40 miles RT
Elevation gain: at least 2500 feet

There are more difficult ASS skis around (heck, just try Doug Reid's "Chiwawa 100," an attempt to ski 100 miles of ASS routes in a single day), but you won't find them in this guide. Call this site the guide for wimpy-ASS skiers.

Whatever. To get to French Corral from the Fish Lake Sno-Park, take the Beaver Creek Loop (ASS trip #13) to USFS junction N. Then turn right onto USFS route 7D. Then ski down a ways, and then up, then down, and then up again and again. And again. Until you reach French Corral. From here you are about 20 miles from the car. I say "about" because I don't ski this trip very often, and when I do figuring out the exact mileage is not exactly top of mind. Surviving is. And finding oxygen for my starving lungs. (Taking the camera also does not occur to me, as you can tell from this excess verbiage and the absence of many pretty pictures).

From French Corral you can turn around and enjoy a net elevation loss of 2200 feet back to the car. Or first, you can ski around the groomed trails in the Sugarloaf Mountain area. The one time I did these trails they were magnificent. But I have a sample size of 1. Maybe the Plain Valley Nordic Team will get up there someday – they're young and strong – and tell me.

Gliding along Route 7D - which goes on forever (ok, about 10.3 miles) toward French Corral.It's dark because you have to get up early to haul your ass up this ASS route.


It is beautiful skiing, but then, every ASS trip is absolutely gorgeous. That's why it's so addictive. Most people don't have to go all the way to French Corral for their fix, however.