Fun & Fitness over 50

Mrs. MTBMan1 took a snowshoe hike while we were at Smuggler's. Afterward she remarked about the people she met and how she was amazed at how many people love winter too. They come from all over the country to seek out and enjoy Smuggler's Notch. It's kind of neat to be at a place where there are folks who love winter. Back home in Albany, the majority of the people just complain about the weather this time of year. Maybe they should move to a place where there is less snow, like Washington, D.C. ha, ha.

While my wife was enjoying the woods on snowshoes, I finished up the day back out on the slopes. No significant mishaps today. The conditions were much more consistent. Smuggs grooms most of the trails at night and we didn't have any significant snowfall after the hills were groomed. It was not windy and the sun even broke through here and there. The top of Sterling mountain looked like a completely different place from the day before when I could barely see out of my goggles because of them icing up.

We did a couple of runs down Madonna mountain on Lower Chilcoot. Madonna1 lift to the top of the mountain was closed until about 11:15 because of icing. This caused a significant backup on the other lifts.

We took Goat Path from Madonna 2 over to Upper F.I.S., a black diamond. This was a challenge for me as the last hill on it was steep and ungroomed. I did a wide traverse across the slope and ran into a big patch of ice which I wound up sliding down on my butt. After that wasn't too bad.

Lower F.I.S. was fast and fun, wide and groomed. A good place to practice my poling technique.

For the run after that we took Link and picked up F.I.S lower down avoiding the icy spot that gave me trouble before.

After lunch we rode the lift up to Sterling. At the top of Sterling we went into the woods sans skis and walked a little bit on a section of the Vermont "Long Trail". It was so peaceful and beautiful in there. You couldn't hear anything but your own breathing. I would love to x-c ski that sometime!

On Sterling, we skied Rum Runner and the slightly more challenging Black Snake, both Intermediate trails. I opted out after that, feeling very tired. I wanted to keep skiing but I know my limits (sometimes!) It was my first time ever skiing 2 days in a row.

All in all, a very satisfying time and the best ski trip so far this season.

Man, I love winter!

next: Whiteface!