Yesterday's temperature went just a little above 0, and the result was that skiers in the afternoon had sticky snow to deal with. We don't have that problem today. The temperature has dropped to -5, and we have 3 to 4 cm of nice dry powder snow on the trail surfaces. This snow is soft under your ski and has great glide.
The cooler weather also gives me an opportunity to groom. I will be out this afternoon to pack the entire network. Once that is done, the skiing should be very good.
Our skiing depends on the weather, and the weather continues to be "interesting". We had a light snowfall for much of the day yesterday, at a temperature of +1. Some of that snow melted on contact, but some of it stuck around on top of the older snow.
Now that the temperature has dropped to -4, yesterday's snow has frozen into a soft crust, which collapses easily under your ski. This has been topped by a centimeter of new powder that has fallen overnight, and continues to come down.
The result is a fairly nice surface to ski on, with enough loose snow for control, and decent glide. The forecast says we will get a bit more snow today, especially this afternoon. And the forecast high is -1. If we can keep the temperature below the freezing point, then skiing should be not bad today.
The weather has been a real roller coaster lately, and it looks like today may continue that trend.
We got a mixed bag yesterday, with above-freezing temperatures, some rain, and some big fluffy snowflakes. At the current temperature of -1, we have a soft frozen crust of new snow over the packed base from Wednesday's big snowfall. The skiing right now is not bad, with acceptable glide and enough softness on the surface to provide control.
As the day progresses, the temperature will likely rise to 0 or +1, and some additional snowfall is predicted. This might lead to very sticky snow that clumps up on the bottom of your skis and makes it impossible to move forward. It all depends on temperature, moisture content, and the waxing of your skis.
We have plenty of snow, but it's a bit of a crap shoot whether we will have tolerable skiing or a lot of frustration.
We started out yesterday with beautiful powder snow, but by mid-afternoon the temperature had reached +2 and the snow was transformed into moist granular. That is still the case this morning, as the temperature has remained just above the freezing point overnight.
I was pleasantly surprised by the skiing this morning. The glide was a bit slow, but not sticky, and actually quite nice to ski on. Whether that will continue for the rest of the day is hard to say. The forecast says the temperature will remain around +1 all day, but there might be either rain or snow flurries, so conditions could change.
In yesterday morning's post, I was hoping for some new powder snow to cover the ice on our trails. In response, Mother Nature delivered 20 cm of new snow (instead of the freezing rain that had been forecast). This is actually more than we wanted, as it's very difficult to work with such a quantity of new snow all at once.
I did some initial grooming of some of the trails with a roller/comb late yesterday afternoon, while it was still snowing. I will continue that this morning. Today's forecast says the temperature will rise from the current reading of -4 to a high of +3. I will groom only up to the time when it reaches the freezing point, which will probably be about 10 or 11 a.m. Hopefully, I will be able to pack most of the network.
Even after 1 or 2 passes with the groomer, trails will still be a bit soft.
10:30 a.m. Update: Trails have been packed, all except for the eastern half of the Northfield loop. I did only a small amount of track-setting, as I was trying to get done quickly before the temperature hit 0. Current temperature is -1 and the snow is still powdery. Skiing is very good, with one caveat: the temperature will probably reach 0 soon, which means the snow may become sticky. Some liquid glide wax, like Easy Glide may be necessary.
Today will be a day to stay at home and hunker down. Ski conditions are poor at the moment, with yesterday's soft wet snow having frozen into an icy crust. With sunshine and a high temperature of +10 yesterday, we lost about 10 cm of snow. The good news is that we still have complete coverage; we just need to get some new powder snow on top to cover the ice.
Freezing rain and ice pellets are forecast for today, which is not great.
4 p.m. Update: Well, the forecasters sure got that one wrong. Instead of freezing rain, we have had heavy snowfall since 8 a.m. this morning. There is 20 cm of new powder on the ground, and the snowfall seems to have stopped. I've been out with the groomer and done an initial pass with the roller on central and some southern trails. I will do more grooming tomorrow morning.
