Starting from the plowed parking lot, we did a counter-clockwise loop by first visiting a warming hut known as Dacha (Russian for "country house" or "cottage") at the northeast corner of the ski area.  From there, we headed westward to try and tag the area's high point along the advanced-rated trail known as Sunshine.  Unfortunately, Sunshine was not groomed on this day, but we put our climbing skins on and broke trail up to the high point anyway.  After taking our skins off and returning to the groomed trails, we circled around the west side of the ski area and completed the loop by skiing past Marshall Lake and back to our starting point.  Although we saw a few other skiers toward the end of our loop, the trails were mostly deserted on this day, and we really treasured the quiet and solitude of the area.

	Zosia enters the cross-country ski trail network at Marshall Lake.
	Zosia climbs along Grandview trail.
	Zosia arrives at Dacha warming hut.
	Sonny stands beside the entrance to the hut.  Note the old school 3-pin bindings on the skis flanking the door. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Inside the hut, Zosia puts more grip wax on her ski.
	Zosia and Sonny pose with their "x-country" skis outside the hut.
	Sonny cruises the "Freeway". Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	It appears that Sunshine trail has not been groomed in quite some time.
	Zosia reaches Sunshine High Point (1449 metres) which is the highest point in the trail network.
	Zosia retraces her tracks back along Sunshine trail.
	Zosia picks up speed on a downhill section near the west end of the trail network.
	Zosia glides past Marshall Lake.
	Sonny stops by a picnic shelter near Marshall Lake. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Total Distance:  6.0 kilometres Round-Trip Time:  2 hours 51 minutes Net Elevation Gain to Sunshine High Point:  61 metres GPX Data

Since Zosia and I finished early at Marshall Lake, we decided to pay a visit to nearby Phoenix Ski Area which is a small downhill ski resort operated by the Phoenix Mountain Alpine Ski Society.  The resort was closed on this day, and the area was deserted except for some tourists from Hawaii who were leaving just as we arrived.  They had hiked up to the top of the ski hill before descending on their snowboards, and Zosia and I decided to do likewise with our AT ski gear.  We proceeded to skin up a couple of intermediate ski runs known as Bobcat and Upper Montezuma.  The latter is quite steep near the top of the resort's T-bar lift, and the snow was crusty enough there to give me a bit of trouble on my climb.  When we arrived at the top of the T-bar lift, I checked my GPS device and was surprised to learn that there was a named summit--Deadman Hill--only a short distance away.  The summit of Deadman Hill is not noticeably higher than the top of the T-bar lift, and it did not require much extra effort to tag it.

After backtracking to the top of the T-bar lift, we removed our skins and skied back to the base area via an easy run known as Lizard.  By now, a large group had arrived and were tobogganing the lower slopes near the base area.  Apparently, the resort sees a fair bit of traffic even when it is closed!

Satisfied with our accomplishments for the day, Zosia and I packed up our gear and drove to the town of Midway where we checked into a hotel for the night.

	Zosia switches from light touring to AT ski gear at the Phoenix Ski Area parking lot.
	Zosia climbs alongside the rope tow near the base area.  The intermediate ski run ahead of her is known as Bobcat.
	Sonny continues to grind his way up the ski run known as Upper Montezuma. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia arrives at the top of the T-bar lift.
	Zosia climbs over a snow drift on her way to the gazetted summit of Deadman Hill (not visible here).
	Zosia and Sonny stand on the gazetted summit of Deadman Hill (1497 metres).
	Zosia makes her way back to the top of the T-bar lift.
	Zosia cruises down the easy ski run known as Lizard.
	Sonny rips down Lizard with ease. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	The base area is within sight as Zosia descends the lower half of Lizard.
	Total Distance:  3.0 kilometres Round-Trip Time:  1 hour 24 minutes Net Elevation Gain:  230 metres GPX Data