SPRING SKIING ADVENTURES

Gema Gema

on the Kancamagus Brook Ski Trail

April 2, 2011

[click on photos to enlarge picture]

Gathering for a short break at the junction where the Kancamaus Brook ski trail diverges right off the Greeley Ponds Trail, a few skiers unpack their skins in preparation for the sustained ascent, others are peeling off a layer of clothing, despite the occasional snow shower, and one says a short prayer, looking skyward to the ski gods, then it's time to get going.

"Gema, gema," Lisa says, with a happy face. "Let's go!"

Despite some blow-downs early on, we make good progress. The brook is barely visible among the snow-laden trees. Although the way is ensconced in white, the trail is distinct, maintained as a cross-country ski trail by the US Forest Service, and marked by blue diamonds.
The thick wet snow that fell the night before makes the ascending easier than usual. After the switchback, the trail gets steeper and we gain elevation quickly, stopping for a rest and a peek through the trees at Painted Cliff on East Osceola. 

Painted Cliff

And soon, having reached the saddle between Flume Peak and North Mount Tripyramid, the daunting North Slide looms above the trees, beneath the unsettled skies.

The North Slide

After lunch at the junction with the Livermore Trail, we begin the descent, successfully negotiating a perilous brook crossing not far from the lunch spot, and then we're moving smoothly and sliding as we're kicking and gliding through the balsam fir trees that line the trail, as we pass near the site of the old Flume Brook logging camp, and then downhill, we don't stop, until we reach the civilized groomed slopes of Livermore Road, where we stop for a photograph, and then continue toward home.