The Backcountry Blog

Return to Mount Washington

Posted on by jmc5040

This year my wife and I moved back east from Colorado. While I lived in Gunnison, I’d wake up early before work a few days a week and skin 2000 vertical feet before sunrise to ski, sometimes with a headlamp. This winter, back in Pennsylvania, I started skinning a small ski hill that is only 15 minutes from my house — Spring Mountain — to get my exercise and ski fix.

Mount Washington

Getting to Mount Washington was at the top of my list this spring. I hadn’t skied in the Whites since moving west and I was eager to get back. My plan was to arrive midday on Good Friday in hopes of getting a spot in one of the shelters near HoJo’s below the lower headwall of Tuckerman Ravine.

Continue reading →

Tagged: Backcountry, Mt Washington, NH11 Comments

Phat Times on Mont Albert

Posted on by ml242

In the spring, backcountry skiing is a game of inches. Two degrees to either side of the dial and you’ll get a different day. That’s what it was like when my brother and I set off to ski some steeper lines at Mont Albert, in the Parc National du Gaspésie.

I’ve always felt that one of the primary reasons to drive to the Gaspé is to get a cabin at the Mines and tour right from your doorstep. The skintracks are accessible and often, in an hour and a half, you can be on top of something really nice to ski.

But Mont Albert is the king of the parc, and perhaps that is why he is the exception to the rule.

Continue reading →

Tagged: Backcountry, Quebec7 Comments

Early Season Backcountry Skiing Tips

Posted on by Steve Ovitt
first run of the year on the Raymond Brook Trail
First trip to the Sled Shed 2017

Steve Ovitt is an accomplished backcountry skier and woodsman. He was a NYS Forest Ranger from 1986-2011 patrolling Northern Warren County, responsible for the Siamese Ponds Wilderness and the Vanderwhacker and Wilcox Wild Forests. In 2012 he started Wilderness Property Management to help people develop land for recreation.

Steve is responsible for the development and re-development of some great XCD backcountry ski routes and bike trails throughout Northern NY. His most celebrated ski trail work may be the revival of one of NY’s oldest ski trails, the Raymond Brook Ski Trail in Johnsburg, NY.

He shared his tips for skiing the early season and thin cover.

Continue reading →

Tagged: Backcountry1 Comment