First, here are the announcements of trips and thoughts leading up to the 2017 SWLT. If you skip the rest, be sure to check out the final picture on this page.

02/05/2017 For our Section 2 tour on 2/5/2017, we had conditions that ranged from fabulous to perilous (in an adventurous way). We were seven, Paul, Lee, Limey, Alan, Andrew, Will and myself. We left the Harriman Dam at 1030, using the new route below the crest of the dam. This worked fine, kept us out of the wind and provided access to a snow field on the far side that provided a few turns. The snomo trail was busy but easy skiing. The trail after the junction was recently skied by two skiers ahead of us, and was lovely light fluff on a bullet-proof crust. We cut out a few blowdowns along the way. We lunched at Wilder Brook, and followed the sno-mo trail (one had driven down to the brook) back to Medburyville, with a small detour for some turns in a side glade. The plowed section from the picnic grounds to the 'end-of-plowing' was solid but skiable as it had not been sanded. At Medburyville South (2 pm) the skiing got trickier. The crust had been with us all day, but wasn't really noticable on the flat trail. But here there are some short steeps descents and climbs, where sidestepping just slid the snow, and the skier, back down to the bottom. Even hiking was tricky, but we managed. The beaver pond/stream was frozen enough to hold us, one at a time, just barely. Some folks walked or bank-skied the next section to the Searsburg substation. At this point Limey left us for a prior social engagement. Getting around Searsburg Station was the perilous part, as edges couldn't really bite into the crust and the snow was all blown off, but again we managed (mostly hiking) with no blood or bruises. Then it was again an easy slide to Rt 9 and the cars at Lind Lane at 3:30pm. This was Will's first CTA trip, I expect we'll see him again on other tours.

Ready for another tour on Section 2, Harriman Dam Parking Lot

Harriman Dam is really big!

Section 2 is flat, but you can still find some fun.

"The end of plowing" at Medburyville South, new parking sign thanks to CTA.

Medburyville doesn't show on every map, it is a section of Wilmington.

Scrambling around Searsburg Station, note that the 'skier' is entirely on top of the 'snow'.

02/05/2017 Some thoughts on conditions for next week: Right now there is an adequate but bullet-proof base, with a nice layer of quiet, smooth fluff on top, enough for easy turns or snowplowing if not too steep. The forecast has some snow and ice and rain and snow in it. I'll update again after Wednesday's storm, but I'm expecting skiable but challenging conditions. Be prepared to walk a few sections, and probably plan on bringing skis you can ski ice on. Since our group is not very big (and may shrink) I expect to do most of the sections together northbound, with Sec 4 being the only key swap. If you are on the edge I think you should come, you can always ski a local XC resort like Prospect or TimberCreek if it gets too bad for you. Feel free to email or call me if you have specific questions.

02/06/2017 Section 3 partial trip report from Chris: Today my brother and I skied from Somerset Dam to the bridges that connect across the Deerfield River. Conditions were really excellent - 3" of powder over a bulletproof crust. It was deep winter all the way. Snow depth was just under 2'. It didn't look like anyone had passed this way in several weeks. Our only suggestion for improvement would be more bridges on the stream crossings on the lower section. Some of them were so tough that we had to take off our skies to cross. Otherwise trail markers were excellent and there were no major blowdowns.

02/08/2017 The Wilmington area got some more snow, which was covered with sleet and enhanced the base. I gather that right now the skiing would be rather crunchy, but we are expecting another 6" or so of snow in that area, so it ought to be pretty nice skiing by Saturday. There was a threat of freezing rain Sunday afternoon and evening, now they are calling for snow, sleet and rain, but no freezing rain. We are considering moving the Bennington Gluttony Extravaganza to Saturday night due to possible bad driving, but it now looks not so bad. Stay tuned. Except for a bit of rain Sunday, it looks like pretty nice weather, cold enough to keep the snow, but not a freeze-a-thon like our last SWLT in 2015. Since we are a rather small group we will do most of the tours together, with a key swap on Tuesday Section 4 but not on most of the others. There has been a request for some folks to ski 7 and 8 southbound, so we may do key swaps for those days. I have updated the Saturday meeting place to be Harriman DAM (not station).

