On our drive home from our ski this afternoon, the Skimeister and I saw a sign that said it was 1 degree. One little lonely degree. It was a good thing we skied up the CCC Road today to keep ourselves warm!
The CCC Road is accessed from the Underhill State Park in Underhill, Vermont. There's a busy winter parking lot and you follow a road up to the state park and toward hiking trails that take you up Mt. Mansfield. The road was built by the Civil Conservation Corps (CCC).
On the drive in toward the park it was clear that we were entering a winter wonderland. It was great to see the trees laden with snow! I wore my light backcountry gear and didn't waste time; I started skiing up the snow-covered road to get myself warm.
There was about 8 to 10 inches of fluffy powder to ski in here at this elevation on the west side of Mt. Mansfield. Under the snow there seemed to be a layer of ice as a base — much better than hitting any dirt. We still need more snow for safe skiing in the woods, but the road was a powdery, safe bet for earning our turns today.
It was fun to pick up enough speed and then break into some telemark turns in the fresh powder! The sun even came out during our ski and everything looked the way it should be in winter — covered in white!
