Skiing Blue Hills Ski Area (Day 14)

Skiing Blue Hills Ski Area

Monday, January 26th, 2026

Runs: 10

Distance: 2.98 miles

Elevation: 3,425 feet

Max Speed: 20.3 mph

Avg. Speed: 9.6 mph

Moving Time: 19 minutes, 17 seconds

Total Time: 1 hour, 28 minutes, 18 seconds

Powder day at the Blue Hills? We ended up getting somewhere around 18" of snow from the storm and after digging out and the snow subsiding, Sarah texted me asking if I wanted to meet her at the Blue Hills for some Monday night night skiing... absolutely! I truly had no idea what to expect, but I was sure glad that I dug my car out! When I left home around 6:20pm, snow had started to fall again, and the roads were... interesting! I didn't even try to park in the main lot, so I parked in the north Trailside Museum lot, met Sarah, and we huffed it over to the lodge!

Runs 1-3

Run 1: Double Chair - Big Blue Headwall - Lower Big Blue

[0.25 mi; 1:28; 338 ft; 17.3 mph max; 10.3 mph avg]

Run 2: Double Chair - Chute - Patriots

[0.37 mi; 2:36; 335 ft; 20.3 mph max; 8.6 mph avg]

Run 3: Double Chair - Patriots

[0.41 mi; 2:53; 354 ft; 19.4 mph max; 8.5 mph avg]

The vibes were good and we were thrilled to learn that buying online meant we had direct-to-lift access. The hill was also delightfully not-too-crowded! The line looked pretty long, but the waits were never awful. Plus, the place was just buzzing with energy and joy! We hopped in line just after 7:00pm after booting up in the lodge and got to it!

Since the Blue Hills doesn't have 100% night skiing, the only three runs that were open were Big Blue, Chute, and Patriots, so we figured we'd just work out way across the hill. Run #1 was down Big Blue (after a reminder on how sketchy the lift is!) and it was SO MUCH FUN! I had never skied in soft powder before, and it was so silly and fun to have my first real experience skiing it be at the Blue Hills! Did I ski well? Absolutely not. Did I giggle the whole way down? Yes!

Run #2 was down Chute and then Patriots. Chute is narrow and was a little skied off, revealing some surprise rocks, but still fun! Patriots was where most of the people were and got a little slow with the fresh snow.

We hit the famous Patriots headwall at Run #3, which was shockingly skied off between the bumps. Still fun! We both agreed that Big Blue was our favorite run du jour. The line was about the same length for all of this, but always moving well. We even saw patrol practicing sleds on Big Blue with a dummy - someone screamed "they have no pants on!" which got a good laugh out of the lift line.

Runs 4-5

Run 4: Double Chair - Big Blue Headwall - Lower Big Blue

[0.27 mi; 1:35; 344 ft; 17.4 mph max; 10.1 mph avg]

Run 5: Double Chair - Chute - Patriots

[0.40 mi; 2:50; 348 ft; 18.7 mph max; 8.5 mph avg

We decided we'd just work our way across the three runs like a typewriter throughout the night, especially since we were only skiing from 7p-9p. Run #4 was back down Big Blue, and man, it was just such a delight! I was starting to get better at keeping my weight forward to really tackle the bumps, but still had a few moments where it felt like my skis were simply in charge and I was just going along for the ride.

We had a still-very-fun-yet-not-as-fun-as-Big-Blue run down Chute and Patriots. After which we decided we'd just lap Big Blue until close!

Runs 6-10

Run 6: Double Chair - Big Blue Headwall - Lower Big Blue

[0.25 mi; 1:53; 338 ft; 18.0 mph max; 8.1 mph avg]

Run 7: Double Chair - Big Blue Headwall - Lower Big Blue

[0.26 mi; 1:23; 341 ft; 16.1 mph max; 11.3 mph avg]

Run 8: Double Chair - Big Blue Headwall - Lower Big Blue

[0.26 mi; 1:56; 344 ft; 15.7 mph max; 8.2 mph avg]

Run 9: Double Chair - Big Blue Headwall - Lower Big Blue

[0.24 mi; 1:18: 338 ft; 16.9 mph max; 11.3 mph avg]

Run 10: Double Chair - Big Blue Headwall - Lower Big Blue

[0.26 mi; 1:25; 341 ft; 17.0 mph max; 11.1 mph avg]

The next five runs were all wonderful, joyful laps. Run #8 I performed exceptionally well, which felt GOOD. All five runs were so much fun and if we had more time, I easily could have spent hours rinsing and repeating! Run #9 was likely my least glamorous, as I did something weird, slammed into a bump burring my skies, and FLEW forward in a puff of white smoke - my first yard sale in a while, and definitely first of the season! Due to the nature of the soft snow, I was completely unscathed and just mad that Sarah didn't get to see! We finished our last run right at 9:00pm, packed up, and giggled some more about how much fun we had. The good news was that we would see eachother again VERY soon, as we had plans to ski at Cannon Mountain tomorrow (we planned to call in sick, but both of our schools had a double snow day!). 

