Mt Cardigan backcountry - 02/05/2005

[David Metsky]

Date(s) Skied: 02/05/2005

Resort or Ski Area: Mt Cardigan NH

Conditions: Sunny, somewhat sketchy cover, spring conditions

Trip Report: This is the second weekend in a row I've skied at Cardigan. we were looking for some backcountry and there just isn't that much available in New England right now within a reasonable driving distance from Boston.

We hit the lodge around 9:00 and quickly changed and put on our skins for the climb. We started up Alexandria because it's steeper and we wanted to hit it before the sun softened things up too much. The trip up showed some sketchy cover, but the Alexandria was actually in pretty good shape. The soft snow made for fairly easy turning, with the occasional diversion for logs, rocks, or saplings.

We cut over the Alley Way to Dukes for our second run, climbed all the way to the summit ledges on Firescrew which were just ice and rock. The ski down was a little more difficult as snow conditions were more variable and our legs were getting tired. The practice slope is almost unskiable, lots of melting since last weekend.

Alexandria
Dukes

-dave-

 

[riverc0il]

nice action shots!

how is the road getting to the lodge? i've only beed to cardigan in the summer for hiking and wanted to hit it up this winter for skiing but remember the road to the lodge being kinda ugly. not sure if my whippy front wheel drive saturn would make it to the lodge on a snow packed dirt road?

 

[David Metsky]

On the trip in it was frozen, a very easy drive. On the way out it had warmed up quite a bit, was mud over ice, a little tricky. My old Saturn made it up there several times in mucky conditions, my new Subaru had no problems this time.

-dave-