Winter update

Time for a winter update. It’s been a tough start to winter for me since the last post. While we got buckets of snow (as I mentioned last time) I managed to get sick on the 2nd day of the Christmas holidays! That meant I wasn’t up to enjoying the snow and it seems like only now am I starting to feel right. Once sick I took the opportunity to get lots of rest so maybe that’s what most people do on their holidays anyway. I’d have rather been skiing but not to be this year. As it turns out the heavy, wet snow has been incredibly damaging to the trails in the park. Lots of trees and branches came crashing down under their holiday burdens. The trail crews have been hard at work trying to clear them but its slow, tough work for sure. That means that even now the smaller trails still haven’t opened… and may not be cleared at all this season! Bit heartbreaking to think a whole ski season will go by with out even one run at the Highland fling or Merry go round but that may be the case.

Beautiful skiing., Alas being able to breathe is an important part of this activity...
Despite my illness I did manage to get out a few times (for better or for worse). Pete and I try to do a "New Year's Eve" afternoon ski each year. He ends up working a half day so it's easy for him to bust out at lunchtime and get a ski in before heading for home. This year we went to the well cleared trails at Lac Phillippe. Visited Taylor and Lusk lake and had a quick beverage to salute the old year. After a week in my sick bed it felt good to get out on the boards even if my lungs weren’t feeling at full capacity. We also got a snowshoe in the day before going up the Lusk falls trail to “test” Pete’s snowshoe gear. It was a beautiful day indeed though somewhat cold… and a good chance to see the amount of damage the trees had endured on the summit ridge. Probably be a while yet before crews get the ski trail out to the tower cleared and ready to ski.
The last push to the tower. Surrounded by snow laden trees
A week later, after a few tentative mid-week skis, I decided to make a run down to the Adirondacks to do a little climbing… and maybe even a “ski/shoe”. On Sunday I took a leisurely drive down to the Loj and got on the trail at the alpine hour of noon! With a late start I opted for Wright with thoughts of maybe going up Algonquin as well. Overcast skies meant there would be no views but the day was warm at only a couple of degrees below 0°C. Light snow falling but the trail was wide and well packed so going was fast. On the way up I met a lot of groups coming down including a fair number of snowboarders coming off the Wright ski trail. A couple of the hiking groups had attempted Algonquin and failed owing to strong winds which helped me decide on scratching that part of the plan.
So warm I wore a ball cap... until I pushed above the tree line!
One tricky (icy) scramble before the Wright junction required a couple of careful foot placements but nothing too bad so the “shoes” stayed on and the spikes stayed in my bag. From tree line things still looked good but I put on my gortex jacket as the wind was humming. The last ¼ mile to the summit was in the open and visibility was down to 30 or 40 feet with the wind buffeting me about. Slow progress from cairn to cairn and I topped out with a quick u-turn and slow progress back to tree line. The snow surface was fine for snowshoes though crampons might have been a better choice. Unfortunately the surface and light was all a pretty uniform grey so it was a little tough to get much depth perception and careful steps were required to not walk off a taller than expected ledge. Visibility opened up in the last hundred feet and I beat a hasty retreat down below the treeline… where once again it was quite a pleasant winter day. From there a fast decent had me back to the car in no time.
Visibility was poor, but I always could see the next cairn (well, almost always)
Monday – after a night of light snow – the sun finally came out (though the temperature dropped to -12°C) so I opted for another easy hike to Sawteeth. I decided to ski the lake road through the Ausable club property and it proved a good choice. Not sure if it’s any faster than hiking. Its a 4 mile gentle climb I took a little less than an hour to ski up it with my 30 or 40lb pack. My normal walking time in summer is usually a bit over an hour… so perhaps a push. The ski out took about 20 minutes on packed powder. It’s not really a steep road but the club work crew skidoos had tracked it so conditions were pleasant. I ended up skating most of the flat stretches on the way out which used different muscle groups and was appreciated.
Crisp blue skies and snowy trees on the summit ridge
At the lake I made the change over to snowshoes and headed up. The trail was reasonably packed until about halfway up where I was met with the fresh snow in the trail. Clearly some hikers had turned back at this point so I had to break trail from there. The trench itself was solid though with only light snow – maybe 2 – 4” deep - so not too much of a chore. By the col the snow had gotten deeper (maybe 6 - 8”?) and the steep pitches were slower going. Bit of a 2 steps forward – 1 ½ steps back process but persistence paid off and I was soon on the summit and rewarded with nice views under bluebird skies.
Even the pine martens stop to take in the view
After a few photos and some food the downward progress went quickly. A few fast slides down to the col and then a few “snowshoe skis” down the (slightly less steep) trail in the fresh snow. The ski out was pleasant and before long I was back at the car. Nice couple of days on the trail. A few more pictures can be found HERE. As it turns out I got “slightly” sick (again!) after this trip but I seem to finally be bouncing back. A long, fast ski last night actually felt “good” for a change. Time to get on to winter and hopefully I’ve left the fluid filled sinuses behind me.
Hoping this is the sunrise of winter instead of the sunset