02/09/2017 Marie and I just got back from a lovely ski in our back woods.
We got a good dump today, not as much as they threatened us with, but 6-8" here, perhaps less in Readsboro, but enough to quiet the base and make it pretty. And looks like more snow on Sunday (with maybe some rain).
I think we are going to have a really fun trip.
Due to Sunday's forecast, we have moved the Bennington Gluttony Extravaganza to SATURDAY night. We'll do the Anchor Restaurant on Sunday. so, since folk's plans may change due to this change, please, again, let Jim at blueheronconst@comcast.net know if you are coming (and what you can bring, if you can bring something).
If you want to join us Sunday night at the Anchor, please let Marie know at marie@bart-tech.com (even if you already did, since the night has changed).
I have added a lodging option at Joe and Debbie Cook's in Dummerston, about 45 minutes from the second half of the tour.

02/10/2017 Sara, Sec 5 trail chief says "Do it! Conditions are amazing! There's a rock solid base, powder on top, silky smooth. Controllable, fun, totally worth a trip. "

++++++++++++++++++ TRIP REPORTS +++++++++++++++++++++++++

02/11/2017 Section 1 After a little snafu in the morning due to bad driving (please call me at 413 834 0274 if you are running late!), nine of us headed toward the Massachusetts border. At our morning meeting at the border, we found that we had some veteran end-to-enders, some aspiring end-to-enders, some end-and-enders (they skied both borders but not the middle stuff) and some just-ski-for-fun-ers. The snow was silky smooth, the crust was hidden below it, and even the Harriman Station "road walk" was skiable. Then we headed north (300 miles to Canada!), with lunch just south of Readsboro. The Rt 100 road walk was bareable, and then it was more beautiful gliding along the old railroad bed beside and above the Deerfield River. Some folks were glad to see the face of Harriman Dam come into sight, others were busy studying porcupine tracks. We scrambled up the last snowmobile trail switchbacks to the top of the dam. I got in a few dam turns and we finished our skiing for the day. But then the fun began! We headed over to the Bennington Gluttony Extravaganza. At Jim and Chickie's we had appetizers, sauna, conversation and drinks. Then Kate and Rudge hosted the dinner part at their house, where we had great food, more drinks, more conversation, some music and 'poetry'. Jim shared some of his poems and premiered his version of 'Hard Rain', getting us all to sing the chorus "It's a hard, It's a hard, It's a hard, It's a haaard, It's a hard pain, when you fall." Thanks guys!

300 miles to Canada!

A few tunes to ease aching legs at the Gluttony Extravaganza.

Thanks to Jim Goodine for photos.

02/12/2017 Section 2 Breakfast at Jezabel's, meeting at the Zoar Adventure Center, we had eleven skiers today, or sometimes twelve. Bruce from Zoar helped shuttle us down to Harriman Dam so the 'leisurely' skiers could get started while the 'eager' skiers spotted cars at Lind Lane. The dam face saw a few more turns, without a dam face plant this time. The new snow was just starting. Once we got off the snomo trail it was easy going in day-old tracks for a few miles, then we were on our own. We had lunch (under protection of the hemlocks this time, no point in going to the 'sunny spot' 'cuz there wasn't any sun). Bruce, who had skied in from Medburyville, met us there and we all headed north. I found a new little glade near the hunter's cabin, got four laps in before it was time to keep going. Great turning snow, solid crust far enough down to not be noticable unless you were on steeper terrain. We were all pretty damp by the time we got to the Medburyville picnic grounds (accessible today with permission from the logger) and the Zoar truck. After a quick promotional photo we skied up the 'plowed' road. At the drop to the riverbank at Medburyville South several folks decided to ski the 'road walk' option. Those who stayed on the trail found the beaver brook crossing was a bit tricky with a new tree down across the dam. Some more folks skied the second half of the 'road walk'. At the substation we split with the purists taking the reroute and the rest took the new route up through the trees (which were also nice for a few tele-laps). Going around Searsburg Station was a piece of cake compared to last week, no crust, no wind. Folks switched off breaking trail until we met Karen from Zoar coming south to meet us. It seems someone had miscalculated and not left enough cars at Lind Lane, so we needed their truck again at the end of the day. A few folks actually skied Rt 9 and the Deerfield River bridge, making this the only no-walk, all-ski Section 2 tour I can remember. Bruce and Karen (did I mention they are from the Zoar Adventure Center (ZAC) in Wilmington on Rt 9 ?) very nicely drove our morning drivers down to the Dam to recover those morning cars. After getting into dry clothes some of us met for a nice dinner at The Roadhouse Restaurant. Driving home in a foot of new (but mostly plowed) snow was slow but pretty quiet, no white-knuckle moments.

