Monroe Trail/Camels Hump 12/9

What a waste of time for skiing. Nice if you are going for a hike. Goodmans write up "There is excellent skiing on the wide trail and in the open glades that flank it." is ridiculous. The top portion is so dense you need to ski on the hiking path for a good portion.Which at times is 5' or less wide. If there were any hikers coming up there would have been problems. Which would have happened if it were earlier in the day as we saw many hikers coming down as we went up. The bottom half that actually opens up has no pitch so when you go off the trail you basically are straight lining just to maintain speed.

Maybe there is a better route down....but the one Goodman states to use is a disservice to the hikers

Goodman excerpt:
"Back at the hut clearing, it is time to retrieve you skis and descend. The initial pitch back to the Alpine Trail Junction is narrow and fast. The trail opens up steadily below here, and you can swing turns down the trail. Or you can do as so many Camel Hump devotees prefer:simply head into the glades that line the trail and make your own way down the mountain.The quest for the perfect glade run will keep you coming back to Camels Hump time and time again as you continue to mine is secret groves. Its a good idea to keep the Monroe Trail in site as you venture afield"

I don't know how somone could recommend sking down this hiking trail....If I was a hiker I would be pissed

Talked to a couple other boarders there that day that had the same opinion

I've skied with DG and he's very good, so to him I'm sure the woods are very skiable. I've skied off that trail and had a pretty darn fine time but you have to hunt a bit away from the trail to find the goods. The best skiing on Camels Hump is no where near there.

-dave-

After trying to ski Cardigan/Firescrew on a less than favorable conditions day, I'd recommend Goodman's books as a supplement and not as a guide. If you're going somewhere to explore by yourself where you've never been and with which you are unfamiliar, don't rely on the Goodman books to show you exactly where the good stuff is. If you want guaranteed good skiing at a BC location, the best bet is a guide or a friend who's been there and knows the terrain.

David Metsky said:

I've skied with DG and he's very good, so to him I'm sure the woods are very skiable. I've skied off that trail and had a pretty darn fine time but you have to hunt a bit away from the trail to find the goods. The best skiing on Camels Hump is no where near there.

-dave-

Click to expand...

Lower 1/2 of the trail is skiable if you like skiing a 15% grade.

Did you ski down from the clearing? If so where? There aren't many options as there are 100' cliffs skiers left

It states
The initial pitch back to the Alpine Trail Junction is narrow and fast.

Which is because the upper half is unskiable and you half to go down the hiking trail most of the time.
Unless you go off the trail and push thru the dense trees and get one turn in. Is that skiing

Marc said:

After trying to ski Cardigan/Firescrew on a less than favorable conditions day, I'd recommend Goodman's books as a supplement and not as a guide. If you're going somewhere to explore by yourself where you've never been and with which you are unfamiliar, don't rely on the Goodman books to show you exactly where the good stuff is. If you want guaranteed good skiing at a BC location, the best bet is a guide or a friend who's been there and knows the terrain.

Click to expand...

I was not relying on the book to show exactly where the goods are. Was just using it as a reference. We did do some exploring off clearing......and it's just not good skiing near the Monroe Trail.

Talked to some boarders who took slightly different route down that had same opinion