Map of Blue Hills Ski Area

Quincy Hills Loop via St. Moritz Ponds (Blue Hills Reservation)

Quincy Hills Loop via St. Moritz Ponds (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: oo-O Loop

Distance: 5.13 miles

Elevation: 600 feet

Time: 1 hour, 52 minutes
Hiking Challenges: Blue Hills Grid, Blue Hills Winter Trace (2x)

The Hike 

Although I still wanted to be skiing, the ridiculous cold up north and impending snow storm kept me local. It was a balmy 10 degrees and I forced myself out the door to explore some of the Quincy area of the Blue Hills for my second winter map. The storm was slated to start around noon, so I figured a 9:00am start would be good! 

I started with spikes on after walking the sidewalk past the Shea Memorial Rink and the plan was roughly a wide loop hitting all the hills on this side of the park, Skyline Trail to Fox Hill to Sawcut Notch. Even with it being 10 degrees, the Nano Puff came off soon into the hike. I followed the Firepit Path around the totally frozen St. Moritz Pond and I was still feeling warm with two pairs of leggings on under my pants. 

I crossed Wampatuck Road and took my fleece off at the Quarry before hitting Rattlesnake Hill (which had one persons' footprints) and The Crags before a rough descent down with not enough snow for spikes, but I had already committed. 

After working my way up Wampatuck Hill, I giggled at seeing the mall, since I had just stopped there to grab a few things from Target before the storm. There was a bit of a breeze near Chickatawbut Road so I began to pick up the pace to stay warm as I climbed up Fox Hill, and I was rewarded with a lovely tree view to Boston as I descended. I put my fleece back on once at the bottom and continued on!

I wiggled my way over to Sawcut Notch Path and took a quick bushwhack to Little Dome, which only had deer tracks. I continued on to Great Dome, which similarly only had deer tracks (but also some orange flagging tape?). I love these two little trail-less hills - they both have humble views and feel very remote for being in the Blue Hills. I also felt wildly satisfied hitting all five hills in this stretch of the park in one hike!

After descending Great Dome, I began to hear the pitter-patter of falling snow, and then it increased! Seemed like the storm was starting a couple of hours early! I passed my first and only person near Wampatuck Road, and I made it back to my car in time to see all of the salt trucks congregating in the Shea Memorial Rink parking lot. The drive home was a little slippery, but I made it back in time to hunker down and do some Legos!

Step-by-Step

- Park at Shea Memorial Rink.

- Turn left onto Willard Street.

- Turn left onto path.

- At jct., turn left onto Skyline Trail.

- At jct., turn right onto Winter Carnival Path.

- At terminus, turn right onto Minichiello Path.

- At jct., turn right onto Firepit Path.

- At terminus, turn left onto Skyline Trail.

- Cross Wampatuck Road, follow Skyline Trail to 4134.

- At 4134, turn right onto path.

- At terminus, turn left onto Water Pipe Line.

- At terminus, turn right onto Fox Hill Path.

- At 4102, turn left onto Indian camp Path.

- Before 4091, turn left onto path.

- At 4083, turn right onto Sawcut Notch path.

- Hike unmapped spur to Little Dome, then continue on Sawcut Notch Path.

- Hike unmapped spur to Great Dome, turn conitnue on Sawcut Notch Path.

- Merge with Skyline Trail.

- Follow Skyline Trail back to car.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album

Sunrise Skyline Loop via Trailside Museum (Blue Hills Reservation)

Sunrise Skyline Loop via Trailside Museum (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Lollipop Loop

Distance: 4.83 miles

Elevation: 1,214 feet

Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes (1 hour, 55 minutes moving)
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge 2026; Great Blue Hill Summits

The Hike 

The original this weekend was to go up to Jay Peak where my roommate would take his first two ski lessons on his Indy: Learn to Turn pass, but due to a comically cold forecast (-40 windchills up at Jay), we opted to postpone, freeing up my weekend (we made the right call, as the mountain actually closed for the cold). I checked the forecast for the Boston area and it was going to be less riculously cold (low single digits) and clear skies, so I ended up decided to get a sunrise Skyline Loop in before the snow storm tomorrow. It was 5 degrees out without wind and I started hiking at 6:45am with only ski area workers in the parking lot.

My spikes were on and my puffy came off once at the Summit Road, where I could hear the groomers at the ski area. There was just enough snow and ice to warrant the spikes. I made it to the tower just as the sun broke over the clouds and horizon, which was truly perfect timing, as I couldn't stay for long due to the cold. I made my way over to the summit once the intense orange faded to a bright yellow, passed two people who were running(?!) the road and realized I forgot my Nalgene... bummer! There was naturally more snow up high than down low, but nothing too intense.

