Mother Nature came through a bit for us in northern Vermont at the end of this week. Up to 8 inches of new snow was being reported at Vermont ski resorts.
We grabbed our skins and our telemark gear and headed out for some backcountry skiing today. In Bolton Valley's backcountry trail network, we enjoyed making turns in 4 - 5 inches of fresh snow over a hard, frozen base. We were skiing at between 1,900 to 2,800 feet in elevation.
The snow was best when we got first tracks. It made for very fun tele turns! Some turns were deeper than others because the wind had rearranged the snow in some areas.
In narrow areas of trail where there had been some traffic already, the snow had been pushed around so we were making turns on the frozen base of snow underneath.
It was challenging to ski in other locations that had been skied during the recent thaws. There were ruts under the new snow so we had to watch where we planned to turn. Plus, while much of the water is frozen up there, we did come across some rather deep runnels that were not filled with snow and required careful maneuvering.
But the sun was out and there was fresh snow to play in. It was great to get out into the snowy woods and earn our turns!