Lunch by Wilder Brook

Are we having fun yet? Thanks to Bruce from Zoar for shuttle help.

Lind Lane, end of Section 2.

Thanks to Jim Goodine for photos.

02/13/2017 Section 3 Monday was a winter wonderland, if you didn't have to drive or park, and even that wasn't too bad. Twelve to sixteen inches of new light snow covered everything. Breakfast at the Roost was quick and ample, with plenty of room for us to group up and make our plans. Which kept changing depending on who showed up (call 413-834-0274 if you are canceling or coming late). We decided to all ski southbound to take advantage of gravity. Today we were twelve. And we had a snowplow with us, which was reassuring considering that we had to find parking at Somerset Dam right after a storm. We have been asked to not park at the maintenance building, but the guys shoveling out there said it would ok for today, so we did, with Jim plowing out some more space for us. The official CTA parking spot had been plowed out but not too well. We started skiing at 10:30 and it was trailbreaking all the way, only a very few downhills that the first person didn't have to work his/her way down. There was a faint track about three storms down, but it was actually deeper in the track than beside it in many cases. In some places it was hard to find the blazes because they had been blasted with snow. It was about 25F and not too windy, except at the trailheads. We quickly learned to rotate trail-breaking duty, it seemed about 100 good fast paces was enough, then it was the next person's turn. We managed to usually find a workable way across each stream, trying to hit them diagonally instead of straight down and back out of the hole. The streams were mostly frozen, at last enough to get across, and the often-open wet spots were snowed in enough to be skiable. And folks found alternate routes in tricky spots to help break up the bottle neck that forms when one person falls in a hole and needs some time to get re-organized. And if you were twelveth in line on the gradual downhills you could just coast along. We had lunch when we got to the bottom of the re-route by the brook. We saw mouse-tracks, but no moose tracks. We didn't see any other skiers or snowshoers or even any sign of them, we had the woods all to ourselves. The pace allowed plenty of time for snack breaks along the way. We got back to the cars about 4:30, a long day. Then ensued the confusion of trying to get everyone back to their cars, not lose track of skis, and leave two cars at Somerset Dam overnight on purpose to save us the drive back up in the morning. We re-grouped and some had dinner at Dots in Wilmington. Roads are all fine now, looks like another beautiful, but possibly drift-filled day tomorrow. Thanks to Tim and gang for their work to keep this section open, it has improved greatly in the last ten years.

Here are some scenes along Section 3 and the Deerfield River

Thanks to Jim and Bob for photos.

02/14/2017 Section 4 Happy Valentine's Day! After breakfast at Dot's of Dover, Section 4 southbound was slow going with only nine folks to take turns breaking trail. Luckily we had some fresh legs along. A beautiful sunny day along Grout Pond and Somerset Reservoir. This year they are logging at Grout Pond so we had to walk the sanded Grout Pond Road, which is a snomo trail in other years. Some of the Grout Pond trails had been broken out for us, but from the reservoir on to the dam we were on our own. Some things we saw along the way: otter tracks, face plants, snow-emoticons, love notes (it was Valentine's Day), drifts (but not as many as feared), soft fresh snow out on the lake, mostly frozen stream crossings, a broken bridge (easy to ski around), ball caps, sun glasses, sun block and lots of smiles. Two folks opted for the snowmobile trail the last two miles. Six hours, a bit over eight miles, according to the guidebook, but it always seems like there are a few extra miles hiding in there somewhere. And our cars, left overnight, were still there, and everyone had their keys! Thanks to Alan for all his hard trailwork on this remote section, and for his fearless leading. They sometimes go in by boat to do trail work!

