Slip-sliding on the swath from Coburn Gore, 1-20-14

vftt.org

Help Support vftt.org:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Umsaskis

New member
Joined
Feb 24, 2005
Messages
228
Reaction score
27
Location
Northeast Kingdom of VT
I made a ridiculous attempt at Boundary Peak from Coburn Gore today. I thought the boundary swath would perhaps be skiable since it was frequently snowmobiled, only to discover it is not, really. Not really at all. There are little cliffs and lots of big rocks and steep stretches which make it rather impossible to ski. The snowmobiling obviously doesn't start this far north on the swath. I only went about 3 miles on this route, due to the cliffs (which are easy enough to bushwhack around in the woods, actually) and some other factors, outlined below.

The snow conditions were difficult. There was a nice 4-6 inches of beautiful powder on top, but beneath that was a very hard, very slippery layer of ice, impenetrable by poles and snowshoe crampons. I didn't have regular crampons with me but I suspect the snow may have been too deep to make them really effective, and I would have been slipping anyway. I suspect these are the conditions throughout the western Maine mountains, due to the recent rains. It was easy enough when the terrain was level or gradual, but on any steeper slopes, I found myself sliding rapidly back downhill at unexpected moments. Maybe an ice axe would have been useful!

Getting a late start due to really snowy roads, coupled with the slippery snow conditions, I opted not to continue on the swath after just a few miles and bushwhacked/slid down to Massachusetts bog, then walked out the road. A short day and not what I expected, but the bog was very pretty, anyhow. And I learned a few things about the swath as well. Anybody heading out to western Maine to do anything other than a flat trail, bring crampons, and hope they will dig through the snow.
 
Top