I made my way down Great Blue Hill, put my puffy back on, took it off after climbing Wolcott, and took my hat off after climbing Hemenway. It was breezier and colder on Hancock and my poor spikes took quite a beating on it, and I almost slide right down Hancock!

I crawled up Houghton trying not to sweat and I realized it might just be time to retire my spikes... It was breezier, colder, and shadier between Houghton and Great Blue Hill, the streams were still running, and the trees were making some scary sounds in the wind. I worked my way carefully up the headwall and back to the summit, arriving at the same time as another runner who said "son of a b****" once he landed which made me giggle. 

I made my way back over to the Eliot Path for my descent, and the breeze was now head-on, making for a COLD descent. Thankfully, this was the coldest I'd been for the whole hike, so I would be warm soon. This was overall a great hike, and the only real issue I had was that my cold-weather exercise-enduced asthma started to act up, but thankfully I found my inhaler!

Step-by-Step

- Start hike from Trailside Museum parking on Eliot Path (red dots).

- At terminus, climb tower for sunrise, and then turn right onto Eliot Circle. 

- At trail jct. after crossing the Summit Road, turn left to summit.

- Hike around observatory building clockwise.

- Follow gravel path to Skyline Trail.

- At terminus, turn left onto Skyline Trail.

- Descend summit towards Skyline Trail South.

- Turn left onto Skyline Trail, and then right onto Skyline Trail North.

- At Hillside St., turn right onto Hillside St.

- After stables, turn right onto Skyline Trail South.

- Follow Skyline Trail South to Eliot Circle.

- At Eliot Circle, turn left.

- At gravel path (same as before), turn right to summit Great Blue Hill.

- From summit, retrace steps to Eliot Path and to car.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album

Skiing Ragged Mountain (Day 13/Indy Day 11)

Skiing Ragged Mountain

Thursday, January 22nd, 2026

Runs: 20

Distance: 22.45 miles

Elevation: 21,841 feet

Max Speed: 38.7 mph

Avg. Speed: 17.8 mph

Moving Time: 1 hour, 24 minutes, 3 seconds

Total Time: 3 hours, 47 minutes, 24 seconds

'Twas the day after my winter chorus concert and I was supposed to have jury duty for the first time. I was not upset about this, as I am frankly a nosy person and have little issues with not being at work. Yesterday, I made my sub plans, went for a hike in the Fells, did the concert, and then learned I was not needed for jury duty. The sub plans were already made, though... Time to ski! I toyed with hiking instead, but when I saw Ragged was mostly open (the past three times I'd been only the snowmaking trails were open), I decided that was my destination for the day! The drive wasn't bad at all, temps were wildly reasonable in the upper 20s, and the clouds were starting to part, making for a wonderful morning!

Runs 1-6

Run 1: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Newfound Ridge - Main Street

[0.91 mi; 3:04; 1,099 ft; 31.6 mph max; 17.9 mph avg]

Run 2: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Headwall - Upper Chute - Raggedy Andy - Main Street

[1.02 mi; 3:03; 1,152 ft; 32.1 mph max; 20.0 mph avg]

Run 3: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Sunnyside - Blueberry Patch - Upper Chute - Lower Chute - Village Green

[1.07 mi; 2:51; 1,152 ft; 33.4 mph max; 22.6 mph avg]

Run 4: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Upper Crewcut - Upper Ridge - Lower Ridge - Pines

[1.18 mi; 4:35; 1,145 ft; 31.0 mph max; 15.4 mph avg]

Run 5: Summit Six Express - Blueberry Patch - Lower Ridge

[1.19 mi; 3:39; 1,099 ft; 32.6 mph max; 19.5 mph avg]

Run 6: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Newfound Ridge - Main Street

[0.90 mi; 2:31; 1,060 ft; 32.6 mph max; 21.4 mph avg]

My first batch of runs were all of the groomers on the Ragged Mountain side. To my delight, it was gloriously uncrowded (and I think I was the youngest person in the lodge before first chair by at least 20 years... I cannot wait to be retired!). These runs were fun and fast with fresh corduroy for the majority. I never waited in a lift line for the gates, and never waited more than three chairs once through the gates. It was wonderful!

Run #1 was down Upper Ridge to Newfound Ridge to Main Street. As per tradition, I fully forgot how to effectively ski for most of this run, but I eventually remembered that I actually do know how to engage my edges by the end of it!

I hit the infamous Headwall on Run #2 - short and fast and fun! In hindsight, not nearly as steep as I thought it was the first time I skied it. From there I followed Upper Chute to Raggedy Andy to Main Street, definitely starting to remember how to ski! 

Run #3 followed Sunnyside to Blueberry Patch, which had some fun mellow rollers down to Upper and Lower Chutes before ending on Village Green - I was feeling good! I was also enjoying watching the groomers push out the whales on Exhibition. Each time I rode the lift they were tacking a new whale - it was cool to see!

