• Welcome to AlpineZone, the largest online community of skiers and snowboarders in the Northeast!

    You may have to REGISTER before you can post. Registering is FREE, gets rid of the majority of advertisements, and lets you participate in giveaways and other AlpineZone events!

Gilpin Mountain

Huck_It_Baby

Active member
Joined
Oct 11, 2010
Messages
1,264
Points
36
Location
Colorado
Date(s) Skied: 1.19.2013


Resort or Ski Area: VT 242 - Jay Peak Area


Conditions: 4-5 Inches of Powder on a nice crusty base


Trip Report: Headed up to Jay on Saturday in search of some fresh snow. 30 Degrees, over cast and a hint of flurries as I hit Montgomery Center but the temp dropped to 24 by the time I got up to the Long trail lot on 242. Instead of skinning North as I usually do I thought I'd head south up Gilpin Mountain.


I had a loose plan to go up the long trail to the summit but didn't see any other tracks where I saw the LT south trail head and couldn't locate white blazes. Instead everyone was on the Catamount trail unless I'm missing something. So I just blazed my own skin track up through the hardwoods on a path I deemed skiable for the descent.


What a cool zone! Views of Jay Peak and Big Jay, protection from the winds which were keeping the Tram and Flyer on hold today and 4-5 inches of fresh snow. Some beautiful trees! The base was not as good as I hoped after the thaw but better than it could be. A nice firm crust you could bite into. I was slipping a little while skinning because the new snow was sliding on the crustiness.


As I approached the summit I traversed back over to where I thought the Long Trail was. I came across some friendly Canadians and had a few brief exchanges of where to go and cool zones. Awesome. Thanks to these guys I discovered very cool place I was drooling over. Steep, rolling open trees with knolls and things to pop off of. Just very interesting natural features. I couldn't go down far since it dropped my on the backside of a ridge from where my car was and it was 3pm and I was alone.


I'll be back to hit it all the way down next weekend with a much earlier start and a couple buddies.


I went back to make my descent down to 242 and found a few great places to link turns but still need to explore more. Can't wait to get back up there!Gilpin1_Small.jpg

Gilpin2Small.jpg
 

Cornhead

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 4, 2010
Messages
2,836
Points
48
Very cool, nice pics. I'd like to get some AT gear, I could practice on the gas line swaths they've cut into the mountains around here, if they don't arrest me for doing so. There is also a defunct ski resort, Innsbruck USA, now Aqua Terra county park, don't know how overgrown it is. Boy, I wish that place was still open, how convenient that would be, couple miles from downtown Binghamton.
 

Huck_It_Baby

Active member
Joined
Oct 11, 2010
Messages
1,264
Points
36
Location
Colorado
Very cool, nice pics. I'd like to get some AT gear, I could practice on the gas line swaths they've cut into the mountains around here, if they don't arrest me for doing so. There is also a defunct ski resort, Innsbruck USA, now Aqua Terra county park, don't know how overgrown it is. Boy, I wish that place was still open, how convenient that would be, couple miles from downtown Binghamton.


Are you getting any of the lake effect going on right now?

I've never heard of Aqua Terra but just scoped it on Google Earth. If you get any snow I think you should go poach that place! Just grab some snow shoes and hike with you gear on your backpack.

Looks pretty cool. North facing. If I lived near I would be cleaning up those runs of dead logs and rocks to make some lines =)
 
Top