Sunday, Jan 31 - No Skiing today

The temperature rose to +3 yesterday afternoon and remained there overnight. We have lost some of the small amount of snow we had and there are numerous bare spots. With today's forecast calling for +6 and rain, things can only get worse. Sorry folks, today is not a good day for skiing.

Saturday morning - tolerable - for now

I've just come in from my pre-breakfast ski with the dog. We got a little bit more snow on Thursday evening, which means skiing is just possible. There is about 3 cm of soft powder over the base, which is either ice or earth (with occasional rocks and roots). So the conditions for skiing are barely tolerable. The temperature today is predicted to rise to +3, so things will not get better later on. Tomorrow's high will be +5 with rain, so that is not very encouraging either.
Now I have to unburden some frustration: sometime since Thursday night's snowfall, someone has been walking on the ski trails. This was not just on the Bruce Trail or one of its official side trails, but also on several trails that are marked clearly as for skiing only. It is difficult enough to maintain good snow conditions for skiing, without having selfish, inconsiderate people trample the snow with hiking boots.
Please, please, please, if you are walking (or snow-shoeing) restrict your travels to the main Bruce Trail (white rectangular paint blazes) or a BT side trail (blue rectangular paint blazes). And when you are walking on the joint use trails, please walk along the edges, not right down the middle.

Thursday Jan 28

I have returned from Horseshoe Valley, where the skiing is still good today. I'm sorry I can't say the same about the Hockleycrest trails.
Some sections of our trails were virtually bare after Tuesday's melt and rain. Since then we've received about 2 cm of new snow, but it is not enough to provide adequate coverage. TRAILS ARE CLOSED TO SKIING UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. Sorry folks, Mother Nature is not on our side.

Wednesday - return to cooler weather

After yesterday's mild weather and rain, temperatures have dropped and we have a little bit of new snow on the surface. I am not at Hockleycrest today, as I am at Horseshoe Valley to ski, so I don't know exactly what conditions are on the Hockleycrest trails.
I suspect however, that we lost more snow than we gained, and the trails are probably quite icy today. I would not recommend skiing until we receive at least 5 cm of new snow.

Monday Jan 25 - Thank you

Somebody left some money in my voluntary donation box beside the parking lot on 5 Sideroad recently. THANK-YOU! Each time I do a complete grooming of the network, I use about 15 litres of fuel. The support of trail users is very helpful and much appreciated.
We are in for a challenging couple of days, today and tomorrow. Temperatures are predicted to rise to 0 today, and to +4 tomorrow, with possible rain or snow. So, this could be good news or bad news. We will have to wait and see just how warm it gets, and what kind of precip we receive in order to assess the effect on trail conditions.
I suggest we stay off the trails today and tomorrow to minimize damage.

Sunday Jan 24 Morning

I've just returned from my morning ski with the dog. It's comfortable out there at -8, with a predicted high of -2, so it should be a nice day for skiing. There may be some flurries later today; any additional snow we get will only make conditions better.
The trails are hard-packed granular snow with a little bit of packed powder on top. Yesterday's grooming is holding up nicely in most places. Unfortunately, we had a couple of very inconsiderate hiking groups come through yesterday. Significant sections of the Mainline trail were trampled across the entire width, in spite of signs asking walkers to stay on the edge of the trail. In addition, a small group of ignorant hikers walked on several of the trails that are for skiers only.
The skate loops are both packed and in good condition.
The Pasture trail is skiing very nicely, as is Roller Coaster. If you haven't tried these, you should.

Mid-day Update

All trails have now been groomed. Trails in the central section have been track-set, although the snow was not quite deep enough to set a good, deep track. The south portion of #7 Around the Pines, and the west half of Pine Cut are hard-packed and icy as a result of cars and trucks driving on the trails. The folks at the Tai Chi Centre are preparing for their maple syrup operation, so they have been driving in to work on the sugar shack, and collecting firewood along the trails. Sorry about that; I have not control over what they do.

The Ash Grove trail after grooming