Cross-country Ski - Amabilis Mountain

We met at Preston PR to consolidate carpools and arrived at Cabin Creek Snopark to find the main lot mostly empty.  The temperature was about 30F and no wind.  We warmed up by skiing a short section of the Berg trail to where it intersects the Amabilis trail.  Then it was up, up, up at a moderate pace.  The group tended to split in two with one part faster and the other more relaxed.  The assistant leader stayed with the faster group and I swept. We regrouped several times on the way to the Y.  At the Y, we saw that both sides appeared to be groomed. Hallelujah! We went up the right side hoping to do the loop.

Higher up, we elected to take the variation that includes a short ungroomed trail section for variety.  Everyone negotiated this section successfully, although one person fell in the soft snow.  Enthusiasm varied here.

Since it wasn’t snowing or windy, we stopped for lunch at a viewpoint.  Without skis, the snow was too deep for walking around without sinking to knees or hips.  Everyone put on warm layers and enjoyed the view.

After eating, we donned more warm layers and continued around the loop with brief detours to an additional viewpoint and to look at the warming cabin.  We could see weather moving in so we didn’t tarry long.

The way down was smooth with pleasantly steerable snow to inspire confidence.  Each skier descended at their preferred speed with one leader near the front and the other sweeping.  We stopped to regroup periodically.  It took almost 3 hours to ascend, 1 hour for lunch and breaks, and a bit over an hour to descend.

We returned to a nearly full parking lot just as the light snow changed into rain.  The drive back across the pass was uneventful.