Run #4 was more adventerous. I went down the black run Upper Crewcut from the Upper Ridge, not realizing it was ungroomed and had some powdered sugar bumps on top of boilerplate ice... made for some interesting "turns"! From there, I followed the Upper Ridge to Lower Ridge and scooted out on Pines, all of which were in great shape still!

I completed the full Lower Ridge (and subsequent skate back to the lift) on Run #5 and did a repeat run for Run #6 down Upper Ridge, Newfound Ridge, and Main Street before hopping on the Spear Mountain Express!

Runs 7-10

Run 7: Spear Mountain Express - Showboat - Showoff

[0.85 mi; 2:23; 991 ft; 36.3 mph max; 21.3 mph avg]

Run 8: Spear Mountain Express - Flying Yankee

[0.92 mi; 2:27; 994 ft; 33.3 mph max; 22.6 mph avg]

Run 9: Spear Mountain Express - Cardigan - Turnpike

[1.21 mi; 3:25; 1,047 ft; 34.4 mph max; 21.3 mph avg]

Run 10: Spear Mountain Express - Cardigan - Jughandle - Turnpike - Home Run - Barnyard

[1.34 mi; 6:24; 1,073 ft; 27.2 mph max. 12.6 mph avg]

The plan on this side was just to work my way from Showboat to Cardigan and MAYBE peek into the woods... MAYBE. Run #7 went down Showboat and Showoff, which I did NOT ski my best on. I did ski fast and in control, but I did not excel in making active, carving turns at a high speed and steeper pitch. Oh well! Run #8 was down Flying Yankee and... I did the same. Pull it together!

Turns out I just needed an easier run to remember how to ski again. Run #9 was down Cardigan and Turnpike and I was back to knowing how to ski well - I need to work on bridging the carving skill gap between mellower and steeper runs. Run #10 went back down Cardigan (with a peek into the woods... super soft up at the entrances...) to Jughandle, and then I got crazy and went into Home Run and Barnyard (of COURSE I skied through the barn!).

Runs 11-15

Run 11: Meadows Carpet - Summit Six Express - Upper Easy Winder - Lower Easy Winder

[1.54 mi; 7:12; 1,135 ft; 26.6 mph max; 12.8 mph avg]

Run 12: Summit Six Express - Upper Easy Winder - Big Rock - Upper Easy Winder - Lower Easy Winder

[1.52 mi; 7:20; 1,138 ft; 28.8 mph max; 12.4 mph avg]

Run 13: Summit Six Express - Blueberry Patch - Reggae Glades - Pines

[1.20 mi; 5:49; 1,135 ft; 31.7 mph max; 12.4 mph avg]

Run 14: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Headwall - Lower Ridge - Moose Alley - Lower Easy Winder

[1.19 mi; 5:46; 1,138 ft; 28.3 mph max; 12.4 mph avg]

Run 15: Summit Six Express - Blueberry Patch - Raggedy Andy - Main Street

[1.13 mi; 3:07; 1,138 ft; 30.9 mph max; 21.7 mph avg]

Tragically, the Barnyard Triple was temporarily down for some mechanical something, so I rode the Meadows Carpet back up and then skated over back to the six-pack. Now it was time to explore some of the natural and gladed trails on the Ragged Mountain side!

Run #11 brought me down Upper and Lower Easy Winder. Upper Easy Winder had a steep entrance off of the snowmaking hardpack and traversed some bumps and whales with a few drops. It was fun, but confusing to ski on initially because of the wildly variable snow conditions. It was good practice for me, and I enjoyed myself! Lower Easy Winder was mostly flat and easy with a few water bars to navigate, but I was going slow enough where it wasn't remotely a problem. It was a fun, quiet trail!

Run #12 started back on Upper Easy Winder and then I turned onto Big Rock, which I assume was named for a rocky ledge that it descends. There was a little bit of exposed rock, but nothing I hadn't done before. The bumps were bumpier on this run, and again, I had fun!

Run #13 was down the Reggae Glades, which weren't really glades, but more a normal blue run at Ragged with an occasional tree. This was the bumpiest run of the day, which I enjoyed. Only thing I didn't enjoy about this one was that between the bumps was some boilerplate ice, which made for some exciting slips!

Run #14 brought me into the actual woods on Moose Alley, a blue glade run. The layout itself was not difficult at all, but the woods were very boney, so dodging rocks and roots made for some more technical skiing than I was ready for (again... good practice... this season is all about practice). 

Back to feeling good about myself... Run #15 was a groomer run down Blueberry Patch, Raggedy Andy, and Main Street! The fresh cords were naturally gone, but the trails were holding up beautifully!

