Given the recent good fortune of a few inches of fresh snowfall, Huff and I made a plan to hike Tucker Brook Trail to the top of Mittersill. You can actually access this trail from the peak of Cannon's ski area with a bit of a hike to the Mittersill peak. Fortunately the Mittersill area was closed and that kept most of the lift riders away from Tucker Brook.
After a short drive past the base of Cannon and it's recently acquired Mittersill area, we located the trail head at the end of Tucker Brook Rd. Despite the fact that we arrived around 9:00AM, it looked as though there was only one group ahead of us. The trail begins in the middle of a cross country ski resort, so the first leg was on a well groomed trail. The trail then opens up into a fairly confusing intersection. There is a map of the cross country trails posted on a tree, which unfortunately does not note Tucker Brook. Looking at our own map, we were able to establish that the trail ascended with the brook to its left, and we took off uphill.
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| Some easy riding in the early segments |
The trail was pretty well covered - a few baby pines or exposed rocks, but mostly just fresh snow. After a few uphill bits combined with some flats, the trail takes a sharp left to a thin trail along the ridgeline. This then opens up in to the 13 Turns portion of Tucker Brook, which is a series of well graded switchbacks. As a novice, these slopes presented a steep (pun intended) learning curve for my skinning abilities. Finally, Tucker Brook kicks out into one of the new Mittersill trails, obvious from the "Out of Bounds" sign and multiple skiers with lift passes riding by.
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| Huff navigating one of the 13 Turns |
We skinned the rest of the way to the summit of Mittersill, running into some fellow BCers who had managed to catch up to us despite a 30 minute start differential. As we stripped our skins and layered up, loads of skiers were hiking from Cannon to enjoy some of Mittersill's ungroomed offerings. We decided to get out of the cold wind and headed back down the way we came.
The upper portion of the descent reminded me what a year off can do to your turning ability. The 13 Turns are reasonably technical skiing, and I seemed to be missing a jump in my step. I was also struggling with the fact that my ski pants were constantly falling down and my lower back was exposed to the elements. Suspenders are a must for next trip. We reached the lower portion of the trail and cruised through the powder to our car. By the time we made it back, I was cramping everywhere, a sure sign that I need to get in better shape.
Since this was my first ascent, I did my best to remember some things to keep in mind for next time:
1. I was way overdressed. By the time we hit the first uphill I was drenched in perspiration. Need to go lighter on the uphill clothing next time.
2. Skinning is an interesting beast. It's important to keep your weight on your heel, I've decided. Several times I tried to go up on my toes only to have the ski slip out from underneath me. Along the same lines, using the heel supports made a world of difference for keeping my weight in the appropriate place.
3. A tip I learned from Huff - blow the water out of your bladder tube to help prevent it from freezing up. A frozen mouthpiece is a useless mouthpiece.
Here are the details from Huff's MotionX GPS app:
| Distance: | 5.26 miles | |
| Elapsed Time: | 3:37:00 | |
| Avg Speed: | 1.5 mph | |
| Max Speed: | 13.6 mph | |
| Avg Pace: | 41' 17" per mile | |
| Min Altitude: | 1,126 ft | |
| Max Altitude: | 3,635 ft | |
All in all, our trip was a success. I'm hoping there's enough snow to get back out next week and try out another tour. Keep your fingers crossed for another storm.
