Ski Approaches

[skidoc22]

I have read very few threads primarily devoted to skiing. I wonder if it is the unusually poor snow for this time of year or if the majority of the members here are not big into skiing. It would seem that one of the advantages of winter backcountry travel would be that one could ski home at least part way and with a relatively long approach it might be fun and save some time. I would welcome some suggestions for Adk high peak day hikes which would lend themselves to using skis for some, most or all of the trip. I have seen some discussion of skiing the AMR lake road and I assume the Garden to JBL would be great for even beginners. Please give me suggestions for other ski routes for later on in the season when we will hopefully have some more reliable snow. Thanks!

 

[bcskier]

Ski approaches

It's hard to know how obvious to be but I'll start with the obvious just in case. Marcy Dam via the South Meadow Truck Rd or Van Hoevenberg Trail are both good ski approaches, the former better if towing a sled. From Marcy Dam the Van Hoevenberg will take you to the summit of Marcy and is done frequently during the winter on skis. You can also follow the Avalanche Pass Trail to Colden Lake and that too is regularly done on skis.

Other ones that I have done are the Hunters Pass Trail to the Slide Brook Leanto on skis towing a sled (also involved some skiing on the road to Elk Lake which is not completely plowed during the winter) which served as a base camp for a Macomb, South Dix, Hough and Dix ascent the following day (not on skis.) Also three ski approaches using the Ausable Lake Rd and the lakes which have involved Gothics, Sawteeth and Haystack ascents (these were all prior to the AMR declaring the lake surfaces off limits to non-members on skis.)

I've summited Whiteface by skiing the auto road. I have skiied to JBl from the Garden towing a sled in a low snow year. I skiied all the way in but ended up walking out.

There are others I've done in the White Mountains that I could share. I have a friend doing a ski approach for a Santanoni ascent this winter and I'm sure there are lots of other possibilities. I like being able to tow a sled so I tend to look for gradually ascending, relatively wide approaches.

The Watermans in Forest and Crag talk about the ski/snowshoe debate and how it played out in the early days of winter northeast mountaineering. The Adirondacks have traditionally beenn more of a skiers haunt and the White Mtns more of a snowshoers but certainly both groups are found in both places.

 

[JimB]

I've skiied most of the ones Eric mentioned and would add South Side trail up into John's Brook. It is a gradual ascent(descent) and is a great approach to either of the Wolfjaws. One thing with skiing these hiking trails is that they get very hardpacked and can be only the width of a snowshoe track sometimes. If there is lots of ups and downs it can be difficult to herring bone up or snowplow down. Sometimes I'll put the skins on just to make the rolling terrain easier and leave them on for the descent to maintain control with a heavier pack. The road approaches(AMR, Sewards, Santanoni, Allen, South Meadow, etc.) are very easy and can be done with light touring gear. I have very seldom had to use metal edged gear for approach type skiing.

 

[ADackR]

i have skiied most of the trails posted, besides the AMR and JBL. i've wanted to ski jbl for a while but it takes so snow to fill in over there...

one trail that i haven't seen yet is UW to Flowed lands.... this is by far my favorite trail and approach... the trail is fast and fun with the down hills going in and out, well especially out...

i would also mention if anyone tried to do mcnaughton via UW, one could ski the trail and then the lakes into that area.

i could also see it possible skiing into lake arnold via marcy damn and then possibly up to uphill lean-to...

i wish the trails had enough snow on them, by this time last year i had day skiied into lake colden via UW 3 times = this year

 

[Neil]

one trail that i haven't seen yet is UW to Flowed lands.... this is by far my favorite trail and approach... the trail is fast and fun with the down hills going in and out, well especially out...

I wanted to do that this weekend except I don't think there's enough snow for it yet so we're trying for Allen instead.

 

[el-bagr]

I didn't respond to this post initially because I don't want to "spray" about skiing. It's what I do, but I don't mean to make a big public deal about it. Still, several days later, with 6" of light fresh snow on the ground, I am driven to defend NE BC skiing.

There are those of us who ski. In snowy seasons, it's hard to convince me to hike when I can ski ... and if I'm hiking, my skis are likely to be on my back.

I ski primarily in Maine and New Hampshire. I don't get out as far as western NH very much any more, though when I lived on the Connecticut River I toured around VT and western NH a fair bit. I absolutely love skiing our hiking trails, and with the right attitude and equipment (and conditions?), they're all skiable.

This winter hasn't been the region's best for skiing, but January has been relatively kind. Hard conditions have prevailed. A blast of warm temperatures and even rain in the high mountains consolidated the snowpack. This isn't unusual; it's the "January thaw" folks in my neck of the woods all talk about. From a skier's point of view, this is actually good -- it's our base-builder. I haven't seen sparks fly off my metal edges from hitting rocks since December, and it's still getting better.

I'm not sure that you're interested in ski routes in the Whites -- please correct me if I'm wrong -- but I'll drop a hint for those interested: they're all skiable.

 

[Rick]

One thing with skiing these hiking trails is that they get very hardpacked and can be only the width of a snowshoe track sometimes. If there is lots of ups and downs it can be difficult to herring bone up or snowplow down. Sometimes I'll put the skins on just to make the rolling terrain easier and leave them on for the descent to maintain control with a heavier pack.

LOL. Ditto on keeping the the skins on going downhill - I am not a good skier, but I get by.. I have skied most of the trails mentioned here (and fallen down on as much as I am upright). FWIW, I will always take the South Meadows Truck Road rather than ever face the VH again - I remember one winter we had a Mountainsmith pulk after an ice-over - God what a pain that was.
I think it was also another time on the VH trail that I learned from another skier that blew me by to put grip wax on the ENTIRE ski and not just the pocket.

My biggest hurdle is the freeze thaw cycles that make it so much more difficult at times.

 

[skidoc22]

Originally posted by El- Bagr:

I'm not sure that you're interested in ski routes in the Whites -- please correct me if I'm wrong -- but I'll drop a hint for those interested: they're all skiable.

Unfortunately I am a long way from the Whites - they are some of the most beautiful mountains and country I have seen. You are fortunate indeed to be in proximity to two of my favorite states. I specified the Adks in my original post because I will probably spend 99% of my bc skiing time there due to geographical realities.

Looks like I've got my work cut out for me with all these choices. I hope we get some decent snow to give some of these a try. Thanks for the suggestions to all who responded. Hope to see you all out there!