Most of us had cross bikes with fairly low profile tires; that morning I swapped my mud2's for my older 28mm michelins. However, one guy showed up on an older road bike, complete with slick tires and sidepull brakes. Given the difficulty most of us had with knobby tires and cantilevers, I'm glad I wasn't him.
I won't go into so many details, but once we climbed a bit into the hills, there was a good 2-3" of snow in the woods. Just a little more and some of the better dirt roads could have been skiable, provided you had a burly pair of rock skis like my Vischers (visu+fischer). Extended downhill sections made for some very hairy descents and the short uphills made sure you kept your weight over your rear wheel. The ice made for ample opportunities to eat it, but everyone stayed upright, due in part to some solid motocross foot planting in the turns. I can only imagine how much fun last year's cross nationals must have been with the snow.
While cycling in that was fun, it really made me want to ski again. I was fairly focused on the spring and summer ahead, but now I'm really excited to get back on snow. It only took a small reminder. If I weren't going home for break, I would think that some snow hunting on the Tug Hill would be in order. Maybe it'll be ready for when I get back upstate.
Following the ride, I checked Mont-Sainte-Anne's website to see if they got snow yet this season...apparently they had 15k open the weekend prior and the downhill mountain is just about ready to go for weekday skiing. Given the start in year's past, this is a good sign. I also looked at their photo gallery, which ultimately provided me with a poignant reminder of why I love skiing and Mont-Ste-Anne so much:
Trail 24...
Does it get any better?
1 comment:
Nice St. Anne pics. I'm hoping to find some snow at Van Ho or the Tug this weekend. You gonna be on the island all weekend?
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