A bit of a difference in the weather department from last Sunday’s Worcester outing to yesterday’s Mt. Ellen adventure. Five of us in total and the day was about as warm as can be for mid-January in Vermont. All was well, or so we thought, as we made our way to the summit of FIS, highest point on Mt. Ellen for skiers. The trail opens up quite wide and we were met by several skiers, little and big ones alike!, make their way down. So we simply followed their tracks. And ended up not at the summit as planned, but in the middle of the ski hill! What to do? Stay as far to the right as possible, to avoid the boarders and skiers. We got a few curious looks, a lot of stares, a few smiles and one woman yelling, “What country are you guys from anyway?”.

Hit the summit (which is in the woods a bit off trail) and then debated what the best course of action (trail) was for our descent minus going back the same route we took, with those coming off the mountain on sticks (or one stick) now at our backs. Before we disappeared into the woods completely, this skier stopped and was absolutely fascinated by what we were doing, how we got up, how we were going back, where our car was, how long it was going to take us, etc. He insisted on taking our picture. The scenery was so frozen at the summit (but mind you, the temps were still mild at this elevation) and absolutely stunning, and the sun was not out yet. After a bit of a bushwack, and seeing some blazes here and there, we met up with two skiers who were headed up and a bit lost themselves….they described Kathy (who had left us early on) and said the trail was pretty close. Lo and behold, we popped out where we first met up with the skiers on the trail! All was good! A bit of an adventure on another fabulous GMC Burlington section outing!

Submitted by Robynn Albert, with Phil Hazen, Kathy Adams, Bill Moore, Miguel Bosse.

Photo credit to Mary Keenan for Worcester Mtn. and Phil Hazen for Mt. Ellen