Learning from the master of crafty
Sure we've got Morse Farm, Craftsbury and Trapp, but you haven't skied cross country until you've experienced 1,000 feet of vertical in West Virginia on skinny skis. And you can do that drop on the trails, or between the trees! Whitegrass Touring Center is like no other. So that's why I went back there last week even though the snow's all gone. Chip Chase, the wiry dynamo who runs the place, was busy cleaning up the trails and Syd and I once again lent a hand.

We brought back some good ideas for making our trails more bullet proof. And some photos.

Chip reuses boards to make covers for water bars. His crew drives a Pisten Bully over these simple structures - a few feet of snow on top helps. Because many of them are on Fish and Wildlife land, he has to pull them up in the spring. He also rakes out debris to allow water to flow off the trails. Harry's Heaven could use similar treatment. And since the trails are on Morse Farm land, these water crossings can be more permanent.

Here's another way to keep trails dry while letting the water runs its course - logs. Wow! How simple. And effective. (The big one in the upper right hand corner is dead fall and is not one of the improvements. That one will be gone by fall.) We've got lots of logs sitting around doing nothing out there so we may as well use them to extend our ski time when things get wet.

No, it's not Jed Clampet's truck, but it's close. Here we have Mr. Chase pushing the limits of trailer load and tire pressure by hauling three benches and one gargantuan cast iron wood stove in four pieces. Whitegrass features many warming shelters throughout its trail network. Places to stop and chat, eat, drink and recharge for the next leg of the journey. This particular stove was a bit large for its shelter so it had to come down the mountain for the summer. Next year it may end up heating a building instead.

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Created by Dave on 04/11/08 at 08:14pm.