September 1st Update

 It's September 1st, and although it is astronomically still summer for another 3 weeks, meteorologically it seems like autumn. And after all, for those of us who really love skiing, summer is just a rather long thaw between ski outings.

You may recall that last winter a significant portion of our trails at the north end could not be opened, because of logging operations carried out on behalf of the land owner. The loggers left a big mess behind: huge piles of branches on our trails, signage damaged or completely disappeared, and trail surfaces consisting of humps and holes, ridges and ruts, where the ground was previously fairly smooth.

In the spring and early summer, I got help from a few of our regular skiers to clear away the debris and smooth out the trail surfaces. Since then, I've done more work cutting out stumps and roots, and replacing missing or damaged signs. Over the past weekend, I've been over all the trails with a riding mower, so that weeds and grass are under control.

The result of all this work is that we will be able to open everything this coming winter, and in some cases the trail will even be a little better than before. Some sections will definitely be wider than they were. And the loggers left us one small gift: a new trail section (logging road) right at the north end, cutting across the North Plateau loop, creating 2 smaller loops. It's about 200m long, and will be called Plateau Shortcut. It will give me a couple of different options in grooming procedure.

The long range weather forecast for this winter is also good. It looks like we may have a pattern similar to last winter, with a La Nina in the North Pacific.

End of Season Round-Up

 I'm sure you all know by now that our ski season is finished. This was a pretty good season; at times, we almost had too much snow.

Our first day of skiing was December 5, 2024 and our last day of skiing was March 13, 2025. In between those dates, we had 79 days of skiable conditions (not always great skiing, but tolerable conditions). By comparison, last year we had only 44 ski days.

We got off to a slow start; skiing was not great in December, and snow was a bit thin in the first couple of weeks of January. One thing that was working in our favour was that we did not have a significant thaw all through January and February.

February brought frequent and abundant snowfall, often accompanied by strong winds and drifting, which made grooming a challenge. Interestingly, through the entire winter we did not have a major, widespread snow storm. Instead, almost all of our snow was lake-effect snow, coming in streamers from Lake Huron or Georgian Bay.

This year we had to temporarily close many of our northern trails, as the landowner carried out major logging operations. Over the summer I will be working at clearing away the debris left behind by the loggers, so that hopefully all those trails will be open next year.

No Skiing

 We have lost a lot of snow in the past 3 days. It is no longer practical to ski. Trails are closed.

Very Soft and Wet

 We've lost a lot of snow in the past 24 hours. Yesterday's high was +11 and the lowest it went overnight was +6, so the melting continued with no overnight freeze. Trails are soft and wet; not great skiing. To top it off, we're expecting rain, maybe even a thunder storm.

If I were you, I would stay at home today.

More Spring Skiing

 Ski conditions will be much the same today as yesterday. It's currently -2 and trail surfaces are frozen, hard and fast. By this afternoon, we'll be at +10, so the snow will be soft, wet and heavy. However, there will be a variation in the trail condition, depending on whether you are in sunshine or in deep shade. Trails through shady areas will remain frozen and icy later into the afternoon.

There is a large flooded area on the south west part of trail #5. The entire section from its junction with #6 Central Park to the junction with #23 Black Cherry should be avoided.

Still Icy

 Conditions on the trails are much the same as yesterday. The high temperature yesterday was just +1, so very little melting took place. This morning, it's -7 outside, so the trails are frozen hard.

Today, it's going to be sunny with a high of +7. If you were to come to ski just after the temperature goes above 0, say around noon or 1 p.m., you might find the right combination of a soft surface with a firm base beneath. No guarantee, but it might be tolerable.

We have a few small bare spots, and a flooded section at the south west corner of trail #5 which should be avoided.

More Ice

 After 2 very warm days, in which a lot of snow was lost, colder temperatures have returned. It's currently -8, and will probably only reach -1 today. That means the soft, wet snow has frozen again and our trail surfaces are very icy. Skiing is very difficult under these conditions.

Also, a result of the warmth and sunshine is that a few bare or thin spots have started to show up, and we have a flooded spot at the south-west corner of trail #5. This can be avoided by taking the southern part of #23 Black Cherry through the pine plantation.

I would not recommend skiing today.