For the second time this season Ben and I met up at the AMC Lodge at Mt. Cardigan for a late-season ski tour. A few weeks earlier we skied the Duke's Ski Trail from Firescrew, initially missing the pasture turn off and instead ascending the Manning Trail with some humorous slips and route-finding issues as we reached the south-facing slabs. Ultimately the decent was a gentle, rolling slide culminating in the final pitch down the open pasture and back to the lodge.
Today we planned to ski the Alexandria Trail on Mt. Cardigan in our quest to sample more of the historic trails cut in this area in the early 20th century. Putting our skins on at the start of the Holt Trail we were already warm. With temperatures predicted to rise into the 60s today, it was a balmy spring day and the deep snow was melting fast. We first noticed that the pasture was completely melted out which gave us some concern about the snow cover on our route. We skinned up the Holt Trail, crossing the brook and up to 'Grand Junction' where the Alexandria Ski Trail terminates.
We were both floored by the width of the Alexandria-- it was probably about 50' wide in places, with the feel of a trail at an alpine ski area. We started the steep and unrelenting ascent of the Alexandria, creating switchbacks in the snow on the steepest slopes. Passing us along the way was a group of three back country skiers, cutting turns in the soft snow. As we climbed, the dome of Mt. Cardigan was occasionally visible ahead of us and the ledges of Firescrew were visible across the valley. At the top of the Alexandria we continued to skin up the hiking trail which narrowed considerably and passed several nice vantage points. A short distance later we passed the AMC cabin and found a ribbon of snow on the edge of the slabs, which we followed for another few hundred feet. Finally, the snow ran out and we ditched our skis and clumped up the rocks in our ski boots to the summit and the fire tower. A quick look around in the breeze and we headed back down to our skis for lunch - boules and cheese - the new mountain standard.
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| Ben skins up the final pitch on Mt. Cardigan |
Taking off the skins, we pointed our skis downhill. The ledges and upper hiking trail required some side-stepping and careful negotiation, but once we were down the Clark Trail at the head of the Alexandria, it was time to open it up. Down the double-fall line we skied, arcing some nice turns through the mashed potatoes. It felt good to be skiing, but the heavy snow also made it tiring.
Back at Grand Junction we put our skins back on and headed up the Kimball Trail, initially unimpressed by the slight uphill that continued into an uninteresting coniferous grove of sameness until reaching the crest of an almost imperceptible rise where the ski trail fell away to the north. Surprisingly, the descent was a nice slope, starting with a good pitch that emptied into a patch of hardwoods, followed by another through the pines which made a descending traverse before one final descent to the streams below. After a couple of bridged stream crossings we were back to the AMC Lodge. Another good day in the mountains and an interesting network of trails we'd like to ski again in mid-winter conditions.
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| SPOT Log on Cardigan |
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