2025 MDT #6 Reports
Catamount Trail Association's 2025 Four Day Tour MDT #6
from Thursday February 20 to Sunday February 23, Sections 23,22,20,21
Trip Reports:
Executive Summary: We skied all four days! Beautiful conditions throughout and a great bunch of strong skiers.
Thanks to all the skiers for making it so much fun. Thanks to others for offering help with shuttles, route-finding, parking, lodging. Thanks to the Trail Chiefs for keeping the trails ready.
The MDTs are offered to all CTA members free of charge, but that doesn't mean a donation to the CTA isn't welcome. I used the "office" a lot in getting this ready, and it wouldn't happen without their behind-the-scenes support.
Here are my daily trip reports:
02/20/2025 - Section 23 - The temperature was -8F when we woke up this morning but rose to 8F by the time we left Trapps Outdoor Center headed north to Edson Hill on section 23. We had a few minor delays getting going and spotted a bailout car at Top Notch. With no wind and a clear blue sky, our group of ten quickly started dropping layers as we climbed. We made good time over the nicely groomed Trapps trails with a brief stop at Slayton Pasture cabin. At this point, one skier turned around because his boot repair was not holding up. We had a nice long cold downhill toward the Stowe Resort trails with people commenting on the ice cream headache they were getting from the wind chill factor due to the speed of the descent.
We continued on through the Stowe Resort trails with a few folks doing some body packing on the trail due to the tricky, changeable powder/windslab on the side of the trail. At the Ranch Brook bridge we stopped for a sunny lunch and met up with another skier in our group who was starting from Stowe to ski the end of the section with us.
Look at the snow load on that tree across Ranch Brook - Photo by Sam
Lunch at Ranch Brook Bridge - Photo by Sam
More climbing followed on the freshly groomed Stowe Derby Trail and then we continued on through the condominiums and along the rec path. After we skied through the barn at Route 108 and crossed the street, we had a challenging trail breaking section, the wind slab and steep climbs slowing us down considerably.
The grooming ended here - Photo by Marie
The gang on the Stowe Rec Path bridge over the W Branch of the Little River - Photo by Lee
On the Stowe Rec path - Photo by Jeremy
If you actually follow the blazes, the trail goes through this barn - Photo by Marie
This was the only part of the trail in four days that lacked adequate cover... - Photo by Lee
The snow is deep, even on the roofs! - Photo by Sam
More lovely hardwood/softwood forest skiing through Wiesner Woods was next. We saw the tracks of deer, bobcat and fox along the way. The Sugarhouse trails, including the Founders Trail, were nicely groomed.
The snow was light, even in the open areas - Photo by Sam
Mt. Mansfield was the backdrop for much of this tour - Photo by Sam
A mackerel sky was developing as we crossed the field to Edson Hill Road - Photo by Marie
This trail on the Sugarhouse network is named after the CTA founders - Photo by Jeremy
The Founders Tree and sign - Photo by Sam
Steve Bushey, Paul Jarris, Ben Rose, Jim Painter are honored here - Photo by Sam
We had more trail breaking on the Edson Hill trails and finished up at Edson Hill at 4:30, about 6 and a half hours after we started. Guidebook says 12.7 miles, one tracker called it 13.7 miles.
Back on ungroomed trails - Photo by Marie
We finished with a nice pizza-fueled get together at Michael and Julie's.
A pizza gathering at Michael and Julie's - Photo by Marie
02/21/2025 - Section 22 - After another bit of morning confusion thirteen of us got our trail passes and headed up from Bolton Valley Resort toward the Bryant Cabin. The cold wind in the parking lot and the cloudy skies were not welcoming, but once we got in the woods and started to climb, the mood lifted. One skier turned around at the cabin to stay on the resort trails with a friend. Folks who didn't already have their skins on put them on at the cabin. The snow was beautiful, and deep! The trail was well packed out with a few fresh inches on top. We had to constantly duck and crash through low hanging branches, which probably weren't very low when the trail maintainers (thank you trail maintainers!) went through last fall.
