I was totally unaware of the log bridge under the trail I just skied across. Charlie and Al had done some reconnaissance work on the trail after the first snowfall and realized that the narrow chasm below the bridge was a potential hazard if someone skied downhill from the bridge.
Interestingly, the snow fall at that point forms a bank or drift on the upstream side of where the bridge is. As a consequence, skiers following the trail, naturally end up skiing below the bridge, over the creek. From the photo, you can see that the ski tracks were over the 10 foot chasm formed by the creek below as evidenced by the blue pole pushed in to its full length!
Last Friday, Al, Charlie, and Eric skied into the Water Tower trail to post blue poles to keep skiers over the bridge, above the chasm. This required digging out the snowbank to correct the ski trail that had already been worn into the snow. Six blue poles were then lined along the lower edge of the bridge. Three split boarders unwittingly demonstrated the effectiveness of the blue pole funnel when they passed by on their way to Todd Ridge.
This photo shows the bridge between markers 83 and 84 on the Water Tower trail. The drop-off to the water is clearly visible. Although future trail modifications will eliminate this crossing, blue poles were installed on both sides of the bridge to keep skiers centered over the bridge in case of bad weather. Sue Sullivan expects that the bypass route around the bridge will be fully marked in the near future.
Photo by Laura Seaver (before blue poles!)
