March 13, 2004, Margaret Corn Harvest

Al and I started out on Margaret hoping for the best but expecting the worst and figuring that at least we could likely find a snowmobile track to follow down. Didn't seem like a day to rush so we got on the trail just before 11. The snowmobile crowd was not as thick, as the clouds of two-stroke at the parking area. We headed away from the light traffic as soon as possible, and had a fun climb. Given the ick in the woods (great climbing, though) and the nice softening corn in the open, we skied a nice line directly toward the top of the massive upper clearcut where the bilers like to highmark. After doing a little cultural exchange with a few nice bilers on the ridgetop with views of Stuart etc. we threaded between biler tracks in 2-4 inches of softened corn on a wonderfully firm base for 1K of vertical of moderate turns before hitting christmas tree farms. We lapped this three times as it was so much mellow fun:


Al Watching For Stumps

We started the last lap just after 4 and it was just starting to freeze up a bit at the top at this point, but after a few hundred feet we were back in the creamed corn. We threaded back out to the snowmo road for a long groomed and alternatingly turnable and straight-pointable road to the highway.

Snow profile was similar to that described today for Skyline Ridge.

Morale of the day: be nice to nice snowmobilers - they may have things you want!