Good Skiing/Snow Expected

 We had very nice skiing yesterday, and the good conditions continue this morning. At our current temperature of -16, the glide is a bit slow, but not bad. The temperature is forecast to rise to -11.

You are probably aware that we are expecting a significant snowfall today. Estimates for our area suggest that we will probably get about 15 cm of new snow. Light snowfall has already begun. Depending on how much snow has already fallen, I might begin grooming this afternoon.

3:30 p.m. Update: I've groomed about 2/3 of the trail network this afternoon, just with the roller/comb; no track-setting. This is not so much for today's skiers (there are very few of them), but to make it easier to groom tomorrow morning, after the snowfall has ended. Thus far, we have received only about 5 cm of new snow today.

Skiing is Good, But Slow

 It's cold outside this morning. Minus 25. That means glide will be slow and you will have to work hard at skiing, at least until the temperature warms up. By this afternoon, it may reach -13.

We have great snow coverage; general depth of snow on the ground is 35 cm. All trails have been groomed in the past two days, with about half of them regroomed again yesterday. Nevertheless, areas that were exposed to yesterday's northwest wind will be drifted in again.

A significant snowfall is predicted for tomorrow - in the range of 10 to 20 cm. I actually hope we do not receive the upper end of that range; snow depths greater than 10 cm are difficult to pack, and require more grooming effort.

Abundant Snow

 The snow just keeps on coming! All trails were groomed yesterday, but that grooming is now covered by 3 to 4 cm of new snow. We had several heavy flurries yesterday afternoon and overnight squalls accompanied by strong winds. That means we have large snow drifts in a few areas.

I will do some grooming this morning, mainly trying to clean up the worst drifted areas.

Skiing is good, if you don't mind the wind and the cold. Our temperature is currently -13 and it is expected to drop during the day.

There is a possibility we may get a major snowfall on Sunday, but the forecasters don't all agree on this yet. Environment Canada says Sunday will be "cloudy", but the Weather Network predicts 15 to 20 cm of snow. We'll wait and see who is right.

Noon Update: I've regroomed about half the network, concentrating on spots with the worst drifting. Some of these will drift in again, since the wind is still blowing, now from the northwest. I also did something new: on the North Field, I've groomed a new short-cut trail diagonally across the southwest corner of the field. This enables skiers to avoid the long windy climb up the hill along the fence, beside Airport Road. It leads directly, and almost on a constant elevation, from the north end of Mainline to the place where the Hockleycrest trail #3 heads down the hill toward the creek crossing.

Still More Snow

 Yesterday's snowfall continued through the night and delivered at least 5 cm. I groomed most of the central trails mid-afternoon yesterday, when I thought the snowfall was ending, and that grooming is all filled in with new snow this morning.

I will begin grooming again right after breakfast this morning, and skiing will be very good. The only negative is that it looks like we are going to continue to have drifting problems. The forecast today calls for blowing snow, with west winds of 30, gusting to 50 km/h. Open areas, particularly around the fields in the north end, will definitely be impacted.

11:30 a.m. Update: The entire network has been groomed, including digging out snow drifts in 3 locations. Unfortunately, the wind is still blowing, so these drifts will likely come back. Other than that, the skiing is very good. At a current reading of -7, the temperature is not bad compared with what we are going to get on the weekend. Come today and avoid frostbite.

By the way, today is the 50th day of skiable conditions here this season. I don't think we've ever reached that milestone so early in the year before.

More Snow Coming Today

 Ski conditions continue to be good. Some of the trails I groomed yesterday have gotten drifted in, but the trail is still visible and the snow not too deep.

We are expecting a small snowfall today, probably around 5 cm, so I won't groom until after that has ended.

The temperature is a little warmer, currently sitting at -13, and it will reach -3 by this evening.

A Little More Snow

 The combination of a little more snow and a lot of wind means that many trails are drifted in today. The total accumulation from flurries yesterday and squalls last night is about 5 cm. Trails that run in a north/south direction were most affected by drifting, since the wind was from the west.

