Very Good Skiing

 Well, things have settled down a bit, after a few days of challenging weather. All trails were groomed yesterday, and they still look good this morning. There has been about 1 cm of fresh powder overnight. It's snowing lightly now, and flurries are expected to continue through the day.

Skiing is very good today.

11 a.m. Update: I've been out to refresh tracks on a couple of trails, including #6 Central Park, #9 Pasture, #14 Logger's, and #12 Southfield. I also put up a few markers along the side of the trail on #9 so that it's easier to find the trail in the open field.

Good News/Bad News

 The bad news is that it snowed and blowed most of the day yesterday, with serious drifting and white-out conditions on the roads and trails.

The good news is that it is calm and not snowing out there this morning. Also good news that my son, who is visiting for a few days, got out yesterday afternoon and did some grooming of the central trails. It was still snowing and blowing at the time, so there is some accumulation over the groomed surface, but only a few centimetres.

I will groom the southern trails this morning, and then do the central area again.

It's a bit cool this morning, currently -16, but will warm up to -10. Skiing is good.

11:30 a.m. Update: Most trails, including all the southern section, have been packed with the roller/comb this morning. Skiing is very good. I will do some track-setting in the central area this afternoon.

Afternoon Update: Central trails have been track-set. Skiing is very good.

Snow Keeps Coming

 It is snowing here again this morning, and we are under a snow squall warning. We've received possibly as much as 5 cm since yesterday afternoon, which means that any grooming done yesterday is covered over. We also had a lot of drifting yesterday afternoon.

Skiing is good, although a bit slow this morning. At the current temperature of -15, the glide is not great.

I will not be able to groom today; I have to drive down to Toronto (a drive which I'm not looking forward to).

Recovery

 We are recovering from the heavy snowfalls of the past few days. I groomed twice yesterday; once in the morning, and again in the late afternoon. Almost everything in the southern and central areas has been rolled and packed, and skiing is very good. You will find it still a bit soft in some places, and a tiny bit of new snow fell after the grooming. Our snow depth gauge is now showing 65cm of snow on the ground.

Today, I will pack the northern trails that are open, and will then start some track-setting.

Temperatures are a little cooler today (now -13) and there is some wind, so dress accordingly. With the wind, there will likely be some drifting in open areas.

A word of warning: The parking lot had not yet been plowed at 4:30 yesterday afternoon, and one car was stuck there. If the lot has not been plowed, do not go into it; park on the roadside instead.

With the depth of snow we have now, it would be possible to ski some of the northern trails that were damaged by logging, on a "backcountry" basis. The main Bruce Trail could be skied all the way up to the stile at Airport Road, and the Northfield Circuit could also be done. DO NOT TRY North Plateau or Plateau Extension, or the section of Hockleycrest #3 parallel to Airport Road. All of these still have trees felled across them.

Afternoon Update: This morning, I rolled and packed trails #9, #12,  #14, #1a and #1 in the north end. This afternoon, I have set track on several trails in the central area. However, snow squalls continue to bring us new snow, and the wind is causing severe drifting in some areas.

Snow Just Keeps On Coming

 We've received about 10 cm of new snow since I groomed yesterday, and it's still snowing. Although the storm will not end until late today, I will start grooming right after breakfast. I know the trails will get filled in quickly, but I want to get some of this snow packed before it becomes so deep that it's totally unmanageable.

11:00 a.m. Update: STAY AT HOME TODAY. I've been out grooming in this blizzard. It's tough out there. Nobody should be on the roads in weather like this.

I managed to pack most of the trails in the central section, but it's slow going. Everything is harder when the snow is this deep. Even small uphills, that are normally done with ease, are a challenge today.

More Than Enough Snow

 I was not on site yesterday. I arrived back after 5 p.m. and began to assess the amount of new snow and its impact on the trails. I had time to roll a short loop near the house, which I have skied this morning.

We received about 20cm of new snow over the past 2 days. I will begin grooming with the roller/comb right after breakfast. I will not do a couple of difficult areas, where I might get stuck. There will be no track setting on the first groom. Once the snow has been rolled, it will provide good skiing.

However, we are expecting another major snowfall, starting this afternoon and overnight into Sunday. I would actually not mind if it stopped snowing for a few days.

10:45 a.m. Update: Most trails have been packed with the roller/comb. Only a couple of small sections were left undone. On many sections, I did multiple passes in order to achieve better compaction of this deep, soft snow.

We are currently having a moderate snowfall, with more expected later. After a short break, I will head out again with the track-setter and set a little bit of track in the central area. The parking lot has been plowed; not sure how the roads are for travelling.

Abundant Snow

 Well, if you enjoy back country skiing in deep powder, then you should like today. I'm not sure exactly how much snow fell since yesterday, but it's a lot.

Unfortunately, I have other important commitments both today and tomorrow, so this snow will not be groomed until Saturday at the earliest.