Category: Earned Turns

2023-2024 Season, Earned Turns, February, Jay Peak

Jay: When Skinning is Better Than Skiing

Big Jay

The forecast suggested that Jay would get a foot of snow throughout a forty-eight hour period. However, Jay reported only a dusting by Friday morning. And the report for Saturday showed not even a dusting overnight. On the drive up, I knew things were not well when I did not see any new snow in the Notch nor Sheffield Heights.

Worse yet, the snow pack was moisture laden frozen hard pack. Word on the lifts was that the groomers had a difficult night and did their best with a challenging snow pack. It was the worst snow of the year, many better white ribbons of death have skied better.

Skinning the Wiggle

My original plan was to ski the lifts a bit and then enjoy the natural over on Gilpin. So, I had my touring rig with me. I decided it would be more fun to skin than to ski, and I was right. I always enjoy a good hike on a pleasant sunny day (if a bit cold, but skinning keeps you warm).

The only concern was lower level holiday skiers losing control and hitting me. Conditions were slick and fully engaging an edge was challenging. Thankfully, the skin route is mellow enough that no one lost control. The ski down was abysmal, as conditions were rapidly deteriorating due to skier traffic.

2023-2024 Season, Cannon Mountain, Earned Turns, February, White Mountain BC

Tuckerbrook: Blue Bird

Lincoln & Lafayette

The forecast promised an amazing blue bird day in the mountains. With new snow sticking to the trees, it was guaranteed to be a brilliant day in the outdoors. The air was cold and crisp, and the views of views of the Franconia Ridge and Kinsmans were fabulous.

Kinsmans

The morning temperature was extremely cold. Skinning is always a great choice for these days as it is easy to stay warm. The lower mountain snow pack was much improved since my last skin earlier this year. But access to the ski trail was still quite thin and would require careful skiing during the exit.

Cannon

The skin was uneventful, the views amazing, and the skiing acceptable. The snow pack is still quite thin for the first week of February. However, at least the trail is now well covered (at least, above the nordic trail junction).

Tuckerbrook

2023-2024 Season, Cannon Mountain, December, Earned Turns, Powder Day

Tuckerbrook

Tuckerbrook title=

When was the last time I skinned Tuckerbrook? I cannot recall, but my last skin of the trail was well over a dozen years ago. I last skied the trail (in its entirety, at least) almost a dozen years ago. But that was via a car spot. Since the 13 Turns are lift accessible sidecountry, I rarely think about skinning and skiing the entire trail.

The time and conditions were just right today to do so. I did not feel like doing another trip to Jay (which I just did the day before) and I felt like earning turns. I realized lower elevations would have poor conditions and the 13 Turns would likely be sporty. But that was all part of the adventure.

Tuckerbrook

The skin in to the junction was thin, icy, and rocky. Above the junction, snow coverage was solid. Lots of undulations, open drainage, and foliage to avoid until 2500′ when the snow pack was consistent across the trail. The skin track stopped at the Troll Bridge, which featured some navigational challenges.

Breaking trail up the 13 Turns was brutal. I am familiar with its think spruce coverage under the snow. I was mindful of possible spruce traps and evaluating coverage and hazards. The snow depth was not enough to cause alarm, but getting caught in one would be frustrating and annoying.

13 Turns

I finally hit the Taft Race Trail and finished skinning to the summit of Mount Jackson. The ski down to the 13 Turns was a nice and gentle warmup. I was surprised at how good the 13 Turns skied given the challenging skin up! It likely was the first ski descent of the 13 Turns this season.

The Troll Bridge was easier to ski down than to skin up. Skiing down the gentle turns of Tuckerbrook ranged from fantastic up high to survival down low. Well worth the effort!. I managed to “ski” back to my car without hiking. But below the junction, in many places it would have been faster to have hiked than “skied”.

2022-2023 Season, April, Earned Turns, Hillman's Highway, Mount Washington

Hillman’s Highway

Hillman's Highway Area Gullies

Hard to believe it has been ten years since my last time skiing Hillman’s.

I haven’t skied half of Tuckerman Ravine’s routes, but I’ve skied enough to know that I enjoy skiing and climbing Hillman’s the most. Hillman’s is far from the ravine circus and offers drama free climbing. There is a chill vibe. The gully has the easiest pitch in the ravine area, but also the longest run. And there is no need to down hike if the Little Headwall isn’t in, either.

Hillman's Highway

With 80 degree temperatures forecasted Friday and Saturday, I rearranged my work schedule to get to Mount Washington on Thursday. The Tuckerman Ravine Trail was skinable bottom to top, and the Sherburne ski trail was skiable top to bottom. Neither of those conditions would be present by the weekend, with as much as one-third of the Sherburne trail closed after the big melt down.

Tuckerman and Summit from Hillman's Highway

I had a “summit to car” adventure in mind. The better climbing route would have been Right Gully to the East Snowfields. But with the Little Headwall out, Hillman’s would be the only summit to car option from Pinkham. That assumed there was a skiable connection from the bottom of the summit cone to Hillman’s, via the lawn above the ravine’s lip. I suspected such a connection may not exist, so I opted to ascend the better ski route rather the better summit route.

Summit from Top of Hillman's Highway

Which was ultimately the best decision. After climbing out of the gully, I started skinning up to the Davis Path looking for a connection to the summit cone. But despite Hillman’s being quite full, the plateau around the summit was quite melted already despite the early time of the season. I wasn’t going to hike in ski boots across the rocky summit trails, so I turned around and headed back to Hillman’s.

It is just as well that I bailed on the summit option as Hillman’s was already quite cooked by the time I started descending. It would only get softer and mushier as the afternoon progressed. Turns were quite nice but a major workout given the soft snow.

By the time I reached the Sherburne, the snow was extremely wet and sticky. I pointed my skis straight down the Sherburne and often needed to poll to keep momentum. The final few turns were quite barren, but still retained enough snow that I did not need to down hike or side slip.

Wildcat from the Davis Path

2021-2022 Season, Cannon Mountain, Earned Turns, November, Powder Day

Cannon: It’s Still Home

Banshee Skinning

I briefly considered Jay. Two years ago, that would have been the play. Jay received a bit more accumulation and offered plenty of “reserved” untracked. But I wanted to hike and ski, not ride lifts and duck ropes. Over the years, Cannon’s Front Five has consistently provided some of the best early season powder skiing. Fall storms always seem to over deliver at Cannon. And, after all these years, it’s still home.

Paulie's

The lack of cars was surprising. I followed the usual skin track up Banshee to an almost untouched Avalanche. First turns of the season were sublime. It never gets old. Snow depth was just enough (8-10″), but I occasionally bottomed out onto slick fast grass. It is a shame Cannon blows snow on Avi, the natural skis so well. I went back up for first tracks down Paulie’s and Zoomer. Neither compared to turns down Avi, but both were enjoyable runs.

Paulie's