After being out all last week for some actual xc skiing in Crested Butte, I feared what our trails looked like after over a week of neglect. It took quite a few hours for three of us to clear what came down before Thanksgiving week, so with another storm that came in the form of ice and wind, I was very much dreading what I was going to find up there.
As it turns out, it wasn't so bad. It wasn't perfect, but it was manageable for me, by myself, to complete in one evening, albeit a somewhat long one! I counted eight new trees down, only a couple of which were of real significance, but certainly no whoppers like the "G" tree (see earlier post) that take all day to remove.
The trails are holding a good crusty base of snow/ice on at least 90% past point A. Before that, the front hill has a long bare stretch, but also a good stretch of snow/ice, so the fencing is doing its job. I had to fix it in a couple of spots, however. It was really cold up there last night, so that is good. I started taking pictures of all the trees, but only made it to about #5 before my phone's screen froze!
Anyway, the trails are once again clear and actually skiable in a few sections, but we won't be grooming until we get a good storm. There is a lot of debris that needs to be picked up if you're out snowshoeing or otherwise. Please pick some of the leftover sticks and branches when you come to them, and report any new trees down.
 |
| Starting the long trip around. This was just the beginning! |
 |
| The ones with all the limbs and branches make the biggest mess. |
 |
| Lots of debris left on the trail once the tree is cleared. |
 |
| Don't ski across this with klister! |
 |
| Tree #4 for the evening. More branches and debris =( |
 |
| Tree #5. My phone froze shortly after this. It was cold. |
 |
| Just past point A on the lower road. The conditions range from quite good coverage, to nothing, and much of the early sections are down to this ice crust covered by that last little skiff of snow. |
No comments:
Post a Comment