I will not get out to groom until mid-morning, as I have another commitment.

Today, we are dealing with some cold temperatures. It's currently -15, and may get up to -10 this afternoon. The glide is not very good on the cold snow right now; it's not sticky, just slow.

12:30 p.m. Update: The entire trail network has been groomed. Skiing is good except for sections that are drifting in. There is a strong wind blowing, so some sections are drifting in very quickly.

Conditions Unchanged - and That's Good

 Ski conditions continue to be very good this morning. We've received a light dusting of new snow overnight. Yesterday's grooming is still looking good; I will not groom today unless we get a significant snowfall.

It's cool this morning, currently -11 with a forecast high of -9. There is a brisk breeze blowing.

We have warnings of blowing snow this afternoon, and possible snow squalls tonight; it's impossible to say whether these will bring us any measurable snow.

Improved Conditions

Yesterday's mild temperature made skiing difficult, as the snow became very sticky for most of the day. But fortunately, it did not permanently damage our snow. Trail surfaces are still covered with nice, workable powder.

Everything was groomed on Friday. Since then, we've received about 4 cm of snow Friday night, and another couple of cm yesterday in flurries. I will be out at first light this morning to groom everything again. Once that is done, skiing should be very good.

10:30 a.m. Update: The entire network has been regroomed, and most of it turned out very well. A few trail sections that got a lot of traffic yesterday are little bit hard-packed, but not too bad. We have some drifting going on today; it's a different pattern, as today's wind is from the southwest. Some tracks may get filled in as a result.

Overall, skiing is very good today.

A Little Too Warm

 The weather gods have thrown us another curve ball. A couple of days ago, the forecast high for today was -3, which would have been perfect. But now it appears the high today will be +1, not what we wanted to see. It is currently -2.

Last evening and overnight, we received 2 to 3 cm of new snow, and it is snowing lightly now. At the moment, skiing is good, with reasonable glide. But we are getting dangerously close to the freezing point, and that means the snow is likely to become sticky, and glide will be poor. Early skiers will probably get the best conditions of the day. If you come to ski, you should bring along some form of liquid glide wax, such as "easy glide" for your skis.

Everything was groomed yesterday. I will not groom today, as these warmer temperatures are not suitable for working the snow.

Finally Good Skiing

 When the snow stopped falling yesterday around dinner time, we had received close to 20 cm, propelled by strong north winds. That means there was a lot of drifting in some areas.

Fortunately, winds are very light this morning, so the -13 temperature doesn't feel too bad.(and the forecast high for this afternoon is a very nice -4)

Trails got an initial grooming with the roller/comb yesterday, while snow was still falling. I will groom again today to firm up the base, set some track, and clean up the drifted spots. Skiing will be very good today. According to today's forecast, we may get a few more centimetres of snow this evening.

The parking lot on 5 Sideroad has been plowed.

11:30 a.m. Update: The entire network has been regroomed, and track-set where appropriate. The snow groomed up really nice. We have excellent skiing conditions, probably the best we've had so far this year.

Oh Deer: when you ski our trails you will probably see evidence that white-tailed deer have been there, with their sharp little hooves punctuating my beautifully groomed trail surfaces. This is especially true on the flat central trails, such as Black Cherry, Field and Forest, and Stone Hedge. There are lots of apple trees along these trails, and the deer come to dig up and eat apples from under the trees. In a few places, the deer excavations extend out into the trail surface, so you might encounter a bit of roughness as you ski over. I can't do much about this; they were here first. I encountered a group of 4 deer this morning while grooming Black Cherry.

Surprise! What a Difference a Day Makes

 Well, who saw this coming 24 hours ago? Not the weather forecasters.

Anyway, we are happy to report that we've received between 10 and 15 cm of snow, and it's still coming down. It's hard to measure exactly how much we've got, as the wind has been blowing, so some spots are deeper, while in other places the snow has been blown away.

I will begin grooming right after breakfast, but this will just be a first pass, as the snowfall is predicted to continue into the afternoon.

