Ice Storm Pics

Ski Report: by Liz

There was a pretty significant Ice Storm at Bolton Saturday March 8 . . . we have mostly recovered, but there is still lots of ice in the trees. Anne Gotham (ski patrol) and I went out in the backcountry to survey the damage and do some clearing this past Saturday. Here are some photos of our adventures.

On Heavenly Highway we realized pretty quick that there was about 1/2″ of ice still on the trees and 1-2″ of snow on top of that. Ann thought it looked like an ice castle.

Lots of cool icicles on the trees.

Ann and I took some stops along the way to make note of the snowpack…. in summer this Paradise Pass Trail sign is way overhead. There is 4-5 feet of snow around this sign.

More ICE….

We stopped along the way, got out the saw and cleared some debris from the trails. Trails are clear now… thanks to everyone who moved branches, knocked ice off branches, cut small trees and made the trails ski passable.

A close-up photo of the ice on branches and buds . . .

On the way back down the Catamount Trail we stopped at Bryant Cabin- the snow is up to the windows and the front door is down in a snow hole. March is a great time to rent the cabin for a night or two. Give us a call to reserve a night.

The ice is still on the trees– come on up for a ski or snowshoe and check it out. LH

Saturday Ski

On the trails– by Liz

I went on one of the best skis of the year this afternoon with my friend Eric Tremble.  All these photos are from Saturday.

We went out today with the intention of skiing Telemark and Bobcat– two trails that finally have enough snow to groom.  It was a blast and I felt a little bit like we were in the Bill Koch/Rossignol Movie- the Ski Experience.

Art and Eric– discussing the best equipment to use for the Catamount Trail BC Challenge Race.

We started up Telemark– it was groomed this morning– it’s always fun to ski something new.

The kick wax worked great and we had an easy time striding all the way up Telemark.  Skiing down Bobcat was super fun– it’s still a little bumpy, but this challenged us to concentrate on balance.

Great view of the alpine trails from Bolton Lodge- from Bolton Lodge we headed up Beaver Pond and Deer Run.  The snow on the groomed trails was quite good– and fast with several inches of new snow tilled into the transformed crust.

We cruised back up the hill in the great classic tracks on Maple Loop.

Tremble skiing up Maple Loop

We bombed down Spruce Run- slid all the turns and checked out views of Camel’s Hump and the BV alpine trails along the way.

Snowbanks on Maple Loop– we couldn’t pass up this photo opportunity.  The snow pack is still so deep and we are forecast to get more snow this week.

On the way back in we skied Pond Loop and noticed the deep snow on the dock.  There is nothing like skiing in late February and March–

At the end of the ski I ran into Clem Holden, who has been skiing at Bolton for more than 50 years– he says the conditions are perfect– get out and ski.