New Year's Eve update

Skiing was great this morning before the temperature warmed up. I cleaned up the grooming in the central and northern parts. A few modifications to the set-up of the track-setter seem have produced better results.

Hockleycrest Trail #3 just after grooming.

Toward noon, the temperature got up to 0 and the snow got really sticky. It was not fun to ski on. We are having a pretty heavy snowfall right now (3:48 p.m.). Let's see what tomorrow brings.

More snow predicted - but watch the temperature!

We had a light dusting of new snow overnight, and more is predicted for today: 5 to 10 cm more. However, the temperature is forecast to reach 0, so that could lead to some stickiness. I will be out with the groomer to touch up a few areas, such as those that were trampled yesterday by inconsiderate hikers who can't read signs (or won't obey them).
Ski conditions today are good, and should continue that way through tomorrow.

Very good skiing today

I've just come in from skiing under the stars (with the help of a headlamp). Yesterday's 8 cm snowfall, plus another couple of cm that we got overnight, have transformed our trails into near perfect skiing conditions. Current temperature of -5 and forecast high of -4 are ideal for snow and for skier comfort.
I will be out grooming at first light, and should have everything done before noon.
Here's an update. All trails were groomed by 10:30 a.m. A few spots (the same ones that were totally bare a few days ago) are still thinly covered, but 99% of the network is really good.

Mainline trail (the section that skis southbound only, between the 2 ends of Tamarack) at about 11 this morning.

It is enough!

I just returned from a day in the city, and found about 8 cm of new powder snow on top of our old icy crust. I have packed and combed most of the trails in the central area, and skiing there is now good. I will groom the rest of the trails tomorrow morning.
It is still flurrying here, and there is a chance of snow squalls tonight, so there could be even more snow by morning. Based on the forecast, it looks like we should have fairly good conditions until about New Year's Day.

Some snow - but is it enough?

Flurries yesterday resulted in about 1 cm of new snow over our old icy crust. With not much happening on the trails, I took advantage of the lull to install a new roller on my groomer. The plastic drum I've been using for the past 4 years had developed a large crack. My earlier attempt to repair the drum by applying a galvanized steel patch was not very successful, as the steel soon began to show cracks as well. So, I now have a brand new 45 gallon plastic drum installed - slightly bigger and thicker than the old one.
We're getting some snow this morning, but the forecast predicts it will only amount to a few centimetres. After the general snowfall, there is the possibility of squalls that might bring more snow, but those are a hit-and-miss proposition.
I will let you know when we have enough new snow to resume skiing again.

Pretty much the same

We've had a dusting of new snow overnight. It's not enough to really change the surface conditions. Trails remain hard and very icy. Skiing is not recommended today.

Our trails survived!

Assessment of the ski trails is finished, and the news is generally good. We still have good snow coverage on 99% of the network. There are about 4 places where the ground is bare. I have removed a couple of small trees that fell over the trail, and about 300 small branches and twigs.  As stated earlier today, the remaining snow is very coarse and icy, and skiing would be no fun today. However, what we do have will make an excellent base for the next snowfall, which could come as early as Thursday. In the meantime, please don't ski here; you can get an excellent workout on snowshoes today (I know, because I just did).