3 p.m. Update: All trails except 2 short ones have been packed at least once. Grooming was tough today, as the grooming machine just won't climb a steep hill when there is 20 or more cm of loose snow on it. Got stuck and had to dig out 4 times. Anyway it's done with one pass, for now. Snow is still falling, though lighter than earlier. I will be out tomorrow morning to pack the trails more firmly and set some track.

Things are getting worse, not better

 Conditions have deteriorated since yesterday. Last night's predicted snowfall produced almost no snow, and then the temperature rose to plus 3 overnight. This means any powder snow on the surface will be at least partially melted. Now the temperature is about to drop quickly, so we are probably going to end up with trail surfaces that are even more icy than before.

There are flurries in the forecast, but if these don't produce significant snow accumulation, the skiing will be very poor.

I will update if anything meaningful happens.

More of the Same; Hoping for Snow

 Ski conditions remain unchanged since yesterday; a thin layer of new powder snow over a hard, icy base. The grooming I did yesterday in the central area made a slight improvement there. I will groom the southern trails this morning.

We are hoping for a bit of new snow this afternoon and evening, and again tomorrow.

9:30 a.m. Update: Southern trails have been groomed and cleared of fallen debris. A portion of the north has also been done: Pasture, Roller Coaster and Logger's trails.

I've been finding fallen trees on the trail, a result of the strong winds a few days ago. If you are skiing here and come across a blockage that has not been cleared, please email me and let me know where it is. I cannot patrol the entire trail network every day, so there may be fallen trees that I'm not aware of. dmhiker6@gmail.com 

Challenging Skiing

 Conditions remain about the same on the trails. We received a tiny bit of new snow yesterday in flurries. We have about 3 to 4 cm of powder snow over an icy base, generally. It was windy yesterday afternoon, so there was quite a bit of drifting; in some places the powder snow might be quite deep, while in others it will be blown away.

I will try some grooming this morning, to see if it improves things at all. There are small amounts of snow in the forecast over the next 3 days, so there is some hope of better conditions in the future.

In the meantime, it is possible to ski, but difficult. Only very good skiers should attempt skiing under these conditions.

11 a.m. Update: I've groomed most of the trails in the central section. The grooming resulted in a slight improvement to the ski conditions: a flatter, more consistent surface with fewer lumps and bumps.

Insufficient Snowfall

 Our snowfall yesterday evening amounted to only about 3 cm. This is not sufficient to restore good skiing conditions on the trails.

I have been out for a brief trial run on skis. It is possible to ski on flat, level terrain, but even a moderate hill would be very difficult. Once the thin layer of powder snow is scraped off, the icy crust underneath will be exposed, and there would be no control on hills.

I do NOT recommend skiing here today.

The forecast calls for flurries today and over the next few days. If we're lucky, maybe those will bring us enough snow to resume comfortable skiing.

Very Icy

 After yesterday's very warm weather, we have returned to below-freezing. Yesterday's slush has become today's icy crust. Skiing would not be possible under these conditions.

There is some hope of a return to skiable conditions, as we are expecting some snow this afternoon and evening. The forecast estimate is for about 5 to 7 cm. I would think we need at least 10 cm to produce safe, comfortable ski conditions. We will have to wait and see how much we get.

In the meantime, please do not come here to ski.

Losing Snow

 The warm weather continues today. Current temperature is +4 with a predicted high of +10.

This means we are losing snow. At the start of the week, we had 25 cm of snow on the ground; this morning we have 15 cm.

We have another challenge today: high winds. The forecast predicts wind gusts up to 80 km/h. That kind of wind usually brings down large limbs or even whole trees. So it's a good day to stay off the trails and out of the bush.

Not Good Skiing

 The skiing will not be good today. With a current temperature of -1, we have a soft crust of frozen snow, which is skiable on flat, level terrain, but would be treacherous on hills. As the temperature rises to a predicted high of +4, the snow will quickly transform into wet, heavy slush. Not enjoyable to ski on.

We've been incredibly fortunate this year to have 38 days of skiable conditions thus far, but it looks like we are going to have to take a break for a while, until this warm weather passes and we've replenished our snow.

