Ascutney Mtn., Vt. March 27, '05

[skinut]

It's too bad that it is raining right now because yesterday, Easter Sunday, was a story book day at this fairy tale Mountain. I skied from 9 to 2 p.m. By 11 I was hatless and in a sweater with t-neck. However, all I needed were sunglasses.. Although rocky in places all trails had enough cover for skiing. By noontime the boiler plate had softened, and there was standing water and slush at the bottom. The most memorable fact would be the lack of any lines or crouds. Given that this was a holiday weekend and the conditions excellent, I found it a very pleasant surprise. If you see a guy with an attractive tan and a wide smile on his face under an umbrella today, it'll be me.

 

[Greg]

Nice report. I haven't been to Ascutney in years. I need to try to get back there. Welcome, skinut!

 

[thetrailboss]

It's too bad that it is raining right now because yesterday, Easter Sunday, was a story book day at this fairy tale Mountain. I skied from 9 to 2 p.m. By 11 I was hatless and in a sweater with t-neck. All I needed was sunglasses. Although rocky in places all trails had enough cover for skiing. By noontime the boiler plate had softened, and there was standing water and slush at the bottom. The most memorable fact would be the lack of any lines or crouds. Given that this was a holiday weekend and the conditions excellent, I found it a very pleasant surprise. If you see a guy with an attractive tan and a wide smile on his face under an umbrella today, it'll be me.

Great to have you here, skinut. Keep posting from your neck of the woods :wink:

 

[skinut]

Thanks for the welcome.

Actually, I hadn't been to Ascutney in a couple of years. To add to the report, the views were excellent, especially in the A.M. I haven't paid for a full price lift ticket in decades, either, and their Sunday P.M. deal ($22 for N.H./Vt. residents) originally attracted me. However, after my Sunrise Service, the skies were so clear, I decided to spring for a full day. You can see a section of the Conn. River from a certain vantage point up there, I found out. I think this is the only lift service area from which one can see the river now.

 

[thetrailboss]

Re: Thanks for the welcome.

You can see a section of the Conn. River from a certain vantage point up there, I found out. I think this is the only lift service area from which one can see the river now.

Hmmm...don't know if I believe this one. I think you can see it from Cannon, Burke, Dartmouth Skiway (probably for sure) and maybe even places such as Sunapee or Wachusett. :-?

 

[skinut]

Disagreement

Since I spent my college years at the Skiway, I can state that I don't remember seeing the river itself. The skiway is on the East side of a mountain ridge. However, it's been so long, I stand to have me memmory refreshed. As to the other areas you mention, I don't think that you see the water itself, but the valley. The valley can be easy to spot from many areas like Killington and Sugarbush especially this time of year due to the fog that forms above it. No way, though, you can see it from Sunapee. However, at Ascutney one sees the actual water from above the loading station of one of the chairs.

 

[thetrailboss]

Re: Disagreement

However, at Ascutney one sees the actual water from above the loading station of one of the chairs.

Yes, I figured you meant 'the water' of the river itself, but wasn't sure. In this case, I do believe that one can see the water from the top of Ascutney and probably nowhere else...

 

[skinut]

Mt. Tom had a good view of the River, but it is >>Lost<< now. It's too bad, too. That area and the Holyoke ridge offer terrific views. In the summer one can see hot-air ballons and hang-gliders over the river valley. Maybe that would be a reason to take these sports up.

 

[thetrailboss]

Re: Disagreement

Since I spent my college years at the Skiway, I can state that I don't remember seeing the river itself. The skiway is on the East side of a mountain ridge.

Dartmouth Ski Way is on the Eastern side of the Connecticut River, but is actually on the western slopes of that mountain range because one can see it as they drive along I-91. I grew up near there and drove by it quite often. :wink:

 

[skinut]

Re: Disagreement

Dartmouth Ski Way is on the Eastern side of the Connecticut River, but is actually on the western slopes of that mountain range because one can see it as they drive along I-91. I grew up near there and drove by it quite often. :wink:

Actually, the skiway is in a valley or ravine depending on how you look at it. One travels out of Lyme in a curve around the Mtn. range closest to the river and into this valley. What you see from I-91 would be the Eastern side of the skiway on Winslow Mtn. (which I believe is higher than the western side). The western slope is called Holt's Ledge and sits on the ridge which forms the river valley there (I dragged out my old trail maps for this update.) It's been 35 years since I skied it so you might have had the more recent view. In fact I-91 wasn't completed beyond Norwich until after I skied there. Nevertheless, the lift cuts haven't changed. Since it is fairly low in elevation and blocked by the inner mtn. range, I doubt if the river waters are visible at any time from the summits, either. I-91 was built above the River as well. From this perspective you are looking over the Eastern ridge that forms the river valley. This fact has been made clear to me by various exposures I've experienced since skiing there. An old friend of mine (A former N.H. Senator, I'm proud to state) built a house on the same Mtn range 25 years ago in Etna. (The Moose Mtn.'s stand between the skiway and his house.) I have spent a lot of time there. It offers some spectacular views of Vt., but the river is highly obscured by the foothill country in this section of the river valley. Not only that, fog dominates it most of the year. The truth would be that the river meanders amongst wet hills here and is never straight. It was highly turbulant and quite fast as well (like the White R.), I believe, before they built the Wilder Dam. You also have kind of a delta area here with the Ompanoosic, the White, the Conn. and other tributaries. I was very impressed that I could see the Conn. below the Wilder from Ascutney. I have skied this mtn. often, climbed often thereabouts, but never on such a clear day that I could see the river in all it's magnificience so far north.