sidewalk of snow and I quickly found that the uneven trail of summer wasn't too far below the fluffy snow. Still, I guess it's a base builder for later in the season. Took the new trail junction that bypasses the washed out Marcy dam bridge and was soon enough headed up the Van Hovenburg toward Tabletop (with a plan to maybe summit Phelps as well). Indeed it wasn't until I was up to Indian Falls that the snowshoes were really beneficial at all. The route up to Tabletop was untouched when I arrived so I had an even harder haul to get up the trail which now had 7 or 8 inches of snow and a steep narrow (albeit only a 1/2 mile) trench to the summit. Lots of fresh snow means the trees are loaded and waiting for the first hapless passerby to unload their burden on your head.. and I got quite a few snow bombs dumped on me. Enough so as to learn that - even with a lid and two (2!!) internal cuffs - on my winter pack, snow still found its way inside. Ah but like a good Sgt tells his men during an artillery barrage... one place is as good (or bad) as the other so I soldiered on and made good progress to the summit.

Hard work breaking trail ahead
Once near the top, the winds picked up tremendously. Fortunately - in such a different environment, there was no snow in the tree tops as they were all glazed solid with ice. Mountain tops are truly an inhospitable place in winter - nice to visit but I can't imagine how the stunted krumholz ever survive. The top of the "Table" provides good protection in a cluster of trees but a few short steps away are some nice views. Today the nearby peaks offered their grizzled faces to me so I grabbed a quick bite of food in the sheltered summit and then hopped out to grab a few shots before loading back up and heading down. Much speedier descent, as winter trails often are, but when I got back to the Phelps trail I opted against it. It looked (at least down low) to be not much different than a "white" summer version of itself. Very rocky and rooty. I'd already been dealing with the rocky/rooty trail of the Van Ho where your snowshoes catch an edge of a rock and then - using the power of leverage - haul your ankle or leg off in some wild and unpleasant direction. It's no fun and I decided that Phelps could wait for a snowier day when the flat even track would be a delight to climb (and descend!).

Marcy graces me with a view - a veiled view of white on white... but a view none the less
From there it was a short hop to Marcy dam and then another leap to the Loj. Having seen a handful of tracks in various spots on the trail I had spent the entire day without actually seeing anyone else. A little surprising considering the Van Hovenburg (or Van Ho highway) is probably the one of the busiest trails in the Adirondacks (perhaps next to Cascade). So I got my powder day even if it wasn't to be had on skis - nor would I have wanted my skis just yet in these conditions. In fact the ever deepening snow (as I climbed) took its toll on me more than I had suspected. That and the thinly veiled summer trail and I would still call it "late fall" conditions. Puxatawny Phil is a fraud - winter hasn't really started yet!! More pictures here...

A little winter at elevation at least