Crust Cruising & the Icarus Rule

Sunny spring days and cold, clear nights. Assuming there’s still snow on the ground, this is the perfect season for crust cruising. Pack your skate skis and arrive at the trail shortly before sunrise. If the groomer made it out last night, you may find some icy corduroy on the trail. Today though, you’re heading away from the groomed trails to explore the snow-covered landscape.

Head out in any direction on the crust

Some of my most memorable adventures have been crust cruising. 

Skiing 60 km in the Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota, for example. In one day, you can ski the same distance that it would take an entire week to paddle in a canoe. And the portages that take hours to shuttle gear? They are packed hard by dog sleds in the winter and make for some fun double-pole single-track skiing.

How about skiing into a volcano? Head to Mt Bachelor outside of Bend, Oregon. From there, you can ski around 10 km up and into Broken Top mountain. The eroding crater of this former volcano makes a perfect bowl to play in on skis before descending back to the ski area. This ski is a popular part of the US Ski Team’s spring training camp.

In Australia, the Kangaroo Hoppet Worldloppet Marathon takes place at Falls Creek resort. Beyond the groomed trails lie the Bogong High Plains in Alpine National Park, extending as far as the eye can see and offering stunning views of the lush valley below. After skiing through groves of snow gum trees, the high plains take you above treeline and you can ski into bowls where you can see nothing but white snow and blue skies.

Afternoon snow starting to get soft

As much fun as crust cruising can be, remember the Icarus Rule. The sun will eventually turn the crust to slush. I found myself practically walking the last 5 km of a crust cruise last weekend. What took less than 15 minutes to ski in the early morning took close to an hour to slog through after lunch. Even the riller I brought to add structure as the conditions warmed couldn’t help. Still, it was well worth it for the adventure, but next time I’ll be turning back a little earlier.

Want to experience crust cruising for yourself? Lumi's August & September 2022 trips to Australia and New Zealand could both have good late-season crust cruising.

See you on the trail … or out on the crust!
Garrott Kuzzy
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