It really wasn't the best conditions when we set out to ski up Hunter Mountain via the Spruceton Jeep Trail. Down in Spruceton Valley it was a bit above freezing and it was drizzling on and off very lightly. This made for some pretty difficult waxing conditions for me since nothing really seemed to work on the slightly wet snow and I wasn't going to go too warm with the wax since I'd never get it off for the way down. Thankfully Moe's skis are waxless, so there was a lot less work for him.
The first mile and a half is fairly easy as this is the best part of the old roadway. It's wide and while it does climb to the notch between Hunter and Rusk, it does so at a fairly gentle pace that makes for a fairly easy ski up.
The snow conditions improved just below the notch too as the air temperature was steadily dropping as we climbed. It was cold enough that the drizzle had turned into snow flurries and snow that was already on the ground was no longer wet, but fairly powdery, which made for a lot easier climbing on my skis.
From the notch, the jeep trail narrows down and climbs steeply up to the site of the newly rebuilt John Robb leanto in about a mile or so. From there it's another mile and a half to the summit of Hunter Mountain, but after the leanto the grade drops off quite a bit and in places, the road is flat for quite a ways.
Our original plan had been to go all the way to the summit but by about halfway to the leanto, I gave up on that idea. It wasn't that the conditions weren't good, but this was only Moe's 3rd real backcountry ski trip and I knew he'd have some trouble coming down the narrow and fairly steep trail from the leanto. Why stretch him even thinner by going to the summit in one shot.
So instead of going to the summit, when we got to the leanto, we stopped for lunch. We changed out of the clothes we climbed up in to stay warm and then enjoyed some hot chocolate while the leanto protected us from the wind that was whipping up the side of the mountain.
I would have liked a bit more of the powder on top of the frozen base, but the conditions for the ski down from the leanto were not all that bad. Moe was still getting used to telemark skis and had a few falls and I know there were a few places I took my time, but overall, the trip back down to the notch wasn't all that bad. On a few of the steepers sections, Moe ended up walking down, but I was proud of myself for making it all the way down on the skis considering I haven't done any real heavy backcountry like this in a while.
From the notch down, the trip is usually just a cruise. It's not really steep enough that you'll go too fast, but because of the snow conditions, the snow was pretty quick. It had dropped below freezing all the way down to the valley at this point, but since the snow had been wetted by the drizzle, it was now crusty and icy, so if you were in the track, you went fast and if you tried to get out, you'd break the crust, which made for a few hard turns here and there.
It was nice to get back to the truck...after climbing to the leanto and then heading back, it was nice to relax and warm up.
The entire photo set for the trip on Flickr
The store behind the rebuilding of the John Robb Leanto.
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