A Very Good Ski Day – Jackson XC

PHOTO: Ski across a covered bridge that spans the Ellis River at Jackson XC. Jackson XC is located in the heart of the Village of Jackson and has 150 kilometers of trails for cross country skiing and snowshoeing. The Nordic Center has a rental shop and a ski school. Please visit JacksonXC.org to Know Before You Go!

by Amy Patenaude
Outdoor/Ski Writer

Winter is half over folks!
Groundhog Day celebrates the midpoint between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox.
No matter if the little beast sees his shadow or not Winter still continues! The good news is the second half of winter is always the best!
I love February.
The conditions this month have really shaped up. There is plenty of snow on the trails due to multiple storms the past few weeks. And the days are getting longer too!
Charlie and I went to Jackson XC to cross country ski last Saturday afternoon. The touring center is smack in the middle of the Village of Jackson and is located in the building that doubles as the summer clubhouse for the Wentworth Golf Club.
We purchased our trail pass outside at the ticket window and off we went. We saw lots of people of all ages and families with children spaced out on the gentle trails located on the surrounding golf course. It was a great day to be out skiing.
Jackson’s has over 50 trails on 150 kilometers and a great variety of terrain and scenic vistas to see and explore. Groomed for classic and skate techniques, sometimes it is hard to decide where to go. We were tempted to ski along the Ellis River but it was such a nice day we opted to search for the grand mountain vistas.
Charlie and I started from the Touring Center’s Central Village Trails and we skied up the Yodel Trail to the Upper Village Trails. We know these trails well from racing in their White Mountain Marathon.

We then skied around the Eagle Mountain Fields, across from the Eagle Mountain House. We looped around the Henry Trail and The Wave before heading further up the Wildcat Valley and Woodchuck Fields. We skied in the valley between Eagle and Spruce Mountains on the west side and Black Mountain on the east. Looking up the Wildcat Valley our eyes were filled with the view of Carter’s Notch Gap formed by the big White Mountains peaks Wildcat and Carter Dome.
After we made our way back to the Touring Center we decided to ski around the Wentworth Resort Trail then across the resort’s famous red covered bridge and do a loop over the Troll Trail.
On the lower section of the Troll Trail a Jackson Ski Instructor was coaching four
kindergarteners. The children happened to be all dressed in different bright colors and looked like a line of Skittles going up the hill. As we skied by them we could hear them giggling and the instructor telling them to keep their heads and hands up.

I should mention that the Jackson XC trails pass by over two dozen Inns and restaurants. Charlie and I skied over 13 miles in about two hours. We zoomed along and I was happily worn out. My reward for my effort was a stop at the J-Town Deli for a #2, my favorite, their turkey and bacon wrap sandwich.
One More Thing: the Olympics give people that don’t follow winter sports a chance to discover them. I pay attention to ski racing, Nordic & Alpine, all season long. The Games are just one more ski race for me to watch. I don’t appreciate the hype when someone doesn’t “perform” as expected. It is racing. That is why we hold the race, we don’t have a winner until after the race is run. After the Olympics are over I will continue to watch our USA skiers compete on the World Cup and cheer for their success. I hope you will too.
Have fun.