Runs 16-19

Run 16: Spear Mountain Express - Cardigan - Gobbler's Knob - Ridge Runner - Turnpike

[1.10 mi; 6:46; 1,056 ft; 31.5 mph max; 9.7 mph avg]

Run 17: Spear Mountain Express - Showboat - Showoff

[0.87 mi; 2:15; 1,050 ft; 38.7 mph max; 23.2 mph avg]

Run 18: Spear Mountain Express - Flying Yankee

[0.94 mi; 2:19; 1,030 ft; 37.2 mph max; 24.4 mph avg]

Run 19: Spear Mountain Express - Cardigan - Turnpike

[1.26 mi; 3:46; 1,066 ft; 33.6 mph max; 20.0 mph avg]

Time to check out the woods on the Spear Mountain side! I skied down Cardigan and went in at the comically named Gobbler's Knob! Tree spacing and grade were both right at my skillset, but the low-tide was less than ideal! There were a few patches of deeper snow to turn through, but it was pretty boney. I think I maneuvered my way over to Ridge Runner, which was tracked out and narrow on skier's left but more bumpy on skier's right (I went right). Both funneled to a narrow, boney runout, and I did manage to scrape on a rock which sent me down to the ground, but nothing too bad! I did NOT feel the need to go back in there, though!

Runs #17-#19 were all repeats of groomers, and fast ones, apparently! I redeemed myself on Showboat and Flying Yankee (and apparently FLEW, hitting my fastest speeds of the season), and I wrapped up the Spear Mountain Side with a nice mellow run down Cardigan and Turnpike.

Run 20

Run 20: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Headwall - Reggae Glades - Pines

[1.11 mi; 5:21; 1,145 ft; 31.2 mph max; 12.5 mph avg]

To wrap up my truly wonderful day at Ragged Mountain, I hopped back on the Summit Six Express for one final run down Upper Ridge, Headwall, and then the Reggae Glades. At this point in the day, it was cloudy again and snowing! 20 runs in less than four hours elapsed is pretty solid - I could get used to the midweek skiing!

My return trip was slightly eventful. I got stuck behind a pretty serious car fire on I-93 right before the Hooksett rest area, and since I was meeting a friend in Cambridge to see Wonder (a new musical), I didn't have time to go home and change, so I had to stop at an Old Navy and bought a full outfit for the night... so silly!

Map of Ragged Mountain

Skyline, Reservoir, Molly's Spring Loop via Long Pond Parking (Middlesex Fells Reservation)

Skyline, Reservoir, Molly's Spring Loop via Long Pond Parking (Middlesex Fells Reservation)

Hike Type: -Oo- Loop

Distance: 2.24 miles

Elevation: 220 feet

Time: 45 minutes
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge 2026

The Hike 

It's concert day! Whenever I have a day where I need to be at school at night, I try to get at least a little bit of time in in the Fells to get out of the building and get outside. It was 26 degrees out with a nice little snowpack (I probably should have brought spikes with me) and I didn't have much of a plan at all! I started on Molly's Spring Road and turned onto the Skyline Trail, mostly because I needed to pee! The Skyline Trail was less packed down, but still fine for bare boots. I accidentally got off of the Skyline Trail at one point and landed on the possible closed to public use West Dam Road, but it was pretty! I jumped onto the Reservoir Trail/Mountain Bike Loop for a bit and continued to hike out, and then I found out a plumber came to my apartment and made an absolute mess AND the pianist for my chours got sick... The stress had arrived! I turned around and made my return trip on the Reservoir Trail to Molly's Spring so I could get back to school and start solving problems. Thankfully, I heard an owl hoo-ing to cheer me on, which did lift my spirits!

Step-by-Step

- Park at Long Pond Parking Area.

- Start hike on Molly's Spring Road.

- At B4-4, turn right onto Skyline Trail.

- At B4-13, accidentally turn left and follow mapped, and then unmapped path to West Dam Road.

- At West Dam Road, turn right.

- Realize you are on West Dam Road, and then merge right onto Reservoir Trail.

- At Gate 12, turn around.

- At B5-4, continue on Mountain Bike Trail.

- At next jct., continue straight onto Reservoir Trail.

- At B4-6, turn left onto Molly's Spring Road.

- Return to car.

Middlesex Fells Reservation Map

Photo Album

Skiing Dartmouth Skiway (Day 12/Indy Day 10)

Skiing Dartmouth Skiway

Sunday, January 19th, 2026

Runs: 10

Distance: 8.82 miles

Elevation: 9.780 feet

Max Speed: 29.9 mph

Avg. Speed: 13.0 mph

Moving Time: 41 minutes, 30 seconds

Total Time: 2 hours, 29 minutes, 35 seconds

Final day of the long weekend! I woke up at the Gale River Motel to a surprise coating of snow on my car (and on the roads), which led to a longer-than-anticipated drive, but taking it slow gave me no problems. I was blessed with some princess parking right at the base of the Winslow Quad and got there about 15 minutes before lifts started spinning. The ticket line didn't move the fastest, but that was the longest line I waited in all day! I got my (free) RFID card, booted up at the car, and then got to work hitting the trails on the Winslow side!

