You might not have guessed it down in the valley, but it was full-on winter up in the mountains this morning! As we ascended the Bolton Valley access road the trees suddenly became all-white. And there was more of it as we booted up in the snow-filled parking lot!
The northern Vermont ski resorts were talking about 5 to 10 inches of fresh snow overnight, and more snow had fallen on Friday. At about 2400 feet in elevation I'd estimate there was at least 8 inches. The trees were weighed down with snow — very pretty —and it was still storming as we made our way up in the Bolton backcountry trail network. (FYI, the ski resort is not open yet, but will be next Saturday.)
We didn't climb very high or go steep because we knew there wasn't really a base under the new snow. Last Sunday we had an “interesting” descent on Gardiners Lane, dealing with crusted-over snow and exposed rocks and water. We need some freezing temperatures. Today we gingerly navigated plenty of water bars and wet areas.
But we were oh so pleasantly surprised when we took off our skins and headed down Coyote. We had fresh tracks and our skis floated through the mid-weight, silky powder. I was even making decent tele turns — it was so fun! Of course we still were navigating water hazards but there were some narrow bridges available on this low-angle trail. Then we messed around on the World Cup trail, enjoying unspoiled powder and narrow water crossings.
Things are looking good for early December!
