I was scrolling through my Facebook feed the other day when I came across a post about skiing to Avalanche Pass this past weekend. It surprised me a bit as I had written off backcountry skiing for the past few days because of the recent rains.
Apparently, that was a mistake.
So on Tuesday morning, I decided to check out the conditions for myself, and I drove over to the Jackrabbit Trail trailhead off Whiteface Inn Road in Lake Placid. What I found was a deep snowpack with a powdery surface. The conditions were outstanding.
Other than one section where runoff crossed the trail, the route to the top of the hill was completely filled in with snow. Because of commitments I didn’t have time to go much farther, so I turned around and headed back downhill, thinking about where to go on my next trip.
If you’re looking to learn about the latest conditions, a good place to go is the Barkeater Trail Alliance conditions report on their website. I’ve also put together the photo gallery above that contains images from Tuesday and past ski trips to the Jackrabbit Trail, if you want to check them out. To get a look at the trail from Whiteface Inn Road to McKenzie Pond Road in Saranac Lake, check out the video from last winter below.
Make sure you get out before the next rainstorm.
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