So now there is a nice packed track from Kelley Stand Road to the Mass border, about 35 miles, if someone wants to do four sections (or even three, or two or one) in one day, you should be able to fly. Tell me how it goes....

Here are some scenes along Section 4 and Somerset Reservoir

But it isn't just about the skiing...


Sam demonstrates a standing faceplant.

An early lunch break as we arrived on the shore of Somerset Reservoir.

Good thing Bill was moving fast as he crossed this brook.

Bob catches a snooze while some trail-clearing is underway.

Obviously this tree fell AFTER Alan had done his fall trailwork.

Hey, it was Valentine's Day!

Somerset Reservoir untouched, as yet, by wind or snowmobiles.

Almost like set tracks.

Thanks to Marie for photos.

02/15/2017 Rest Day I dealt with ice dams and got six laps in my backwoods glades, a bit sticky but fun and fast once I got the Maxi-glide on the skis. Alan, Marcie and Doug skied on Alan's lovely trails. Will finished up his missing part of Sec 1, and Bob got his friend Rhonda to join him to break out all of Sec 7, finishing in the dark. We'll thank him on Saturday when we get there.

02/16/2017 Section 5 It took a while to get things sorted out at the Winhall Library and drive around to Kelley Stand Road, so we started north about 10:15. There had been some speculation about whether we would be breaking trail today, and hopes were raised when saw a set of tracks heading up the CT from the snomo trail, Hopes were dashed when we found the tracks went about 100 yards and turned around. So we (just eight of us today) had our very familiar ski peleton going, pull for a while in the front, drop back, glide along in the back, wonder why the group is going so slowly, work your way to the front (or even the second skier had to work) and remember why we were going so slowly. We did encounter some day-old tracks in the last half mile before the shelter. This is one of my favorite sections, lots of variety in types of trail, pretty forests of all types, views of ponds and mountains, a shelter for lunch, and, of course, descending Pony Hill. With this perfect snow, fresh, not sticky, nice glide, fairly easy trail breaking, it was about as good as it ever gets. A great group of skiers helps too. We followed the day-old tracks to the IP Road and the connector to Stratton Mountain roads. Our plan was that Marie would meet us there at 2:00, we were just a bit early and she glided in right on time. No one needed her car to bail out so we all headed on down toward Pony Hill. We met two skiers who had skied down to Kendall Farm Rd and were coming back (we couldn't figure out where they had started, she said "We parked on the road"), so when we turned off the snomo trail it was easy going again on their nice fresh tracks. We took the side trail to Little Pond, a bit cool for sunbathing but worth the short detour. Then on to Pony Hill, one of my favorite parts of the CT. Although it can be scary at times, and has claimed the hip of one skier, it was perfect today. Even though it had been skied by the out-and-back couple, that made it easier to get up speed when you needed to, and there was still plenty of powder on the sides to play in, or slow you down. And since they had used the switchbacks both ways, there were some first tracks for us as well on the fall line route (go Marie!). Watch out for a tree across the hill and a few open waterbars. Some of us skied the switchbacks and some of us skied the fall line route, everyone was smiling at the end. Finished about 4pm for an elapsed time of six hours.

Then (this may sound familiar) after recovering the morning cars, we had a wonderful dinner at Rhonda's. Note that Rhonda knew only Bob, but she said "Hey, bring your skier friends here and I'll make dinner." So we did, and had another end-of-tour dinner that couldn't be beat. Thanks Rhonda! And thanks to Andrew and Sara for keeping this gem of a trail in skiable shape, and Andrew for being our day leader.

