Family Ski to Greeley Ponds

March 14, 2020

Emilie Phillips

Our attempt at a family ski series for the AMC has had mixed success. This trip, the last cross country ski trip, turned out really well. The two days preceding the trip had rained and slushed, and then overnight it froze cold. A lot of people didn’t bother signing up for the trip because all the snow at lower elevations melted. We found several feet of snow topped with a hard sandpaper surface that gripped skis. The uphill route had a few challenging spots for the kids, but as I remembered, most of it is rolling. This trip is quite short by adult standards. With kids, we had to stop short of the saddle for lunch time or face a mutiny. After eating half a lunch, the kids made a game of belly sliding down the hill head first. A tree gently taught Isaac a lesson about that.

After lunch, we headed over the hill to the ponds. I wasn’t sure if anyone else would be enthusiastic about the ponds or not. We entered the northern pond near the open water at the inlet. Tyson and I cautiously poked our way across the pond. The rest of the ice was solid. And best of all, the wind which always blows through the notch between Mt Osceola and Mt Kancamagus, blew strong enough to blow us across the ice when we spread our arms wide. The lower pond is even bigger than the upper pond and with better views. I enjoyed the views, the other half the group practiced spinning pirouettes on the ice.

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Best of all, by the time we headed back down to the cars, the sun had softened the snow. Had the snow stayed icy, the ski down might have been terrifying for the kids, and possibly the adults too. The softer snow was just fun to ski. Oh, and my doctor said I was allowed to start using poles again. I brought my brand new Swix carbon touring poles with powder baskets. They worked great, except the baskets didn’t generate any powder.

[Note] The following week the AMC canceled all events because of COVID-19. We will try again to do the family ski series next year. Let me know if you are interested or have any suggestions how to find families who want to telemark or AT ski.

See also the original trip posting for the family ski trips and the reports from the trips that happened.