Skiing Out Back

Started in earnest the process of building a ski/mtb trail in our woods, with trail building legend Steve Ovitt.

Somehow right under my nose, down along the road, will be some of my best tree skiing.


Lower Loop Glade

Anybody else expanding their terrain?

The stash I have been tending needs to be widened in a few spots. I have only cleaned up what a small hand saw and loppers would do but if I got in there with a chain saw I could really make it ski a lot better, cleaning up a lot of large downed trees - not cutting anything live out.

Skiing out back? Most definitely!

Does it count when this is your back yard?

Harv I owe you a draft.  You gonna ski your new stash on barrel staves?

Damn right it counts.

Waxless barrel staves...



I'm telling you Peter you will dig the XCD in the Siamese.

We built a single track loop behind our house.  I think it's a .4 mile loop.  

Building MTB trail is tough work- and we have it easy with all sand.  I think until you try building trail you don't realize how much work it is getting thru the initial layer or roots that covers all soil, let alone route planning.  You cannot have a good trail until it's fully groomed out and down to the bare ground.

Can't say enough for real trail builders who have to deal with the rocky terrain esp in the East.  Attending the Craigwood trail day earlier this spring for BETA made us appreciate trails that much more.

It's unbelievable the amount of work that goes into a truly good trail.

Harv, when do your trails open?!

My son has gotten interested in riding an ATV, so a couple years ago we built some trails in our woods.  Can't be more than a quarter mile of trail, but fun to play on with ATV or MTB.  First we planned the route, then got the chainsaw out to clear what needed clearing, then I got to have fun for a day with the Bobcat.  My biggest problem since has been keeping the growth down on the trail, as it isn't getting as consistent use as we'd like at the moment.  It was a lot of work, but the kind you have fun doing....

No skiing, but back behind the ATV trail we have 'Big Daddy Ridge'.  It's a sledding hill we created from the top of a big pile of fill the builder left on his property in the woods behind ours.  We set up 4 different runs, with some steep drops and rolls, with banked walls.  Relatively short runs, but still a lot of fun when the snow is good.  We also use the trails and woods for snowshoeing.

Not really sure when we'll have something ridable. Early summer is possible.  Completely done is likely to be a while.  Money is a limiting factor. If I lived closer I'd be working on it every free minute.

Harvey wrote

Anybody else expanding their terrain?

Always, because that one spot never seems good enough. There's always something better over the next ridge!