The temperature yesterday rose to +3 and the result is easy to see: snow is no longer powdery, and there is an icy glaze on the surface. The current temperature is 0, and the glide is very fast, to the extent that it's difficult to control your speed, even on small downgrades. As the temperature rises to +3 again today, this will slow down and become wet and heavy.
The structure of the snow pack is also collapsing; trails that have been packed all season long now collapse under the weight of my ski.
Although it's possible to ski today, I would not recommend it.
Later today, I will be doing some remedial work on a problem area on the Mainline trail between Pine Cut and Hockleycrest. I'm hoping to correct the cross-fall on the trail so that I will be able to continue grooming it for the remainder of the season.
Some nasty weather is predicted for tomorrow: a wintery mix that might include rain, freezing rain, ice pellets, and snow. We will have to wait and see what impact it has on our skiing.
Ski conditions are much the same today as they were yesterday. Although the temperature briefly touched the 0 point yesterday afternoon, our snow is still quite powdery, and it is currently -6 here. The forecast says it will get up to the freezing mark by noon, but possibly as early as 10 a.m. Once that happens, the snow will begin to get moist and sticky.
So, for the best skiing, come before 10 a.m.
Saturday's grooming is still holding up well.
Noon Update: I've just come in from skiing. The temperature is now +1 under a hazy sun. On waxless skis (fish scale) freshly coated with Easy Glide liquid wax, the glide is slow but tolerable. We now definitely have "snowball snow".
We were fortunate yesterday that the temperature only reached +1 briefly in the afternoon. Our snow was not radically transformed into icy crust; it is still quite powdery.
Once again today, the skiing will be best early in the day. Current temperature is -4, which is ideal. It will reach 0 around noon, and that is when the snow may become moist and sticky.
The coming week looks like it will not be kind to our trails, but the following week should bring a return to cooler temperatures and better skiing.
Today is Day 74 of skiable conditions here this year, and it's only mid-February. There have been quite a few years when we never reached that number of ski days.
We received about 5 cm of new snow yesterday afternoon and evening. Right now, at a temperature of -3, that fresh powder on top of the old packed base is very pleasant to ski on, with great glide. However, I'm afraid that is going to change, as the forecast high for today is plus 1. It's very likely that the snow will become moist and sticky.
I will start grooming at first light, hoping to get as much done as possible before the temperature reaches the freezing point. For the best skiing today, come early.
Based on the forecast for the next week, it looks like we are going to get into a period of "spring skiing", with above-freezing temperatures in the daytime, and below-freezing overnight. This means hard, fast, icy conditions in the mornings and soft, wet snow in the afternoons. It's not my favourite kind of skiing.
10 a.m. Update: All trails have been groomed, most of them just with a comb, and not track-set. Temperature is still just below freezing, and snow is still powdery.
It looks like we will get a little bit of snow today, and the temperature will stay below freezing. That's the good news.
I can't comment on current conditions on the trails, as I'm away for a couple of days, skiing at Stokely Creek Lodge in Algoma. There will be no grooming at Hockleycrest until Saturday at the earliest.
The bad news is that, based on the current forecast, some milder weather will be moving in on the weekend, with temperatures at or above freezing. This will probably mean a deterioration in our skiing conditions.
Finally some more comfortable temperatures to start the day. It's currently -8 with a forecast high of -1. We are expecting a small amount of snow this morning, and some flurries again tonight.
Skiing should be good today. You will just need to watch out for sticky snow conditions when the temperature is close to the freezing mark. It would be wise to carry a scraper and some "easy glide" with you if you're skiing around the middle of the day.
Once again, we are below minus 20 to start the day. However, by mid-afternoon, it should be up to a very comfortable -7, with sunshine and light winds.
Trail conditions continue the same: plenty of snow, all of it groomed within the past 3 days, with just a few drifted spots. Skiing should be very nice this afternoon.
It's -22 outside right now, but not windy. The ski trails are generally in good shape, with a few drifted sections. Yesterday's grooming is still good in most places.
At the current temperature, glide is very slow, but should improve as the temperature rises to -13 this afternoon.
