#TSL QUICKY SLED FULL#
#TSL QUICKY SLED FREE#

We went to guest services after getting off the shuttle and they were very nice. Talk to someone in guest services when you get there and they'll tell you what trails to use. Oh, in that case you don't need a pass at all. No, we don't want to ride the lift, we need to hike up and down. OK, that's different he says - there is a $10 pass that lets you ride the lift up on one side, hike across the ridge and then ride the lift down on the other. I explained that we didn't have skis and would be on snowshoes.

#TSL QUICKY SLED FULL#

First he said that we could hike up the skinning trails, but that we needed a full access pass (aka, lift ticket at $65 or so). The person that I talked to seemed a bit confused about what we wanted to do. I had called Sugarbush before we left on Friday to check on their policies for hiking the ski trails. No worries about timing and the possibility of missing the last shuttle at 4pm. We could now hike up Mt Ellen, head across the ridge to Abraham and then backtrack to Lincoln Peak and hike down the ski trails to the car. The first bus leaves at 8am (they run on the half hour all day) and had us at the Sugarbush Mt Ellen area at 8:15. We left early and got to Sugarbush Lincoln Peak lodge at about 7:45 and got a second row parking spot by beating the ski crowd.

#TSL QUICKY SLED FREE#

There is a free winter shuttle - the Mad Bus - that runs a number of routes in the Mad River Valley including between the Sugarbush Ski areas.

We only had one vehicle, but had figured out some good logistics. The ridge between Ellen and Abraham is pretty well protected, so we decided it was at least worth a shot.

It was supposed to be even warmer, but very windy - 50-60 on the summits - with on and off snow. I don't usually get to see myself on our hikes as I'm always behind the camera.īy the time we were back on Saturday night the forecast for Sunday had gone downhill. Thanks to Kim for sharing her pictures (all the ones with me in them and a few others) to use here. We headed down the 0.4 mile road walk and turned onto the Long Trail. The summits were also predicted to be in the clouds, but when we started out everything was in the clear. The good news was that the winds were from the west, so we'd be on the lee side of the mountain until the summit ridge, with only 0.2 along the ridge to the top. The forecast for the day was for temps to remain pretty warm, but with winds of 40-50MPH with higher gusts on the summits. Timing was good, as they put cones up to block the entrance right after we pulled in. We pulled into the first lot at the ski area though and joined the few cars that were already there. We were surprised to find the parking lot by the winter gate on Rt 108 already full. Saturday morning was warm - 20s when we got up and warmer by the time we got to Stowe at 10am. Saturday initially looked like a less windy day, so the more exposed Mt Mansfield was the first target. Overall though, the whole plan still looked doable. By the time we headed up on Friday night the weekend forecast was a mixed bag from well above freezing temps to near zero, combined with various combinations of clear skies, clouds, calm and gale force winds. Now all we needed was for the weather to cooperate.Īs always seems to happen, the forecast went back and forth about a dozen times over the week before the trip. We were staying at a friend's house in Stockbridge which is perfectly positioned as a home base. We could hit Mansfield one day, Abraham and Ellen another and then catch Killington before heading home the final day. We figured that a three day weekend was perfect. Since finishing our NH48 last fall we'd decided to start working on the NE67 and coincidentally needed the same four VT peaks. Our friend Kim has been hoping to finish her winter NE67 list this year and needed all of the Vermont peaks except Camel's Hump. MLK weekend started off with a grand plan.

Tsl quicky sled