[NMCCSC] Report Skied East Fork Ridge Trail, Sat., Feb. 9

[Sam via NMCCSCeGroup]

Hello Skiers,

On Saturday, February 9, Bet and Steve Gendron, Bill and Anne White, Mike Meier, and Sam Beard skied to the east approximately 2 to 2.5 miles on the East Fork Ridge Trail from the west trailhead on NM-4 in the Jemez Mountains. The snow cover was good on the former logging road in the forest until we came to the area being thinned up to the ridgeline. With the trees along the road and south of the road having been cut, the sun melted the snow on the ski trail (road) and on the hiking trail in places. When we came to the thinned area, we could no longer find the logging road. We then started skiing the hiking trail that is just on the north side of the ridgeline. The snow was crusty with about an inch of new snow.

The attached Word document presents a map of the route and photos of the tour.

After having eaten lunch after skiing 2.2 miles, Bill, Anne, and Mike returned to the west trailhead on the ridge trail. Bet, Steve, and Sam continued to ski to the east on the hiking trail. They soon found the Ridge Ski Trail on the former logging road that was not in the area being thinned. After skiing about 1/2 mile from the lunch spot, they found the junction of the Ridge Trail and Mistletoe Canyon Trail that was just outside the thinned area. The Mistletoe Canyon Trail goes to the south about 1/2 mile to the bottom of the canyon and then continues to the west to a junction with the EF Ridge Trail about 1/2 mile from the west trailhead.

From the junction with the Mistletoe Canyon Trail, Steve, Bet, and Sam skied about 100 feet to the east to the upper trailhead of the Las Conchas Burn Trail. They followed this trail about 1/2 mile down to the highway at the east end of the Los Griegos parking lot. In general, the snow conditions on this route back to the highway were similar to those on the western part of the Ridge Trail.

After waiting several minutes at the Los Griegos parking lot, Mike arrived and gave the skiers a ride to their vehicle at the west trailhead of the EF Ridge Trail.

In summary, the round trip distance on the Ridge Trail was 4.4 miles, and the one-way tour on the Ridge Trail and Burn Trail was 3.2 miles.

Although the snow conditions were not excellent, the group enjoyed a day in the East Fork area that has not been skiable for several years.

Sam
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