20 Mars 2007 -- Round Top backcountry (Sutton, QC)

[BigJay]

20 Mars 2007 -- Round Top backcountry (Sutton, QC)

par BigJay » Mer Mars 21, 2007 2:00 pm

Désolé pour l'anglais mais j'ai posté originalement sur un forum de backcountry anglophone... Enjoy!

What a day!

I've been sitting at home for the past 2 months watching snow storms coming in and leaving blankets of white all over the mountains. I was out since February after getting surgery on my right shoulder and only had permission to snowshoe on gentle slopes and small mountains.

Saturday i went to Sutton and climbed to the Round Top via the snowshoe trail (orange track on the map). The storm from the night before left 12-14in of very light snow. The next night, they received about the same amount of snow as the previous night... so i knew conditions would be optimal.

[img:1024:768]http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w100/BigJayVT/Winter/060320_SuttonQc/IMG_2194.jpg[/img]

[img:1024:768]http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w100/BigJayVT/Winter/060320_SuttonQc/IMG_2193.jpg[/img]

[img:1024:576]http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w100/BigJayVT/Winter/060320_SuttonQc/IMG_2199.jpg[/img]

Tuesday morning arrives:

I grabbed my stuff and headed out for a "touring" ride... I wasn't looking at riding... more at checking out various spots around the area for future BC adventures that will have to wait for next year...

[img:1024:576]http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w100/BigJayVT/Winter/060320_SuttonQc/IMG_2226.jpg[/img]

The snowshoeing trail is generally pretty tracked... but with the 4in they got overnight, it was perfect for touring! It made for an easy climb and i was able to venture out a bit of the track because i knew that when i would come back to the trail, it would be easy again. This little sign is getting buried at the bottom... It normally stands 36-40in of the ground:

[img:1024:576]http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w100/BigJayVT/Winter/060320_SuttonQc/IMG_2202.jpg[/img]

The track was getting filled in pretty fast with the blowing winds:

[img:1024:576]http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w100/BigJayVT/Winter/060320_SuttonQc/IMG_2203.jpg[/img]

But it was a pretty nice trail to skin on:

[img:1024:576]http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w100/BigJayVT/Winter/060320_SuttonQc/IMG_2208.jpg[/img]

This zone is protected and preserved environnement... WHy do they "stab" and paint trees with such "un-environnemental" paint? I don't know!

[img:1024:576]http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w100/BigJayVT/Winter/060320_SuttonQc/IMG_2209.jpg[/img]

This was a fun steep and short section... things were opening up:

[img:1024:576]http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w100/BigJayVT/Winter/060320_SuttonQc/IMG_2210.jpg[/img]

And a few steps later, i was finally getting some altitude!

[img:1024:576]http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w100/BigJayVT/Winter/060320_SuttonQc/IMG_2211.jpg[/img]

Just a short distance ahead, i got to a frozen lake with a good view of the summit. I guess, this is why we climb:

[img:1024:576]http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w100/BigJayVT/Winter/060320_SuttonQc/IMG_2217.jpg[/img]

[img:1024:576]http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w100/BigJayVT/Winter/060320_SuttonQc/IMG_2214.jpg[/img]

[img:1024:576]http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w100/BigJayVT/Winter/060320_SuttonQc/IMG_2213.jpg[/img]

And i found the trail to be pretty "narrow" at some spots travelling between the pines.

[img:1024:576]http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w100/BigJayVT/Winter/060320_SuttonQc/IMG_2219.jpg[/img]

I then bushwacked my way up the mountain to find some decent inclined and open areas:

[img:1024:576]http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w100/BigJayVT/Winter/060320_SuttonQc/IMG_2221.jpg[/img]

[img:1024:576]http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w100/BigJayVT/Winter/060320_SuttonQc/IMG_2222.jpg[/img]

...and got back on the trail again. There are some nice features in this trail... some are burried under snow... Like this bridge over the open stream... Crossing it was hard... just narrow enough for both skis to rub a bit

[img:1024:576]http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w100/BigJayVT/Winter/060320_SuttonQc/IMG_2224.jpg[/img]

And then i found my sign that i had to go down at some point! This signs shows the different ways to access the steep summit... i didn't need to go there today... I was up there on saturday after all...

[img:1024:576]http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w100/BigJayVT/Winter/060320_SuttonQc/IMG_2225.jpg[/img]

I pretty much hiked all around the area and ventured out of the trail to explore lines that are just far enough from the resort not to be skied on frequently. It looks like some people are actually cutting down stuff during summer because some lines are just too obvious to be natural...

My ride down had to be really safe as i couldn't afford to fall! So i did a few turns in the wood heading slowly back to the trail. The snow was really light... almost champagne like... But i had to come to my senses and head back to the ski trail for a smooth and careful ride down the mountain...

Even tough the ride down was pretty lame, i still had a grin on my face... going back to the slopes seemed un-thinkable not so long ago... now i can rest again and know that i'll be back next season and will really venture around this area as it is very worth discovering!

Enjoy the rest of winter, i might ride Mt-Washington in late-april, early-may but this ride was just enough to satisfy my need for pow!


[img:1023:1019]http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c114/veloepic/Divers/Sutton_20Mars07_Report.jpg[/img]