It was supposed to be right around freezing today, a great day for skiing.  Jeremiah and I chose Trapp Family Lodge since their trail conditions noted that everything had just been groomed.  Plus, during some recent rain down in town, it looked like maybe they’d still been getting snow up there, so I was very hopeful for great conditions, and we definitely got them.

I’d only been to Trapp’s once before, for a Ladies Nordic Ski Clinic that the Catamount Trail Association used to run.  It was my first winter in Vermont and it was super icy most of that winter.  The week leading up to the clinic was so icy that the trails at Trapp’s were closed all week.  They opened them just for the clinic to avoid canceling it like they’d had to do the year before, but that still meant the trails were super icy.  It made it hard to practice what we were learning that day, and I definitely didn’t go far in exploring their trails, so I was looking forward to doing so today.

We started by skiing out Sugar Road to Russell Knoll Track and then up Chris’ Run.  We were definitely gaining in elevation towards the end, but the goal was to get to the Slayton Pasture Cabin for lunch.  There was a nice fire going inside and it was extra nice to be able to get some hot food and baked goods in the middle of a ski.

After hanging out for a bit, we decided to take Haul Road back.  It was so fun to be able to glide downhill for so long!  I was feeling pretty comfortable on most of the trail, although I did take the Chute Bypass to go around a steep area.  I kind of thought the bypass was steep too, to look at, but it wasn’t that bad once I went down it.

Haul Road took us all the way back in to the Nordic center, and we had some views out to the Worcester Range as we paralleled Trapp Hill Road.  Clouds had started moving off and blue skies were appearing by the time we got back.

What a gorgeous day for a ski!  We made it 7.4 miles on our big loop.