Expect to see logging at Dutch Hill this winter
A long-planned timber harvest is finally occurring at Dutch Hill starting this winter. Skiers, riders, sledders, snowshoers and others will still be allowed to use the terrain, but as always, it’s use at your own risk. The logging operations throw some additional risks into the equation, so be alert and be safe out there.
This timber harvest isn’t a surprise. It’s been part of the US Forest Service master plan for the area since 2014, before backcountry skiing was proposed by the founders of DHASH. It was just the timing that wasn’t pinned down. Now it is.
Allowing backcountry skiing in the Green Mountain National Forest as an activity that co-exists with timber harvesting is a model that has been used before. Our sister CTA Chapter, the Ridgeline Outdoor Collective in central Vermont, formerly known as RASTA, has already experienced this sharing of terrain between skiers and loggers. It’s do-able.
At Dutch Hill, the section that will be most impacted is downhill from the Legal Trail, which is the town-owned right-of-way that crosses the mountain north to south about one-third of the way up the slope. It's the trail that is used by snowmobiles in winter. The entire section downhill from that road and across the width of the former ski area has been designated as a harvest zone, meaning all our uptracks and all our ski slopes cross the work area. We don’t expect the top two-thirds of the former ski area to be significantly impacted, although some logging equipment may cross through that region to travel between harvest zones. The track to the true summit could also be impacted.
Areas where the loggers haven’t done any work will still be skiable. But where they have felled trees or done other forestry work, you will have to pick your way very carefully. Be alert for tree tops and other woody debris on the ground that could be covered by subsequent snowstorms. Snow conditions may hide traps that could catch your ski tips or whack you in the shins or even worse. And please, just stay away from sections where the loggers are actively working. If you hear equipment – stay clear! They may be using chainsaws. They may be using large machines to fell trees and to haul the logs out. They certainly won’t hear you and may not see you. It’s your responsibility to stay out of their way.
This can be a win-win situation. In addition to harvesting timber, the work contract includes repairing the erosion on the Dyke and on Dutchman’s Holiday, creating some large wildlife openings, clearing some dense patches of small, unhealthy beech, and other things aimed at improving forest health, all of which might create skiable terrain with little or no work on our part.
Be extra careful this season, alert to the new hazards. Expect things to look different after the harvest. We don’t know exactly what it will be like, but we’ll be eager to explore any new possibilities that the work opens up. |