Conditions

1/19 A small coating of snow overnight will keep things skiing great on the holiday. All lifts are spinning, ski you out there!

Runs 1-4

Run 1: Winslow Quad - Upper Howard Shives - Pass Fail

[0.80 mi; 2:37; 912 feet; 27.1 mph max; 18.4 mph avg]

Run 2: Winslow Quad - Upper Howard Shives - Post Doc - Pass Fail

[0.76 mi; 3:36; 935 feet; 21.2 mph max; 12.7 mph avg]

Run 3: Winslow Quad - M.D.

[0.97 mi; 5:14; 945 feet; 26.1 mph max; 11.1 mph avg]

Run 4: Winslow Quad - Upper Thomas - Upper Howard Chives - Pass Fail

[0.83 mi; 3:31; 935 feet; 29.9 mph max; 14.2 mph avg]

The Winslow side made me giggle becuase everything was academia themed, which made sense since the skiway is run and owned by Dartmouth College! I had the delight of never needing to share the chair, even though it was a quad! My first run was the easiest way down - Upper Howard Shives (the upper lift line) and then Pass Fail, which was a delightful run with fresh corduroy. I turned onto Post Doc during Run #2, which was a natural run with styrofoamy bumps that were relatively unpleasant BUT good practice for me! M.D. was in a similar state, but much longer with some waterbars to navigate/dodge - I actually had fun with that one! I'm glad I'm in my natural terrain era. I wrapped up my runs on the Winslow side with Upper Thomas, a wonderuflly soft and short natural run that led into Upper Howard Shives and Pass Fail. There were a solid amount of families and students learning how to ski on this side, which made for some wholesome entertainment from the lift, and I was looking foward to scooting across the road to the Holt side.

Runs 5-7

Run 5: Holt Double - Big Green

[1.17 mi; 5:23; 1,014 feet; 20.0 mph max; 13.0 mph avg]

Run 6: Holt Double - John Meck - The Face

[0.79 mi; 4:04; 1,004 feet; 18.0 mph max; 11.7 mph avg]

Run 7: Holt Double - John Meck - Juicer - Lyme Drop - The Face

[0.80 mi; 4:58; 994 feet; 23.0 mph max; 9.6 mph avg]

The Holt Double looked delightfully empty minus a the occasional batch of ski racers. I decided to similarly just work my around the map. My first run was Big Green, which was the long green run from the top. To my surprise, it was ungroomed and decently challenging for a beginner in terms of technicality. Lots of rollers, occasional water bars, and the last bit was sheer ice and narrow. It was a super fun trail, though!

Run #6 was down John Meck, which had some nice easy bumps and then down The Face, which was the steep headwall that led back to the chair. It was definitely more daunting from the bottom than when I was skiing down. Run #7 brought me briefly back down John Meck to Juicer, which was a short narrow connector run to Lyme Drop, which was bumpier than the others and had some whales at the end. I skied down The Face again, and then I was on my way back up!

Runs 8-10

Run 8: Holt Double - Upper Lift Line - Kelton's Gauntlet

[0.72 mi; 3:41; 1,001 feet; 17.7 mph max; 11.7 mph avg]

Run 9: Holt Double - Upper Kelton's Gauntlet - John Meck - The Face

[0.81 mi; 3:30; 1,001 feet; 26.3 mph max; 13.9 mph avg]

Run 10: Holt Double - Big Green

[1.16 mi; 4:56; 1,040 feet; 23.6 mph max; 14.1 mph avg]

The view behind from the chair was lovely. Smarts Mountain towered in the near distance with the lower slopes of Mt. Moosilauke in the distance. Run #8 brought me down the Upper Lift Line, which was in mostly wonderful shape (with just a few ice patches) and then I hit Kelton's Gauntlet, which was flagged as "experts only" - I found out why! It was comically icy with death cookies the size of cantaloupes followed by a steep headwall that was similarly frozen over. It was kind of miserable! Thankfully, my next run down Upper Kelton's Gauntlet, which was the only nicely groomed trail on this side (sans the race runs, but they were closed for racing) back to John Meck and the Face. It was nice to get a little speed!

I wrapped up my day with my 10th run and had another joyful run down Big Green all the way back to the road, and then I started my journey back to Boston! What a fun, little ski area!

Map of Dartmouth Skiway

Skiing Burke Mountain (Day 11/Indy Pass Day 9)

Skiing Burke Mountain

Sunday, January 11th, 2026

Runs: 13

Distance: 16.25 miles

Elevation: 16,247 feet

Max Speed: 35.5 mph

Avg. Speed: 11.8 mph

Moving Time: 1 hour, 31 minutes, 12 seconds

Total Time: 6 hours, 27 minutes, 10 seconds (lunch break)

After a busy, but super fun day at Jay, I was up at 5:45am to get up and out and drive over to Burke for the first time! I had hoped Emma would be joining us, but she opted to sleep in and stay home instead. I got my Indy redemption, which took no time at 8:00am, and got ready with Sarah and Mom in the lodge upstairs before stashing our bags downstairs. It was truly a delightfully quiet morning! Once chores were done, we were outside just after 8:45am to get our first run on the Sherburne Express!