02/17/2017 Section 6 Breakfast and meetup at the JJ Hapgood General Store. After the usual (but never predictable) morning shuttle confusion, we (seventeen of us this time) got going about 10:15. Again the trail was broken out for a short distance (is someone just yanking us around?), with some fresh fluff on top of more fluff. The snomo trail climb was smelly but uneventful. More trail-breaking after we left the snomo trail, then a nice sunny lunch in the hardwoods. The drop down to Rt 11 was good enough to do twice, the second time down was just as much fun because I could see how much fun everyone else had had. Andrew, Mark and Joe and others have done a nice job of opening up the woods and including switchbacks for those who are not fall-line prone (sometimes in both meanings of the word). We also learned the term "body-packing", which is a euphemism for falling and rolling around to get up, which packs down the trail for the next folks. After the French Hollow Road walk we had some sticking/icing problems that were quickly overcome with scrapers and maxi-glide (these folks are prepared). Each day of this tour I've thought "It doesn't get any better than this", only to be proven wrong each suceeding day. Blue sky, nice powder, easy trail-breaking, beautiful trail. We stopped at one bridge to have Paul give us a remincence of John Sterns, who had been instrumental in building all these bridges, routing the trail on Sections 6 through 12 (at least), getting permissions, helping with CTA governance, and basically being "Mr. CTA" for many years. Thanks John! It is easy to fly across a stream on a bridge in a few seconds, and not think about all the work that went in to making that bridge. Think about that also the next time you get a Annual Fund or Trails Fund request from CTA. More nice views, someone made a snow angel, then a fun drop to South Road (I "doubled down" on that one too). Everyone out by 3:45, a bit quicker than other days. Some folks met for a raucous dinner at the Landgrove Inn. Thanks to Mark and Joe for your trail maintenance and your help with cat hearding today.

02/18/2017 Section 7 We started with a nice Landgrove Inn breakfast and then met in the comfort of their lounge for getting everyone together. We twelve decided to ski southbound for variety. Four drivers dropped the cars at South Road and came back while the rest started skiing from Danby Mt Tabor Road. Thanks to Bob and Rhonda having skied this section Wednesday, it was mostly (they missed a few turns) broken out, with just enough fluff on top of the old tracks to make everything sticky. Conditions today were great, from the ankles up. Sunglasses, sun block, rolled up sleeves and ball caps were the order of the day. Even under foot it was nice for a short time after our 10am start. But the scrapers and wax came out pretty quickly as the temperature warmed up. It was sticking to the bottoms, to the tops, under the bindings, on our poles. Nevertheless, we persisted. We used Maxi-glide, Glop-Stopper Wax, various other waxes. No one had a treatment for pole baskets so all day long you could hear the clicking and clanking of ski poles against each other as we knocked the snow off of our baskets. In the back of the pack you could tell people were having trouble with their skis clumping by the divots in the trail. Grant, our day leader, took the group on a short detour to a cemetary. As we passed between two large boulders I tried to make a snow angel on one of them. Did you know that you are supposed to do that on your back? As we crossed Hapgood Pond Road a biker came along and asked if we didn't realize that it was biking weather? We had a sunny lunch, walked Anderson Road, skied more woods and walked across Rt 11 and up Landgrove Hollow Road. We encountered a site where a raptor had caught and eaten a squirrel, and climbed uphills covered with snow fleas. There are some huge white pines in this area as well. By now either our skis were warm or the snow was wetter, but we weren't sticking and clumping any more and sometimes the track was fast, especially on the twisty downhills. We finished up at 3:40, our earliest ending yet. Not sure if it was the faster pace or the heavy snow, but everyone seemed to find today's ski a bit harder than the other days. Dinner at the Landgrove Inn again, but no one had to told to quiet down this time. Thanks to Grant for your trailwork and local-savvy leading.

