Bill Hill

Date: March 2023
Category: Skiing > Backcountry Down Mountain Skiing
Type: Post

March 18, 2023

Emilie Phillips

We led an AMC ski trip to the Bill Hill glades near Gorham. It was supposed to be a family trip, but no other families signed up. Instead we had two adults who were looking for an easier trip. The weather cooperated so we were able to fly up to the Gorham airfield. The rain finished up in the middle of the night. It stayed above freezing, so the snow was soft. The snow on the runway was getting thin, but there was plenty of snow left in the woods. And by lunch time, it was a sunny, blue sky day and a balmy 40F.

The snow was what we call mashed potatoes — thick heavy stuff. You can’t make skidded turns in that kind of snow. It’s jump turns or fully carved turns. Both are hard. The former takes energy and the latter takes technique. I had kept my pack light, so I had spring in my legs. And my technique was good enough to carve. I had a blast. I linked turns down through the glades, picking the tight lines between trees, or bouncing off the tops of the gentle moguls, or sinking into long stretches of untracked snow.

On short glades like these, the key to fitting in more laps, is to transition from uphill mode to downhill mode (and the reverse) faster. To transition, you have to remove skins, tighten boots, and shorten poles. Isaac did a good job of attempting each task himself. He even managed one transition completely on his own.

Tyson’s fun for the day was finding all the official gladed areas. Someone had finally put the tracks on open street maps. So while I was having fun linking turns, Tyson had his phone out and was following it around. He fell off the glades a few times, but we now know where they all are. The full group skied each of the three full height runs. Only Tyson and I skied the short run, while the others ate lunch.