Distance from Middlebury-30 minutes
Length of Ascent- 2 hours
Difficulty of Ascent- 5
Difficulty of Descent- 4
Elevation Change- 1219 ft.
Comments:
On a slightly overcast day, we decided to embark on a trip to the mountain range nestled next to the town of Bristol. For the trip we brought along our friend John Schmyzd, the first skier we have allowed to tag along behind us. We parked at a pizza store, and crossed the road where we saw the beginning of the path.
Ascent
The trail immediately started ascending rather steeply, and we knew it was going to be a fun ride down. After about .75 of a mile we encountered a cliff, at which point the trail hangs a left. We noticed that there was one gap in the cliff off to the right side, and given our happy spirits and Carson’s unrelenting ambition, we decided to make our way up through that gap and around the other side of the cliff. This passage was by far the steepest and most difficult terrain we have encountered before, evident by the elevation gains in our map. About half way up the ridge of the cliff, there is an outlook that served as the perfect location to take a break and nourish our stomachs. The last .25 of a mile was even more difficult than what we had imagined but nonetheless we continued. The top of the cliff had a large open area at the top, which even during our overcast day provided us with unbelievable views of the town below.
Descent
For the descent we decided to continue our loop and try to meet up with the trail on the other side of the cliff. The woods were relatively dense but still provided us with enough room to crush the untouched powder. There were a few rocky sections, but there was enough snow that there were not very problematic. While we tried to hang left and meet back up at the base of the cliff, the slope and the better lines kept us to the right. We didn’t have to unstrap once and were blessed with a twenty-minute descent. Unfortunately we never met up with our original trail and exited the woods about a mile down the road from where our car was parked. Nonetheless this was the most exciting trip we have completed so far.
