Here at Hangman Hill

Another 10″ of light fluffy snow fell at Hangman Hill on Thursday. This means Friday is a day to ride. We are headed to the hills with some friends to make a few turns. Thanks to Mark for plowing so we could get an early start!

We received another 3″ of snow overnight, and it is still coming down. This is quite the winter we are having! Even our flamingo has a bluish tinge…

We celebrated Valentine’s Day with a ski trip to the Zealand Falls Hut.  We departed on Friday afternoon under clear blue skies with a temperature of +1F at the parking area at Route 302.  We took pause given the forecast for blizzard-like conditions and subzero temperatures predicted for the weekend.  We both agreed we were prepared, so we snapped on our skis and hoisted our packs onto our backs filled with our gear and food for the weekend.

We skied along the Zealand Falls access road through a camping area and eventually taking the Zealand Falls Trail to the hut. The skies remained clear through sunset, thankfully, as were officially benighted arriving at the hut by headlamp.  This of course was after a bit of back-tracking to find the trail to the hut, which requires a strenuous assault in your boots the final 600ft while carrying skis and poles.

Upon arrival we were greeted by the caretaker who was happy to have a few guests (we were the only ones at that point) and soon another fellow arrived on snowshoes. The hut was pretty chilly with temperatures dipping well into negative double digits on Friday night.  The ice on the inside of the windows of the bunkroom made us glad we had brought the warmest and heaviest sleeping bags we owned.  We prepared a quick meal including the infamous chocolate hut-cake that we made at the Betty Bear Hut in Colorado during our trip with Brandon and Kerry in celebration of Kerry’s Birthday.

Saturday morning was clear, but soon filled in with light snow and low cloud. We spent the morning at the hut getting our bearings and planning our day.  Once we realized there the fire was not lit in the hut during the day, we realized the best way to warm up was to head out for a ski.  We skied along the Appalachian Trail to Thoreau Falls enjoying lots of powder and occasional views to the valley below.

We arrived back at the hut to find the woodstove blazing, and a hut full of skiers and a few who came on snow shoes.  A group of 18 provided the entertainment for the evening.  They arrived in droves, pulling sleds filled with extra wood (they knew of the situation with no fire during the day, so they brought their own wood for a fire in the morning).  They also brought Valentine’s Day décor, a red and white table cloth, heart shaped napkins, candles, and wine glasses.  One fellow wore boxers with hearts over his long-johns!  As the evening wore on we were invited to stay for the Mexican meal the following night as they had extra food; they apologized that they would not have enough sombreros for us!  Apparently this is an annual affair for this group. We heard tales of previous trips which included a Hawaiian luau (grass skirts and all) and dinner followed by ballroom dancing (tuxes and strapless dresses of course).  And here we were cutting off the ends of our toothbrushes to save on weight!

We woke on Sunday to partly sunny skies that eventually cleared to bright sunny skies.  We skied home via the Spruce Goose Trail which was a delight. We had plenty of fresh snow, lightly tracked by a few skiers ahead of us.  The trail offers lots of ups and downs with a few downhills to keep things exciting as it winds through a scenic spruce forest.

Overall we were very pleased with the weekend. The conditions for skiing were fantastic and in the end, aside from some very cold temperatures in the bunkhouse and outhouse, the weather was great for skiing. We had clear skies and sunshine skiing both in and out, so we did pretty well for a “stormy weekend”.

Our monthly trip to the dump is a little more challenging with a foot of snow on the ground.

It's been a tough week or so for the cats. Sheri has been sick for over a week, so the woodstove has been running 24 hours a day for all that time!

Today we were both at home because of the snowstorm so they have also had my lap to sit on. For the record we received about 20″ of snow in the last 24 hours which may be a record for our place on Hangman Hill.

We are pleased to announce the winners of the “best-dressed Christmas Card” contest for 2014.  As usual we had lots of very good entries and there was some formidable competition for the last four places.  Shown below are our favorite four cards for Christmas 2014.  They were simply selected because they made us smile.

We spent Christmas and New Year at our chalet in New Hampshire, and had a very relaxing stay.  The weather wasn’t very cooperative, but we did manage to get in a few hikes (Middle Mountain, Town Hall Road) and two half-days on our cross-country skis (Eastern Pasture Loop at Jackson & Great Glen Trails).   We enjoyed ringing in the New year with Gene and Kathy Fiese and Kathy’s sister (Kristen).  Of course we ate and drank too much and even installed a new dishwasher too.

Happy New Year!  May your 2015 be happy, healthy, spent with family and friends, and filled with sunshine and fresh snow – whatever your pleasure.  Thanks to Gene, Kathy and Kristin for making the last day of 2014 such a good one!

Last night we enjoyed the annual Christmas in Song event at the Watch Hill Chapel with our friends Mark and Jen. This year it was unseasonably warm and we did not have to wear our thermal underwear or our hats and gloves in the Chapel. The bell ringers, choir and speakers were as good as previous years, and we enjoyed it immensely.