Black Mtn. Trail & Weekend Outlook - 1/23/26

Chirping birds and a light snowfall made for a peaceful, easy wiggle through the woods of Jackson this morning. After seeing a couple friends hit the trail this week I decided to scope it out and see what the "lower elevation" skiing looked like. 

The base was sufficient with a couple water bars mixed in the usual spots. All were passable, some smoothly while others required a little side slip. With the incoming freeze and snowfall, some will be filled in and easier to cross. I would still be hesitant to hit the woods as it is still low-ish tide out there below 2000'. Being a cut trail and not a glade I felt that my chances of hitting a snow snake were minimal. A couple sharks out there but nothing crazy. I have not been to Doublehead yet but would imagine it is in similar condition; getting there but not full green light.

Black Mountain Trail is classic New England skiing - a tight winding trail that flows with the mountain, not against it. The way skiing should be. I made my way up to the cabin and continued up to the summit as it has been trimmed in the last couple years. A little fresh show on top of a scratchy base made for fun skiing in spots with faster pitches in between. It's always nice to mix it up and get away from the usual morning routine.

Looking forward to the weekend, we have an arctic airmass coming in later today with a major storm that we are tracking Sunday into Monday. The cold will stick around through the weekend so make sure to bundle up and check on your buddies for frostbite. In typical January fashion, its a great time for a faceGlove. Swing by the shop for any last minute needs to keep you and your group warm on the hill!

As far as the storm goes, the final track will determine snow totals so don't count your chickens until they hatch when final maps are published. Up until now I have seen anything from 6" to 20+" for the North Conway area. According to our trusted meteorologist friend Charlie Lopresti, the storm appears to be shifting North which means good news for valley skiers. Perhaps Cardigan could be the place to be if the heaviest bands fall over the Lakes Region. 

Hope you all stay warm this weekend and find the goods come Sunday; fingers crossed this storm pushes us past our "base building" phase of the season and into the thick of it.

See you on the hill - Greg

An example of a larger water bar - a quick side slip and you're good to go

Midway up the trail - still some soft snow to be found on the sides

A nice little hallway a little bit above the cabin - a throwback to the good ol' days

First turns off the summit, no view of the higher summits this morning