The deep cover and heavy snowload made for tight skiing. - Photo by Sam
TRAIL IS STEEP LONG AND UNPATROLLED DO NOT SKI ALONE EXPERTS ONLY! - Photo by Sam
In 2024 we had a lot less snow at this sign - Photo by Sam
Notice the snow-level blaze, probably six feet off of the ground in the fall - Photo by Sam
Our group was on a variety of equipment; two folks on fairly narrow skis and short skins, most folks on heavy tele gear (Voile Vectors were the majority choice) and two on AT gear, one waxless, one waxable but unwaxed. Everyone seemed to do well with what they had. I think full-length skins save a lot of effort on the climb and traverse though.
The views were very limited ("all pan, and no orama" as the late Tom Robbins wrote about Seattle) due to the fog, but the forest was spectacular. The spruce along the ridge was covered in heavy snow, sometimes dumping down your back if you weren't careful. Hoods were helpful to avoid this. We didn't have any of the large blow downs that we encountered last year and the group was able to move quickly. The wind had packed the snow down so that we weren't sinking much at all, and the folks who were "under-skinned" were able to easily herringbone or sometimes sidestep. Some skiers removed skins when we got to the first short downhills, which made the downhills easier, but then required some short steep no-wax climbs. The overhanging branches made for very tricky descents since you had to keep on the narrow trail but sometimes had your eyes closed. Helmets and goggles helped with this challenge. One of our party brought a saw to clear some of the worst offending limbs. We had a quick lunch at Windy Point, which lived up to its name.
Most folks stopped to remove their skins when the trail opened up and went steadily down through open woods. We were afraid the wind would have drifted and compacted the powder, but it was fabulous! Some folks stayed right on the switchback trail, while others hooted and hollered their way down through the powder, cutting off the switchbacks, but careful to keep the blazes and the group in sight. Falls in the deep snow required significant effort to get back on your skis.
And then we started down through the frost-blasted "open" hardwood forest. - Photo by Sam
Hilary is too fast to catch on film - Photo by Sam
- Photo by Sam
- Photo by Sam
- Photo by Sam
Pam reaps the benefit of her fall trail work - Photo by Sam
- Photo by Sam
We had only encountered a few fresh ski tracks and small groups along the trail, but as we dropped into the Nebraska Valley we saw more and more tracks where folks had come in to the open woods to get some fresh powder laps.
Look at the snow on top of that kiosk! - Photo by Sam
We got to Nebraska Valley in about 4.5 hours, good time for such tricky terrain, and lots of daylight left. At Nebraska Valley two skiers continued on to Trapps to "bag" all of Section 22.
02/22/2025 - Section 20 - I forgot to mention that I charge extra for conditions and weather like we had for this day's tour. Today's fare is doubled due to the beautiful fluffy powder and the bluebird sky day with temps close to freezing but not close enough to cause clumping on the skis.
Bill helped us with the shuttle from Honey Hollow. We didn't have any trouble with parking at Forest City trailhead on Camels Hump Road. Kevin led thirteen of us through the recently flagged bushwhack down to the Section 19/20 division point bridge. From there we started climbing. Some people started with their skins on. When we got to the double bridges near the Burrows trail head parking lot, most people put their skins on for that climb. I ended up climbing a portion of that climb twice due to a minor medical issue with one of our skiers that required a bail out back to the trail head. I climbed it the first time with wax and the second time with skins. Although the wax worked, the skins were certainly much simpler and easier for climbing that section.
The frosty flanks of Camels Hump and the hardwood forest. - Photo by Sam
The deep snow buried the small streams, making crossing them easy. - Photo by Sam
Blue skies and fresh powder! - Photo by Jenn
Day Leader Kevin lead us through this beautiful new section of the CT. - Photo by Brooke
The two of us that helped with the bailout got to chase the rest of the group up over the height of land through beautiful snow-filled hardwood forests. We saw some bear clawed beech trees and tracks of many skiers who were skiing the glades on the sides of Camels Hump. The frosted flanks of Camels Hump towered over us for much of our climb and traverse.
Bill and his dog joined us for lunch - Photo by Brooke
Time to remove skins and have lunch! - Photo by Marie
The trail down the other side was well skied out by the time we got to it, but there was plenty of powder to be found along the open forests beside the trail. As we skied by one group of other skiers I heard someone say "They are like tele-dancers!".
As on other days, the deep snow made getting up from a fall difficult, since there is nothing to push off of. Two of the younger skiers got quite good at helping their "elders" get back on their skis.
