[ragman and rodman]

wildernessed did this trip as a snowshoe at the end of December... and don b responded to the trip report saying that it was a good ski tour. I parked at the Mineral Springs restaurant (~2700') after getting an okay from the owner... then walked north on the highway for an eighth of a mile to FS9738... fully expecting to find a nicely groomed road. My heart sank a bit when I got to FS9738 and found that it had not been groomed... causing me to consider going back to the car and driving to Amabilis Mtn. Then I remembered that there was a connector road to FS9738 from the Mineral Springs Campground... so I decided to ski an eighth of a mile to where the connector road met FS9738... just to see if by chance the grooming started there... and lo and behold, the road had been groomed. At 3 miles (~3600') FS9738 junctions with FS9702... where I took 9702 for another 5 miles to the summer parking lot for Red Top Mtn... removed my skis and post-holed the last quarter mile to the summit (5631')... finding an outstanding view of the Stuart Range. Most of the 8 mile ski back to the highway was fast and exhilarating... and I second don b's opinion that this a good ski tour... especially for intermediate-level skiers. I didn't see anyone else on this trip... the road system is groomed for snowmobilers and not skiers... and is very popular with snowmobilers on the weekends. ~16 miles roundtrip, gaining ~2800 feet of elevation. GPS route and photos of my XC ski trip to Red Top Mountain. ..

[Flora]

I've been on that road (with a vehicle). It would be a quick down hill on skis! Nice area. Thanks.

[Type E]

That trip looks very familiar. E

[jyojt]

nice, thats quite a trip this time of year. those views had to be awesome with all the work you put in to get there. much more appreciated then with driving up in summer

[BarbE]

[wildernessed]

That was our route, we went up the ridge just to the N of Blue Creek. Great views !