Thursday 31 December 2015

Skiing is okay, but not great

It is -1 and snowing lightly outside right now. As expected, yesterday's wet snow has frozen into a crust. I have been out for a trial run with the groomer and found that it is only partially effective at crushing the crust and flattening the surface. It will be much more effective if I wait until there is more snow before grooming. In the meantime, ski conditions are fair.
Flurries are forecast for the next 4 days. Any new snow we get will improve the skiing.

Wednesday 30 December 2015

Wed. Dec. 30, 5 p.m. report

After a day in the "big smoke" I'm back at Hockleycrest and checking conditions on the trails here. I see some people have been skiing on some of the trails. Excellent! I hope they enjoyed it; conditions have not been ideal.
We still have fairly good snow coverage of about 8 cm but at the moment it is very wet. The temperature is just now dropping into the freezing zone, and we've been having some light flurries. Overnight the wet slushy snow should firm up and become porous crust. In the morning I may try running a roller and comb over it to see if I can produce a packed, relatively flat surface.
Over the next few days we are expecting below freezing temperatures and flurries, so with any luck things should be improving.

Tuesday 29 December 2015

We have snow, but.....

Yes, we definitely got snow last night, but it's now changing to freezing rain. The temperature is rising and will probably hit +5 with rain, so I would not recommend skiing today.
The picture was taken about 10 p.m. Monday night, when conditions were quite good.
My son and daughter getting out on skis for the first time this season

Monday 28 December 2015

December 28 - a step in the right direction

It is -9 outside this morning, and we have about 1 cm of new snow on the ground. It's definitely not enough to ski on, but this is a step in the right direction.
A major weather system is forecast to pass through tonight, bringing 10 cm of snow, followed by ice pellets, possible freezing rain and then rain. We'll see what we have left when all this mess has finished. It may not be skiable, but it might make a good base for future snow.

Sunday 27 December 2015

Looking into the Future

The weather forecast suggests that we might start getting some snow over the next few days, especially around New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Saturday 19 December 2015

Dec. 19 - still no skiing

We have a light dusting of new snow on the ground - perhaps 1 cm. Not sufficient for skiing. In the meantime, we continue to sell Christmas trees on behalf of Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club.

Friday 11 December 2015

Global Warming is not our friend

Well folks, I don't think I need to tell you that we have no skiing yet. The first 2 weeks of December have been incredibly mild. It isn't even going below 0 at night. The 14 day forecast suggests we will have some cooler weather just before Christmas, so keep your fingers crossed. When the snow does come, we will be ready, and I suggest that you be ready too (because it may not last very long).

Thursday 3 December 2015

December 3 No Skiing Yet

As you can tell from the weather outside, we do not have skiing yet. Let's hope for some cooler temperatures, and start doing the snow dance!