Last climb on the Honey Hollow Trail - Photo by Jenn
The final climb out and over to Honey Hollow was a bit of a surprise. The Honey Hollow Trail itself for the last few miles was well trampled with skiers, snowshoers, hikers and dogs. It took us about 6 hours for this 10 mile ski.
Some of us then gathered at Hatchet in Richmond for dinner and recovery.
02/23/2025 - Section 21 - We were nine skiers today, with temps almost up to freezing and another inch of fresh snow, skiing southbound to benefit from gravity. We left cars at the Driving Range and started from the Timberline Lodge parking at the 4x4 Center. If you ski this section, be sure to download the newest guidebook description and map, much has changed in the last few years.
Working out the car shuttle details - Photo by Sam
Some parts of the Catamount Trail are what I think of as obligatory; it is there to connect the more fun parts of the trail and you ski it because it is there. This is one of those sections, all snowmobile trail (but we didn't have any traffic). But it goes through some very lovely beech and evergreen forests, along several pretty brooks and past some spectacular cliffs. Watch carefully for turns and blazes! We took a short side trip to look at what used to be the bridge across Joiner Brook. This washed out last summer and it is not clear what will happen here, hence the current reroute. Joiner "Brook" is close to river-sized at this point, crossing on the ice is not advised.
Note the washed-out abutment for the Joiner Brook bridge on the other bank - Photo by Marie
Although Section 21 loses 1,100 feet of elevation, it has several climbs along the way. The groomer had mostly left a large ridge down the middle of the trail, making for tricky snow plowing. The brushy beech forest, logging road ditches, glacial erratics and berm from the groomer made for some narrow, steep descents. This was fun or challenging (or both!) depending on your skill set. Dickie Hall says it is fine to do parallel turns on tele gear, so that's what I did much of the time. Not that that kept me upright, but it was fast, easy and fun on my lightweight gear.
"More than one way to skin a catamount" - Photo by Sam
"More than one way to skin a catamount" - Photo by Sam
"More than one way to skin a catamount" - Photo by Sam
"More than one way to skin a catamount" - Photo by Sam
"More than one way to skin a catamount" - Photo by Sam
"More than one way to skin a catamount" - Photo by Sam
"More than one way to skin a catamount" - Photo by Sam
Lunch time! - Photo by Sam
The 6.3 miles took about three hours, with a brownie stop and many skier extrications along the way.
- Photo by Lee
Thanks to Lee, Marie, Jeremy, Jenn and Brooke for photos!
Here is the 2025 MDT #6 Four Day Tour by the numbers:
4 days of skiing,
0 days cancelled due to frozen crud and thin cover,
4 days with new snow on the ground in the morning,
64 skier-days registered for,
43 actual skier-days skied,
18 skiers skiing at least one day,
37.5 miles of Catamount Trail skied, (by the guidebook)
287.7 skier-miles skied,
13, most skiers on any day,
8, fewest skiers on any day,
11 women skiers,
7 men skiers,
~7" of new snow overall,
2 couples skiing together,
1 mother,father,daughter trio,
mid-70's oldest skier,
mid-30's youngest skier,
4 skiers new to MultiDay Tours,
5 skiers who were already End-to-Enders,
1 skiers who skied every whole section every day,
5 skiers who skied at least part of every day,
9 trail chiefs who helped keep these sections of trail clear and available,
2 or more past or present board members on the trail,
4 trail chiefs on the tour,
~250 emails to or from the tour coordinators,
16 sections that I've been an MDT leader for,
1 hosts who opened their home for skiers,
1 boot failures,
0 ski failures,
0 pole failure,
2 bailout car used,
0 days of rain forecast,
0 days of actual skiing in the rain,
0 injuries,
0 forgotten pack,
0 skiers who went away mad,
0 skiers who missed a day due to communications mix-ups,
1 shuttle mix-ups,
0 skiers left at a trail head,
0 car problems or accidents,
These things were all uncountable, as they should be: smiles, laughs, thank yous, calories burned, help offered, beautiful vistas, tracks in the snow, interesting trail conversations.
A scene from Section 8 in 2017.
Don't forget to look around and enjoy the scenery when you are skiing along the CATAMOUNT trail....
Pray for Snow!
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