Yesterday's snowfall amounted to approximately 5 cm, but it's hard to get an accurate number because the wind picked up last night and there has been a huge amount of drifting.
I groomed the southern and central trails yesterday, late in the afternoon. That may have been a mistake, as much of that grooming has disappeared under drifted snow. The strong winds have also brought down a lot of small twigs from trees; hopefully nothing big has come down on a trail.
I will groom again this morning on the northern trails, and will refresh some of the drifted trails in the central area. However, the wind is still blowing, so drifting is likely to continue.
It's also quite cold this morning, currently -20, with a forecast high of only -16. As a result, the glide is quite slow.
Noon Update: I've groomed all the northern trails and refreshed the worst of the central trails. The wind was from the north, so the east-west trails in open areas were the most affected by drifting. Be prepared for a slanted descent on The Pasture, as there was a giant drift on the hill. I ran the groomer over it, but it's still much higher on the left side than the right.
We've received about 2 cm of new snow overnight, and it looks like the snowfall will continue for much of the day. The predicted total is around 5 or 6 cm. The wind is currently light from the south, but late this afternoon it will move around to the northwest and become quite strong. So the conclusion of this snow event will probably see a lot of drifting snow.
I will not groom until the snowfall has ended, which probably means tomorrow morning. In the meantime, we have good skiing on a few centimetres of fresh powder over a previously packed base.
I feel like I'm writing the same thing every day; because ski conditions remain virtually the same, which is very good. Yesterday, I groomed a couple of areas that had not been done Tuesday, primarily the North Field, and I regroomed trails that were trampled by hikers on Tuesday.
Skiing will be very good today. Current temperature is -10, rising to -6 this afternoon.
Yesterday's flurries brought us about 3 cm of new snow, which was exactly what we needed to refresh the trail surfaces. The entire trail network (with a couple of small exceptions) was groomed yesterday during the snowfall, and the result was very good.
You may find a few places where a group of selfish, inconsiderate hikers trampled the newly-groomed surface of a ski trail, but generally conditions are excellent.
At today's starting temperature of -14, the glide is a bit slow; but that will improve as it warms up to -8.
We have received about 1 cm of new snow overnight, and it is snowing lightly now. This provides a bit of softness to the trail surfaces, and gives great glide. Depending on how much more snow we get, I may do some grooming later this morning, to refresh the tracks.
Ski conditions continue to be very good.
This morning's temperature is a very comfortable -6, and it's expected to stay around there all day.
9 a.m. Update: The intensity of this morning's snowfall has increased, and based on the weather radar it looks like it will continue for a while. I will do some grooming, but will wait until we have more new snow on the ground.
2 p.m. Update: We've received 3 to 4 cm of new snow. I have groomed almost all the trails in the network. I did not groom the full North Field loop, since the wind is coming up and we're expecting blowing/drifting snow. Any grooming I do there would quickly disappear.
We had one unfortunate incident this morning. While I was grooming (in fact in between the 2 passes that I make on the Pasture trail) a group of very inconsiderate hikers left the Bruce Trail and trampled some of the freshly groomed ski trails. The worst damage was on the Pasture trail. I've gone over it a second time, but their deep, post-hole type footprints are not easy to eliminate. Grrrrr!
Other than the trampled areas, skiing is excellent.
Yesterday turned out to be a really nice ski day, with great snow, blue skies and sunshine. The high temperature of -8 was comfortable, and provided good glide on the snow.
Today might be even better. The snow is still good, trails are in nice condition and the temperature will reach a very nice -5. There is a bonus for early skiers: the trees are covered in hoar frost this morning. A little bit of light snowfall may move in late in the afternoon.
Get out to ski while you can; in southern Ontario you never know how long the snow will last.
By the way, yesterday was Day 60 of skiable conditions here this season.
It's cool again this morning, currently reading -16. But it should reach -8 this afternoon, which would be the warmest we've seen in about 2 weeks.
Ski conditions are still very good. I will do a tiny bit of grooming this morning to tidy up the Twisty trail; other than that, I think everything is in good shape.
