JACKRABBIT SKI TRAIL - Old Mountain Road & McKenzie Pass sections.

 

Feb 8, 2024 - McKENZIE PASS ski via the JACKRABBIT TRAIL from Whiteface Inn Rd. A thin layer of powder on a firm base at the start. Climbed 500' in the first 1.1 miles with 2 or 3 washed out spots. Then the trail leveled out for a while & passed the Placid lean-to. 150' climb in 0.3 miles to the pass. Played on the slopes off-trail for a while - the shadier snow on the S side was nice & the sunnier N side was heavier/wetter. Went a bit down the other side & headed back down. Somewhat hairy at times but made it down upright. 5.4 miles, 787' el gain, 2.5 hours. Lower half had seen much use incl snowshoers & barebooters, upper section much less use. Temp rising into the low 40s, sunny.

Sunday, Feb 5, 2023 - From the end of Alstead Hill Rd. There is a large parking area just before the Rock & River building. The trail starts out relatively flat, entering the Sentinel Wilderness, then soon starts a long 2-mile climb gaining over 700'. Several beaver ponds are passed & the views of the cliffs & ice on the steep NW side of Pitchoff Mtn made for outstanding views. The good stuff lasts for 3.4 miles. After that, we were skiing the edge of a plowed road for a mile to Rt. 73 - not much fun altho there were some High Peak views. Picked up the Jackrabbit on the other side of the road. The route passes thru balsam firs & the tracks had a hint of iciness. Entered groomed trails & soon arrived at the Cascade Welcome Center, 1.5 miles from Rt. 73. Back the same way. The downhills were fun - 3 or 4 fairly steep spots. Trails were broken out the whole way. 11.8 miles, 5.6 hours. Ran into Tony Goodwin on the way down & had a brief chat.

Mar 11, 2013 - JACKRABBIT TRAIL & HAYSTACK MOUNTAIN.  From Whiteface Inn Ln, Lake Placid.  1st mile had snowmobile tracks - trail was closed 2 days ago to remove a recently crashed plane - story.  Placid Lean-to.  Off-trail to Haystack Mtn  - great view of the High Peaks - challenging coming down in tight woods with short steep drops, more open woods when closer to the Jackrabbit.  Down to slushy McKenzie Pond dropping close to 1,300'.  Climb back up to the pass was a bit of a slog (no need herringboning in the wet grippy snow), nice run down to the cars.  Temp close to 50F - very good skiing on soft wet snow.  Whitetail deer.  Over 2,000' of elevation change, 4.6 hours.

Mar 4, 2007 - JACKRABBIT TRAIL & HAYSTACK MOUNTAIN west of Lake Placid.  2'-3' of base with new powder in packed trail - sweet.  Snow showers, some sun, temp just under freezing.  From Whiteface Inn Rd gain 500' in 1.5 miles to Placid Leanto.  Level for a while before climbing 150' to the pass.  Headed off-trail to the S zigzagging up to a ridge then W along ridge thru beautiful woods to summit of Haystack - probably should have put the skins on for the climb but persisted without.  Views to Oseetah & Mirror Lakes.  Dropped 250' back the way we came down to Jackrabbit ( the other 3 sides of Haystack are super steep).  Drop 950' in 1.5 miles (intermediate+ in good conditions) to trail jctn & take a R to McKenzie Pond.  Looking up from the pond, Haystack's summit 1,200' above looked like an impossibility.  Back up to the pass with minimal herringboning (added some kick wax to ski bases fore & aft of nowax kick zone).  Run back to the car just absolute fun.  1,850' elevation change, 8.5 miles, 5.9 hours.  Fischer Outtabounds skis love to go downhill. 

Mar 6, 2005 - JACKRABBIT TRAIL . From Whiteface Inn Rd in Lake Placid west to McKenzie Pond & back. Trail is an old logging road/fire trail & so is wide; turns are gentle. Temp just under freezing - snowing all the time we were out - 20"-30" already on the ground, trail "groomed" by previous skiers. Gain 500' in 1.5 miles to Placid Leanto. Trail levels out for a mile & then climbs to the top of McKenzie Pass (650' gain from start). The trail now drops 950' in 1.5 miles & is a blast in good snow conditions - this is no harder than the "Most Difficult" trails at Garnet Hill (Skullbuster, Duffany's) & a lot easier than coming down from Avalanche Pass; there are no sharp curves & just a few bumps - advanced intermediate. Steepness moderates occasionally for a quick breather. I do some tele turns, some sideplows & some just straight ahead "point 'em downhill" skiing. Took a R turn at a light blue sign & soon arrived at McKenzie Pond - skied up the E shore a bit to find a good lunch spot. I was able to ski back up to the pass without herringboning or skins (did see some folks using both techniques tho) - even went back down a ways a couple of times for seconds. A ravine is to the N. Rest of trip was relatively easy with a sweet run down over the last 0.8 miles - intermediate. 8.5 miles, 1,650'++, 4.8 hrs. Fischer Outtabounds Crown skis, Rottefella Chili bindings, Garmont Excursion plastic boots. Experimented with Maxiglide XC Quick Wax on the grip pattern to keep warm snow from sticking & Swix V42 blue wax (for "new & fine-grained snow 14°F to 32°F") on rest of ski base to improve grip & glide.

Feb 3, 2003 - JACKRABBIT TRAIL, E end, from the end of Alstead Hill Rd in Keene. Smooth, wide intermediate trail - packed powder with dusting of new snow. Fair climb with occasional leveling off but not much need to herringbone. Beaver ponds along the way allow for great views of Pitchoff Mt.'s steep N side with icy cliffs. From height of land, nice view E to Vermont. Wonderful sundog on return - like a circular rainbow around the sun. 5 miles, almost 700' elevation gain (& loss), 1.75 hrs. Karhu Pyxis with plastic boots & Super Tele bindings.

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