Mountain Conditions

Sunday, January 18.

Rise and shine! Or don't... Either way, the snow showed up and it's shaping up to be a great day. Snowfall continued until the lifts stopped spinning yesterday, and we picked up 5 inches in the last 24 hours. Today, look for more snow showers in the morning with a high of 29. A solid Sunday all around.

When the skiing wraps up, settle in for classic apres with Kyle Fickeisen playing live in The Bear Den from 2:30-5:30pm.

Sherburne Express, J-Bar, Magic Carpet will start spinning at 8:45am followed by the Mid Burke Express at 9am. Last chair for all lifts is 4pm.

PACKED POWDER.

Runs 1-2

Run 1: Sherburne Express - Bunker Hill

[0.80 mi; 3:03; 604 feet; 29.4 mph max; 15.7 mph avg]

Run 2: Sherburne Express - Midway

[0.38 mi; 2:34; 164 feet; 19.2 mph max; 8.9 mph avg]

Since we got on the Sherburne right when it opened, we didn't want to be waiting for the Mid-Burke to open, so we got a nice easy green lap in to start our day down Bunker Hill, which was a DREAM. Fresh corduroy the whole way down and nobody else around us. There was a little steep section near the end of it, which was surprising for a green, but super fun to ski! As we each got back to the lift we, like clockwork, all went "that was WONDERFUL!" Our second run was up the Sherburne again and down Midway to the Mid-Burke Express. We didn't know we needed to get speed on this run, so we had some skating to do. There was a small crowd at the lift, but nothing too bad!

Runs 3-6

Run 3: Mid-Burke Express - Upper Willoughby - Lower Willoughby

[1.12 mi; 4:31; 1,637 feet; 30.3 mph max; 14.9 mph avg]

Run 4: Mid-Burke Express - Upper Bear Den - Ledges - Lower Bear Den

[1.18 mi; 7:23; 1,683 feet; 30.9 mph max; 9.6 mph avg]

Run 5: Mid-Burke Express - Upper Fox's Folly - Deer Run - Big Dipper

[1.36 mi; 6:12; 1,677 feet; 35.5 mph max; 13.1 mph avg]

Run 6: Mid-Burke Express - Upper Dipper - Wilderness - Powderhorn - Cavemen - East Bowl - Dipper Doodle - High Meadow Pass

[2.19 mi; 15:11; 2,096 feet; 26.3 mph max; 8.6 mph avg]

Our first run off the Mid-Burke was delayed becuase we couldn't stop talking about how beautiful it was up top! Snow-covered trees in a wide area for everyone to get their bearings (it was extra fun for me because I knew this unload area was the top of the auto road that I had drive up years ago). We decided to work our way across the map, starting with Upper and Lower Willoughby. They were both a little busy, as it seemed many others also started with this run, but it was fun! Surprisingly steep (which would become a theme for the day). The snow felt GOOD, too!

We got adventerous for Run #4 - first following Upper Bear Den from rfthe top, which was ungroomed and very fun with soft snow, and then down the first black run of the day, Ledges, which was also ungroomed and bumpy. There was, to no surprise, a steep series of ledges that were bumped up and a little icy, but nothing too wildly out of my comfort zone. Sarah and Mom did a great job being my cheerleaders! We followed Lower Bear Den, which was groomed, back to the lift.

The lift line was now getting LONG, so we started hitting the singles line, which was definitetly the faster move for the day. We followed Upper Fox's Folly (the old lift line) to Deer Run (the auto road), eventually landing on Big Dipper, which was a wildly wide run with a series of steep sections split up by flat ones - similar to upper Ullr's Dream up at Jay. It was FAST and FUN! We were all really loving this mountain!

We did a quick stop at the Mid-Mountain Lodge for water and a potty break before heading back up for Run #6. We were feeling good and warmed up and were on the hunt for some trees. We followed Upper Dipper to Wilderness, which was a mix of soft bumps and icy troughs, to Powderhorn and then into the Caveman woods, which were just beautiful! A little icy, not too soft, but simply beautiful. Sarah and Mom both continued to be excellent cheerleaders. We hit a hiccup at the end of the glade, though. Sarah exited the run and turned right, crashing into another skier (a man in his 50s-60s not wearing a helmet). Neither of them were hurt, but she was super frazzled about it. The man was super kind and they both kept checking in on each other and Sarah apologized a bunch of times - I think they handled it really well and accidents happen! He was in a blind spot and had some speed because of the East Bowl runout - we didn't know! Once everyone was back on their feet we essentially cross-country skied out of the East Bowl runout, which was a doozy! Sarah's Mom was more frazzled than Sarah, so she gently nudged us to head back to the Sherburne Lodge for a break and some lunch! Our run ended with Dipper Doodle (incredible name) to High Meadow Pass, which passed many condos and homes that looked beautiful (most featuring hot tubs!). 

