Please Stay off the trails until we have time to assess them.
What a winter, it was cold, it was warm, it was windy, it was snowy….
And now Springtime has us excited for trail time - stay tuned on our social media channels and website news feed for spring clean up needs. Some sections of the mountain got hit hard and had a lot of trees fall down across the trails. Ascutney Chronicles posted a short instagram video of trees down on the Windsor trail to give you an idea of work that needs to be done. Hikers please check Trail Finder for Summit-bound trail status before you head out to the trailhead. ATA also has trail status posted on our Trail Conditions page.
Chainsaw Safety Training
Given the amount of trees down and the need for chainsaws to clear the trails safely, ATA is contracting with Northeast Woodland Training to host a Level 1 and Level 2 Game of Logging chainsaw training course on April 29th and 30th. The course is limited to 10 participants and is $175 for ATA members and $350 for non-members. Read more or sign-up.
Trail Building and Trail Re-openings
ATA is brimming with excitement for the green season on the trails. We have another great year of trail projects on tap. We are very fortunate to have Avery Mornis employed to design and build mountain bike trail projects for ATA. Avery is a professional trail builder who spent the past 7 years working for Sinuosity Flowing Trails and we can’t be more excited to reap the benefits of having his expertise and experience. Stay tuned for more updates on what Jim and Avery will be working on in the coming months.
Powderhorn Trail Company will be back to build two more flow trails at our highest elevation for mountain biking on the mountain. Due to the steep pitch of the hill, these flow trails will be for advanced riders, and trail features will be top notch. Not to forget the climbing trail that gets you there: Jim Lyall and our crew of volunteers worked hard last year to hand build almost 2 miles of new trail that steadily gets you to the top of the flow trails. Powderhorn will help out with some dirt mining and benching on some of the ski trails so Jim can put the finishing touches on another masterpiece.
Grand Reopening of Blue Dipper, Mile Long Field Trail, Cathy’s Crossing and more! These much-loved beginner and intermediate trails, which were closed a number of years ago by the previous landowners, will be making a triumphant return! We are incredibly fortunate to have generous new landowners - a huge thank you to Glenn and Shelley Seward for reopening the trails. Check the ATA Events Calendar for trail days or contact trails@ascutneytrails.com to see how you can help us prepare these trails for use again..
Events Calendar
Check out our updated ATA events calendar! Here you can find month-by-month ATA events so you can plan your fun times on the mountain including hiking, biking, backcountry snow events, as well as volunteer opportunities. For Example:
Ascutney Day Saturday May 27th 10AM - 2PM
Join us at the Stone Hut site for refreshments and a celebration of the trails to the summit.
Member Meeting
Our ATA Annual Member Meeting is on Wednesday June 7, 2023 at 6 PM at the Windsor Welcome Center, located on 3 Railroad Ave in Windsor, VT. The Annual Meeting is a great opportunity to learn more about ATA and vote for new board members. We have a few board positions open, contact info@ascutneytrails.com if you are interested in working on the board - we’d love to hear from you (especially if you have interest/expertise in communications and working with our social media channels).
Memberships
If you haven’t done so already, it’s time to join or renew your ATA membership through VMBA. Your membership plays vital roles in sustaining our trail community. Consider getting add-on VMBA memberships for other chapters as well.
Donate to Trail Management
Non-membership donations can be made to ATA on our donation page or through the VMBA site (scroll to the bottom for donations directly to ATA).
ATA is also a member of 1% for the planet and Benevity. If your employer uses either platform, consider donating through them to get a company match to increase your donation to ATA. A little goes a long way, and every little bit helps!
Donations and Membership dues pay for things like ski trail mowing the backcountry hills above the T-bar, Volunteer trail day food and year end celebrations, tools, building materials and employee salaries, just to name a few.
Volunteering
Check the event calendar and social media for volunteering opportunities like trail days and event help. Don't forget to keep track of your time, when you enter your hours ATA will send your hours to VMBA to be entered in monthly prize drawings. So, enter your hours here!
Tuesday Night Trail Ride/Thursday Night Gravel Ride
In an effort to save website fees and keep things moving smoothly for everyone, please login to the ascutneytrails.com website and subscribe to the Blog. Click the down arrow next to your name, click Settings, More and Settings one more time then click subscribe on the Blog Subscription line. Once subscribed you’ll automatically receive notifications from the website that a new ride has been posted. Otherwise, you will not get an automatic email and will have to go to the website to find out where the Tuesday or Thursday night ride will meet. Thanks for your support and understanding.
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