Difficult Skiing

 Yesterday's wintry mix brought us a little bit of everything: fog, freezing rain, rain, ice pellets and finally about 3 to 4 cm of snow. Unfortunately, the temperature this morning is right at 0, and the snow is heavy, wet and packing. It's the kind that sticks to the bottom of your skis and prevents you from gliding.

As the temperature rises to the forecast high of +2, that is not likely to change. Skiing will be very difficult today.

Come Early

 Right now, skiing is very good on our trails. I groomed the southern and central trails late yesterday afternoon, and they are in great shape. Northern trails have about 5 cm of new powder over the previously packed base. I will groom the northern trails at first light.

But based on the weather forecast, these conditions are not likely to last very long. We are expecting snow mixed with freezing rain, starting as early as 10 a.m. today. The temperature will reach 0, so the snow will become packing and sticky.

If you want a good ski, come early.

9:45 A.M. UPDATE: I've groomed all the northern trails. We currently have a temperature of -2, with fog, but no precipitation yet. Skiing is still good. (snow still loose and powdery).

It's Snowing - Again

 As forecast, snow has begun to fall here. Today's accumulation is expected to be about 5 cm.

Skiing should be good, with the extra powder on the surface providing a little better control on the hills.

Depending on when the snowfall ends, I may do some grooming this afternoon, beginning with the southern trails.

Another Nice Ski Day

 Conditions on the ski trails continue to improve incrementally, as we get a little bit of new snow each day. Yesterday, we picked up 2 to 3 cm of snow from flurries.

Today's temperature is a very comfortable -5. Get out and take advantage of these nice conditions while they are here. Some warmer weather is coming in on Tuesday through Friday, which will very likely cause a deterioration.

I will groom the northern trails this morning. Yesterday's grooming of the central and southern trails is still looking good.

10:30 A.M. UPDATE: Northern trails have been groomed. Drifted areas were cleaned up, and at the moment it is not blowing/drifting. We've had some snow flurries this morning.

Mainline yesterday

Hockleycrest this morning

Nice Temperature

 Today looks like it will be a nice day to ski. Temperature is currently -8 with a forecast high of -5. There may be some snow flurries.

Trails are in pretty good shape generally, with a few thin and icy spots. Portions of trails on open fields at the north end are drifted in, something which is unavoidable when the wind blows.

I will be grooming the south end trails this morning, as they were last done on Wednesday.

NOON UPDATE: All southern and most central trails have been groomed this morning. We've had a fairly heavy snow flurry for about 2 hours, so you will find a couple of centimetres of powder on the groomed surface. Skiing is good.

A Tiny Bit More Snow

 Ski conditions continue to improve slightly, as we receive small amounts of new snow. It is snowing lightly as I write this, and flurries are forecast for today.

All trails have been cleared of debris, and have been groomed over the past 2 days. I will not do a full grooming today, but may touch up a couple of areas. Conditions range from fair to good. The icy base is still not far below the surface, so be cautious on larger hills.

A Cool Start to the New Year

 It turned quite a bit colder overnight. We are currently at -15, with a forecast high of -9.

The good news is that we have some more new snow. We had about 8 hours of light snowfall yesterday, resulting in 2 to 3 cm of accumulation. This is very welcome padding on top of the old, icy base.

I will be working on the northern trails today; I haven't had a chance to do a full inspection of these since last Sunday's ice storm. I'm sure there will be some debris to be removed. In the meantime, skiing is not bad on the southern and central trails, with generally about 5 cm of powder over the hard crust.

It's OK to take off your skis and walk down any hill you think is too difficult. If you do, please walk along the edge of the trail, NOT in the middle.

NOON UPDATE: I've been over most of the north trails, removing debris, grooming, and clearing 2 large fallen trees. There is one more fallen tree to be cleared, on Plateau Extension. The detour for this is the northern-most section of Mainline. Hopefully, I'll get that tree cleared this afternoon, and I'll groom the remaining northern trails. The morning started off with sunshine, but we are now cloudy with a light snowfall.