Photos

A few photos I took this afternoon:


Trail #5 West Side Story

Trail #12 Southfield

Trail #19 Stonehedge

Trail #9 The Pasture

Saturday midday

I've been out grooming the drifted areas in the north part of the system. Most sections are now good. One short section of Mainline, about 0.5 km east of Airport Road is still rough due to huge snow drifts. Take Northfield Circuit as an alternate route; all of it has been packed and track-set.
The thermometer on the sunny side of the house (though not in the direct sun) is showing -4 right now. The sun is strong, and the wind is light, so it's a gorgeous day for a ski outing.

Saturday Feb. 28 - Nice

I've just come in from my sunrise ski. It is -17 out there, but with no wind and sunshine it is quite nice. The predicted high for today is -7, which will feel balmy compared to recent temperatures. Ski conditions are still very good on most trails. There has been some snow drifting on trails in the open areas, but it's not bad. I will try to get out and groom the drifted areas later today.

Friday, Feb. 27 - Warmer weather coming over the weekend

I am not on site at Hockleycrest today, but I expect very little has changed since yesterday. I will be checking the trails tomorrow morning.
The weather forecast calls for some warmer temperatures over the weekend - not above freezing (we don't want that!) but in around -5 which is really comfortable for skiing.

Thurs. Feb. 26 - Good conditions, with a couple of exceptions

I had some friends over yesterday and we skied most of the network. Conditions generally are very good. The only exceptions are the open areas, especially toward the north end, where drifting of snow was still a factor. You may find short sections of Mainline, Southfield and Northfield where the groomed surface has been covered by drifted snow.
There is a spot on Mainline near the northeast corner of Northfield Circuit where the snow drift was so big that my grooming machine slid right off the trail into the bush. This spot is quite a mess and would be difficult skiing right now. However, there is an easy detour out through the break in the trees onto Northfield and west for about 100 metres. I will be trying on the weekend to move and reshape some of that drifted snow.

Wed. Feb. 25 - A nice looking day

It's sunny and -15 this morning. Things have calmed down a lot since yesterday afternoon, when we had near blizzard conditions with blowing drifting snow. There is still some wind out there, but not nearly as strong as yesterday.
I have groomed most of the trails this morning. I did not do Field and Forest or Stone Hedge, as these areas still have active snow drifting.

This picture was taken this morning at the north end of The Ash Grove

Tues. Feb. 24 - a little snow expected

It's cold out there, but should warm up later today. A light snowfall is expected this afternoon and tonight, perhaps only a couple of cm. Winds may cause some drifting in the open areas. I will be on site and will groom if necessary.
Update 4:15 p.m. It is now snowing moderately and blowing hard. Lots of blowing, drifting snow, and deteriorating driving conditions.
No point going out to groom ski trails until this ends.