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

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”.

Cannon

Today featured “day after the storm” powder hunting. Given how ravenous skiers were the day before, untracked lines would be hard to find. But I know Cannon pretty well, and found some damn fine cut up powder in the off map woods.

Thankfully, I found a kindred spirit while riding the Cannonball. After our first ride, we split up seeming to have slightly different agendas. As chance would have it, we soon found ourselves paired up again on the Cannonball. I am not a believer in fate or cosmic plans. But, when these types of things that don’t necessarily happen-for-a-reason happen, you gotta go with it.

We made for excellent skiing partners and lift conversation was smooth and easy. We had a shared love of cycling and woods skiing, and both appreciated similar skiing aesthetics and locations. And we paired up well ability wise as well (always a concern when going off map with someone you just met on the lift).

After some fine powdery off map woods, we hit almost every tree line at Mittersill except Bunny. They were all skiing well, though the overall lack of base depth from a poor snowfall season was showing, despite the recent storm. The lesson for today is to keep reaching out to find ski partners. They are out there and they want the company too.

Double Day, Part Two: Cannon

Candyland

Continued from Part One

While driving home from Jay, after only a few hours of lackluster skiing, I was replaying my helmet issue in my head. Why wouldn’t the ear pads fit into my helmet? What made them pop out without warning?

As I approached Franconia, I recalled that I had two helmets. Perhaps they had different ear pads and I had jammed the wrong set into my helmet? While driving, I rummaged through the pockets in my boot bag. And, sure enough, I found another set of ear pads. What a fucking idiot.

I started the approach to Franconia Notch and Cannon loomed large. By now, I had compared snow reports on my phone, and I knew Cannon had received more than three times the few inches that Jay had received. It was almost two o’clock, not much time left for the lifts. But, I had the sudden urge to stop at Cannon and resume my ski day, with my helmet and with leftovers from a foot of fresh.

I was glad I stopped! The skiing at Cannon was phenomenal. While I was many hours late to first tracks, I used my knowledge of the mountain to find the best snow and enough untracked to justify a powder day tag. It was only the second day I have ever skied two areas on the same day, and certainly the first time I had done so without planning it that way.

Cannon: A Bust

With a big storm predicted, I made plans for Cannon. But, as with many storms this season, the storm fizzled and impacted areas south of the notch more than the notch itself. I had a disheartening feeling as road conditions improved the further north that I drove.

I knew that would be the case. But I had hoped for at least a half a foot or more at Cannon. But, it was a total bust. Groomers with a light dusting skied better than natural snow, still recovering from the latest rain-freeze event.

As a positive, at least this storm didn’t turn to rain?