| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Pico Peak, VT |
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 | Trails: |
Bushwhack, access road, ski trails, Pico Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, February 27, 2016 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked in the upper Snowshed lots at Killington (about a third of a mile roadwalk; may be room to park across the road in the summer, but not plowed right now). Lots (Snowshed and Rams Head) were nearing capacity late morning and were full by early afternoon. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
I completely underestimated this factor, thinking the access road would either avoid the brook (one did, but the entrance is No Trespassing) or would have a bridge from the transformer (nope). Brook was high and the ice bridge was slush, so I had to go down to the main road and carefully bushwhack up the brook to avoid the posted sign. There's also a water crossing when taking the traverse to the base of Ram's Head, which I suspect normally isn't an issue, but was open and running a bit high. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
I had been meaning to try this approach for awhile: taking the never-opened interconnect ski trail from the Killington Access Road to Pico.
The ascent starts across the brook from a transformer just north of the Rams Head base area. Getting across the brook was an issue today due to the recent weather.
Once across the brook, the trail initially had about 3" of powder. The steepest portion is a few hundred vertical feet up, which is also near where sidecountry skiers depart. Snowshoes ideal.
At just under 2,800 feet in elevation, snowcat tracks enter from a cutover from the Rams Head complex. The trail is also a bit more exposed to the elements above this point, so there was some boiler plate like conditions to deal with. Not too far above that, the sparse skier traffic all but disappears.
Perhaps the only borderline bony area, due to snowcats, was at the hairpin turn where the Sherburne Pass Trail crosses.
The Pico Spur crosses just before the height of land. I continued on the interconnect on my way up, which actually descends soon thereafter and empties onto narrow downhill ski trails, which I generally took for the last 350 vertical. I believe this ended up being about 2.8 or 2.9 miles one way.
Though there are no expansive viewpoints due to infrastructure and trees, there are a few good views back at Killington/Mendon and up to the Chittenden Reservoir. I also suspect there may be a small view ledge a little southwest of the summit, but I didn't seek it out.
To avoid some of the narrow ski trails, I initially descended on the Pico Spur, which had about 6" of powder. Snowshoes were fine for the descent. I then took the interconnect back down to about 2,650 in elevation, then took a trail or woods road downhill to a brook adjacent to the Ram's Head ski trails, crossed, and descended in glades alongside the ski trail down to the novice slope.
All and all a nice route with lots of views along the way. |
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 | Name: |
rocket21 |
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 | E-Mail: |
rocket21@franklinwebpublishing.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2016-02-27 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.newenglandskihistory.com/skiareaexpansions/Vermont/killington/interconnect.php |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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