Runs 7-10

Run 7: Sherburne Express - Midway

[0.36 mi; 2:22; 167 feet; 19.9 mph max; 9.1 mph avg]

Run 8: Mid-Burke Express - Upper Dipper - Carriage Road - Deer Run - Big Dipper - Deer Run - Mountain Marsh - Little Dipper

[1.33 mi; 7:23; 1,670 feet; 28.8 mpph max; 10.8 mph avg]

Run 9: Mid-Burke Express - East Bowl - Deer Run - Big Dipper

[1.93 mi; 16:49; 1,655 feet; 29.8 mph max; 6.9 mph avg]

Run 10: Mid-Burke Express - Upper Dipper - Deer Run - Flaming Eddie's - Deer Run - Little Dipper

[1.29 mi; 7:42; 1,654 feet; 29.6 mph max; 10.0 mph avg]

After a nice lunch we hopped back on the Sherburne Express and were shocked at how extreme the lift line had become! We all took a deep breath, reminded ourselves that it was a holiday weekend, and got back in teh singles line. Run #8 was more or less just a wiggle down the mountain. Carriage Road was a little scrapey, but super pretty. Deer Run was lovely. Big Dipper was fast and fun, and a little scrapey now. Deer Run pt. 2 was also lovely, and passed an intermediate glade called "Flaming Eddie's" that we pinned for later. We cut through the woods and popped out on Mountain Marsh - an ungroomed blue run that was, to no surprise, a little scrapey, but still fun! We ended on the groomed Little Dipper, which had some of the best groomed snow we'd skied all day! We did another quick bathroom break at the Mid-Mountain Lodge before getting back in line.

Run #9 was our adventure run - we went to tackle the East Bowl, which started with a little hike/skate through the woods (it reminded me of getting to Tight Line at Saddleback) before a long series of drops and flats, all bumpy and super fun! Some were icier than others, some were trickier than others. Sarah and Mom continued to be the best cheerleaders and coaches, and we all had a really great time! With fresh fresh snow, this would be an insanely fun run - even still, I think it was my favorite run of the day just for the variety of terrain, the challenge, and the sense of accomplishment. It was also SO quiet, which was in contrast to the busy rest of the mountain. I had to take off my balaclava, mittens, and shell by the runout because I was SWEATY.

Run #10 was much more calm. We decided to connect the dots with the dippers by hitting all of Upper Dipper before checking out the Flaming Eddie's glades. Sarah and Mom went in first and a bunch of ~13 year old kids came right up to the entrance after them. I told them that I was going to be super slow and they said "oh we're not going in, but we are going to watch you now!" I jokingly said "we'll you're allowed to boo if you need to!" and they said "No way! We're going to cheer you on!" - and they did. I made one turn and they all started hooting and hollering - it was genuinely one of most wonderful moment and maybe the kids are going to be alright?!

Anyway, the glade was pretty skied out at this point, and exiting the glade was tough - either a jump off a rock or a narrow, scrapey chute - fun!

Runs 11-13

Run 11: Mid-Burke Express - Deer Run - Big Dipper - High Meadow Pass

[2.84 mi; 12:29; 2,106 feet; 25.8 mph max; 13.7 mph avg]

Run 12: Sherburne Express - Binney Lane

[0.72 mi; 2:35; 551 feet; 24.0 mph max; 16.8 mph avg]

Run 13: Sherbune Express - Bunker Hill

[0.76 mi; 2:57; 597 feet; 29.0 mpph max; 15.4 mph avg]

At this point, we were all beat. We decided to start our victory tour of the mountain with one last ride up the Mid-Burke Express and following Deer Run all the way down, and then High Meadow Pass ALL the way down. This was a DELIGHTFUL run. Deer Run was in good shape the whole way and just a pleasure to ski through the tree tunnel. It did get a little busy at times, but no complaints! High Meadow Pass was wonderful again, and after a nice long time skiing, we were back on the Sherburne Express. 

We hit Binney Lane, which was mostly the lift line, since we had not skied it yet, and then our final lap was down Bunker Hill to put a nice book-end on the day. We all LOVED skiing at Burke and are hungry to come back for more on a non-holiday day!

We were going to apres upstairs, but they had no food and we were all a little hungry. We ended up at Estella's Bar & Grille in Lyndonville, and it was perfect! Reasonably priced, good food, easy in and out. Afterwards, I drove to the Gale River Motel in Franconia to spend the night while Sarah and Mom had a long drive home.

Map of Burke Mountain