02/19/2017 Section 8 We decided to do this section southbound as well. Eight of us got shuttled from Danby Mt. Tabor Road to Greendale Road by Marie and Lee who were doing a half-day ski, they saved us from having to recover any cars at the end of the day when everyone is ready to head home. Climbing Jenny Coolidge Road (9:45am, about 40F) in the soft snowmobile groomer track was easy, and we agreed it would have been a slow descent if we had gone northbound. Sometimes you can skate down this hill pretty easily in BC gear, but it would have been a slog today. Thanks to a brief freeze the night before we did not have any clumping/sticking problems today. Root Beer Ridge area and Moses Pond was beautiful, with a broken out trail that was made 'easier' by an illegal snowmobile who went blasting by us on this posted trail. The descent to the Utley Brook Valley and FS Road 367 was fun but tricky, with some glade skiing for some of us in the mashed potato snow. We had a sunny lunch on the side of the beaver meadow just north of the FS 321/FS10 junction. Here and at Moses Pond the beavers had been busy. Then another wide snomo slog (but pretty!) to the Utley Brook Trail junction. Here one skier decided that his wax wasn't up to the climb and returned via FS 10. The rest of us with waxless skis climbed pretty easily in these conditions, broken out northbound just as we got there. Again the descents were tricky or fun or both, depending on your skill level and tired-ness. We met our half-day skiers along this section and we all skied back to the cars at Danby Mt. Tabor Road by about 2:30pm. It was fun to see the tracks of other skiers, locals as well as the Harvard Cross Country Ski Team as they explored this area, and to leave our tracks for the next folks to see. Anyone who wasn't out enjoying this beautiful day was missing a good bet. We had some snacks and good byes and future plans at the cars and headed off to our regular lives.

Here are some scenes along Section 8

The ever-present car shuttle

We started with a long gradual snomo climb on soft warm snow

Another sunny day on the SWLT

No one had been up Root Beer Ridge in a while

This is Sam without snow on his face



The beaver pond just north of the FS 321/FS10 junction makes a nice lunch spot in either direction

Notice the fresh beaver tracks on the dam on the left

Timber.....

We met the half-day skiers on the Utley Brook Trail

Utley Brook Trail was as beautiful as ever

Who would make such tracks?

Don't forget to look around and enjoy the scenery when you are skiing along the CATAMOUNT trail....
Thanks to Marie and Lori for these photos

Here is a link to Will's photos.

Wrap up and statistics Thanks to everyone (skiers, co-leaders, day-leaders, CTA staff, trail chiefs, landowners) for making this another safe, friendly, fun and memorable SWLT. Marie and I can always go out and ski just the two of us, but doing it with new friends and old makes it more fun. Here is the SWLT by the numbers:
8 days of skiing,
over 106 skier-days registered,
72 actual skier-days skied,
20 skiers skiing at least one day,
71 miles of Catamount Trail skied,
over 700 skier-miles skied,
17, most skiers on any day,
8, fewest skiers on any day,
800 dollars raised, at least (more is always welcome), for CTA,
28 degrees, top temperature on the coldest day,
50 degrees, top temperature on the warmest day,
21 degrees, temperature at coldest start,
1 day of key-swaps,
1 snowplow-equipped truck used in shuttle,
22" of new snow overall,
3 skiers who forgot to call my cell phone when their plans changed at the last minute,
3 couples skiing together at least part of one day,
3 skiers who skied at least part of all eight days,
5 skiers new to MultiDay Tours,
8 skiers who were already End-to-Enders,
2 skiers who skied every part of all eight days,
5 group breakfasts,
4 group dinners at restaurants,
2 group potlucks at nearby homes,
1 skier from Florida,
3 days of new snow,
2 skiers who 'bagged' another CT section on the Rest Day,
13 trail chiefs who helped keep these sections of trail clear and available,
370 emails to or from the SWLT coordinator,
6 co- and day leaders,
2 snow angels,
1 mountain biker encountered along the route (at a road crossing),
5 hosts who opened their homes for SWLT skiers,
0 days cancelled for bad weather,
0 days cancelled for bad skiing,
0 injuries,
0 lost skiers,
0 skiers who went away mad,
0 skiers who missed a day due to communications mix-ups,
0 skiers left at a trail head,
0 car problems or accidents,
0 foot/boot problems,
0 bailout cars used.
These things were all uncountable, as they should be: smiles, laughs, thank yous, tele-turns, brownies, etc., calories burned, help offered, beautiful vistas, tracks in the snow, interesting trail conversations.