East Coast Pre-Season Scouting
Lack of snow has us needing to do something. So we headed out today to scope out an old ski hill up north in the Laurentians. The lifts haven't spun for years, but we heard there was a dedicated bunch keeping the trails somewhat clear and enjoying fresh earn-your-turns throughout the winter.
We wanted a piece of this action so a reconnaissance mission was undertaken and the potential was observed.
shots pulled from a digi video - pardon the quality
http://www.geocities.com/thinksnow47/hill.jpg
This is the hill. Maybe 800 vertical feet and a straight, narrow shot down an old lift line greeted us. Chairs and T-bars are long gone, but skeletons remain.
http://www.geocities.com/thinksnow47/wheel.jpg
We took in the dilapidation and then commenced exploring. A half dozen runs seemed in good shape and some of the forest looked thin enough to hold good glade skiing. An old green slope would serve as the skintrack and the possibilities began to unfold.
http://www.geocities.com/thinksnow47/run.jpg
Short, narrow pitches would be the order of any ski day here and we looked forward to seeing these slopes covered in snow.
On the way down we came upon the old base lodge. Hidden to the side and behind trees, we hadn't noticed it upon arrival, but the broken walls and exposed floor revealed themselves from our higher vantage point.
http://www.geocities.com/thinksnow47/lodge2.jpg
More exploring ensued as we took in broken porcelain, an overturned Coke machine, random garbage, and a ski history lesson.
http://www.geocities.com/thinksnow47/boot.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/thinksnow47/binding.jpg
Beautiful stuff. We are all part of a greater cycle.
SaAaH (and ready for the wheel to turn),
d.
