Downhill at Cochran’s Ski Hill in Richmond
Jakobi and I finally got on the slopes this winter. It has been 2 years since Jakobi put on her ski’s and we decided to hit up Cochrane’s Ski Hill for the $5 Friday Nights Lights. We arrived to an empty parking lot at 3pm and hit the bunny hill for a few runs so Jakobi could reacquaint herself with her skis before taking the T Bar to the top.
It being the first $5 Friday plus with the pandemic nothing else to do the parking lot soon filled up and overflowed. The lines for the rope tow and the T Bar both extended to the parking lot and I had never seen it so crowded. Of course there were the legions of toddlers on skis with their parents but they were joined by high school and college age packs who partied in the parking lot between runs,
Jakobi and I skied until 5pm then took our dinner on the tailgate of our truck in the parking lot as cars continued to file in unloading more skiers to replace the ones who had gotten their $5’s worth and were calling it a day. After din-din we headed back to the slope and even took a turn on the high speed rope tow on the big hill. Jakobi is a way more cautious skier this time around no longer bombing to the bottom of the hill but working on her turns. I find the big hill at Cochranes to be perfect for my preferred style of skiing. I found fresh corduroy on every run and the slope is just steep enough to let me ski free and fast carving delicious turns on the groomer tracks. I could have done this all night if the T-Bar wasn’t stopping 5x’s each ascent to deal with some mishap or another behind or in front of us. The lift lines were still reaching the parking lot at 6:30pm and we decided to call it a good night and head home.
Cross Country at Eagle Ledge in Worcester
It snowed all day Saturday and Sunday, a mix of heavy wet snow, sleet and then fluffy powder. Colleen took me on a morning ski down Eagle Ledge to the Elmore Line where she then took me on a new trail that climbs a ridge between Eagle Ledge Trail and Shepard Hill Trail.
She has skied this trail several times but it was my first and it showed me how intricate and rolling the land is just off the trail. Lots of little creeks and gorges in the beautiful spot.
We skied almost 4 miles in just under 2 hours and then it was home to breakfast.
