Back to Back Weekends at Pine Hill XC Ski Club
My buddy Mister Jay and I went to check out Pine Hill XC Ski Club in New London, New Hampshire last Sunday and had a blast. We only got a chance to explore half the trails so we returned again to explore some of the trails we missed the first time.
The first day was sunny and warm with bright blue skies. When we arrived at the parking lot there were already a lot of people on the trails.
We made our way to the kiosk where we paid our $15 trail fee and tried to find a route for the day. We noticed on the map that there was a hut at one end of the trail system so we decided to make that our first destination.
| Date: | 02-21-2021 & 02-27-2021 |
| Location: | New London, NH |
| Distance: | 4.14 mi & 5.25mi |
| Fee/Pass | $15 |
| Elevation Gain: | 186′ & 171″ |
| Total Time: | 4 hr 2min 3 hr 49 min |
| Parking: | 10+ cars |
| Difficultly Rating: | Easy, Moderate, Difficult |
Many of the trails to the hut were rated “blue” or intermediate. This meant that there were be some down hills and I’m not great at stopping or turning on these skis yet.
The terrain varied with uphills and down hills. All of them were manageable although they did push my comfort zone a bit. The Moon trail was fun and goes across a pond. This was a nice flat trail with great snow conditions.
We kept going along the Schlosser Schuss trail to the hut. The last hill to the hut is a bit steep and I’m glad there was a bit of a run off at the end. I made it though.
After taking a break and having a quick drink we made out way back to try some other trails. We went back to where we left the Moon trail and continued around the pond to Grand Junction and started making our way to Salsa. A black Dimond trail.
From here my buddy continued and I turned back thinking this was beyond my level. So we took different paths back and met up back up in the parking lot.
With a number of trails still left to explore we decided to go back and check them out. So a week later we went back.
The weather was looking like snow in the morning and rain in the afternoon so we decided to get an early start. When we arrived to the ski club the gate was still locked. So we took the flat Sundown trail on the other side of the street.
This continued in a big 2.5 mile horseshoe shape and brought us back into the main trail system. New snow was falling all morning long and made for some great skiing.
We made it to Grand Junction and decided the best route for us was to go over Salsa. The black Dimond. I figured if things got sketchy I could just take off my skis and walk.
Salsa was not to bad. I was able to keep my skis on the whole time. Although there were some areas I was glad I was going up instead of down.
From Salsa we hit Cascade and down Andys Alley to Sutton. By now it was getting warmer and the snow was turning to sleet and rain. The snow was starting to stick to the skis a bit so we made our way back to the lot.
Mister Jay decided hit a few more small Black Dimond trails along the way and I continued down the Sutton trail to the vehicles.
Both days at this place were very different weather and snow wise but both days were really fun. The trails are kept in great condition. These trails offer a variety of terrain and are great to learn on. I will defiantly be coming back to this trail network.
One of the coolest things about this network is there are a number of Mooses with Mustaches along the trail with very “punny” names that match their outfits and personalties.
Mooses with Mustaches and Moose Puns along the trials
