Marble Mountain

I was looking forward to stopping awhile in Steady Brook, home to Marble Mountain ski resort. This would allow me easy access to Corner Brook/Cox Cove/ Frenchman's Cove area.

I stayed at Marble Inn, located right off the highway and facing Marble Mountain. Particularly nice was reading while sitting on the porch at night, facing Marble Mountain.)

I had heard that there were great views from the top of Marble Mountain. On a good day, they could be breathtaking they told me.

But first I needed to get up there. The top of the chairlift sits at 1,600 ft up from the base of the mountain. The weather observatory is a couple of hundred feet above that. Fortunately, the observatory has a gravel access road (off to the right) that brings you right up.

This little pitch presented a few technical challenges. It got a little gnarly from about 2/3 of the way up. The surface was loose and liberally strewn with orange and grapefruit-sized rocks. It was also considerably off camber. Going up with a KLR650 fitted with knobbies would be great fun. But a sportbike fitted with a wide sport tire was going to feel very different.

Just a little more to go. . . The top of the chairlift is just behind the trees.

I'm also aware that I'm quite alone up here. As anyone who rides gravel knows, a small series of front wheel deflections can quickly take you off course. In this case that could mean a tumble down the side slope.

Of course, what goes up must come down.