John Sherburne Ski Trail - 11/16/25

Guest Blog by Caitlin Kelly 

Skinned up the Sherb around 12:00pm on Sunday afternoon. Conditions were fairly thin until Ryan's Rock (lots of leaves and small rocks, but still enough snow for skinning). As I traveled farther uphill, winter set in more and more. 

By Crossover #7/the lower emergency cache, the trail was completely covered and was skiing very well based on the hoots and hollers from all of the skiers coming down. Up higher the waterbars are still fully open and running.

It is full on WINTER up at Hermit Lake. The wind was blowing hard and the storm was coming in. Visibility was low, but I was graced with a quick peek up into Hillmans as the sky cleared and the clouds broke. 

I said hello to Caretaker Jimmy and Emylee, and friends Gretchen and Z were not too far behind me. I delivered some molasses cookies and we transitioned to skiing.

There is a significant rain/ice crust at lower elevations, but all of the skier traffic from the day broke it up by the afternoon. At the top it's still a bit noticeable, but we managed to make some really nice turns, with the wind blowing in fresh snow for us.

There are still plenty of early-season hazards (rocks, brush, etc.) but our group managed to ski all the way to the car with only minor shuffling on the last few turns. Happy winter!!