Two inches of new snow on the shady trails at the Stowe Mountain Resort cross-country center made for some nice skiing today. I took a cruise on the Ranch Valley Cruise. It was my inaugural ski on this trail, and I loved it.
After a fast ski down the very steep hill on the Stowe Derby Trail, I arrived at the Adams Camp bridge. I climbed up a hill from Ranch Brook and found myself in a quiet, north-facing corner of the nordic network. I passed two snowshoers, and at the end of the trail I passed three skiers. Fresh moose tracks and moose poop made me aware that I was not alone, however. I never did see him (darn!).
The direction that I skied the Cruise trail had quite a bit of climbing, but also some undulating terrain. It was a beautiful trail through the hardwoods. The resort was grooming throughout the day, and a groomer came by while I was skiing.
When I passed the exit of the ungroomed Steeple Trail, I looked up to see if there were tracks; there were none. The two inches of fresh snow fell on a frozen base from recent thawing and freezing. I would not venture into the backcountry today.
As I arrived at the Burt Trail, I decided to ski up to the trailside hut to have a sip of hot chocolate and some water. I looked at my map for another trail that I might want to try, but I really liked the Cruise so I decided to climb up Ranch Camp a bit to Old Camp and Cant Dog. This steep, narrow trail brought me quickly back down to the Ranch Valley Cruise so that I could retrace my steps to the bridge and nordic center.
It was a nice cruise on skis on a gorgeous day!
P.S. Due to warm temperatures, I used my waxless skis and they are light backcountry skis with metal edges. I really liked having metal edges for the steep descent on the Stowe Derby trail to the bridge, and the descent on Cant Dog.
