Yesterday I snowshoed the section of the Nordic Adventure course between Bowman, (the 25 km finish area), and the Pinkham B Road (Aid Station #2, 18 km). I was happy to find the route snow-covered, although certainly we need some more snow for it to be skiable by our many entrants. There’s a base, and the snow depth includes a layer of crust that feels quite durable. Snow depth ranges from 3 to 7 inches. On the two ends of this seven km section, where the route is on private forest roads, the snow was lovely. I even thought for a while I could have been on rock touring skis. But midway through the power line, snow depth got down to that minimal 3 inches, and places would have been sketchy to try to ski through.

The other good news is that the two major brooks on the route, Cold and Snyder Brooks, have a good layer of ice and snow over them, and I crossed easily without incident. Cold Brook, which I fell in this fall (check blog on biking the Nordic Adventure course), has a nice smooth surface. I crossed over and back on this a couple of times. Feeling a bit more daring when I got to Snyder Brook, I jumped up and down on the ice/snow bridge a couple times, and happily heard no cracks. I also noticed that this section of trail doesn’t get much direct sun, running on the north side of the Presidential range. So . . . we need more snow, but we’ve got a start. The Nordic Adventure is five weeks away. Keep doing your snow dances. I will too.  Sue W

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