Jan. 31 - Looks like a nice day

 With a forecast high of -4, and some flurries, today looks like it will be a nice day to ski. Trails are showing the wear and tear of skier traffic from the weekend, but are still not in bad shape.

Jan. 30 - good skiing again

 It's not quite so cold today (currently -12) so it should be comfortable for skiing. Conditions on the trails remain about the same as yesterday, perhaps not quite as good. We had a lot of skiers and walkers yesterday, so some trail sections got a bit packed down and the tracks that were set are not what they were. Also, a few inconsiderate walkers couldn't stay on their own trails, so you'll find footprints on some ski trails.

Just a reminder that, although there is no fee to ski on Hockleycrest trails, there is a donation box attached to the big sign at the parking lot. We do have some costs, primarily for fuel and maintenance on the groomer, so if you would like to help out, you can make a donation.

Jan. 29 - Good skiing, but very cold

 It's very cold this morning - so cold the snow squeaks when you ski on it. At -25, glide is very slow, but otherwise skiing conditions are good. The trails are well covered with snow, and yesterday's grooming is still looking nice.

Perhaps wait until this afternoon, when the temperature is going to warm up to -11.

Jan. 28 - another cold one

 At -18 degrees, the glide is slow out there this morning, on new powder snow.

There was a lot of snow drifting yesterday, combined with a little bit of new snow from flurries. I will be out on the groomer later this morning, trying to make the trails recognizable again. In the meantime, skiing will be fair to good, tending toward "backcountry" conditions.

MID-DAY UPDATE: I've groomed 95% of the network this morning. Ski conditions will be very good, as long as you don't mind the cold. It's still -18 out there.

South leg of #12, along the fence

#10 Field and Forest

Jan. 27 - Windy

 We have a fairly strong wind this morning. This means two things: first, it feels much colder than the -12 on my thermometer; and second, we have snow drifting.

Some trail sections are already beginning to get drifted in, and this will continue as long as the wind keeps blowing, especially in the open areas.

Skiing will be fair to good today, as the temperature eventually makes it up to about -6.

Jan. 26 - A cool day

 It's currently -18 and we're having a light snow flurry right now. With the cold snow temperature, glide is slow this morning, but that should improve as things warm up later.

Ski conditions on the trails are very good. Yesterday's grooming is still looking good, so I won't be doing anything today.

The north leg of trail #12, yesterday

Jan. 25 - Good skiing

 We received close to 5 cm of new snow in yesterday's flurries, and I did some preparatory work to soften up the hard base on many of the trails.

I will be out with the light snow comb to create some corduroy on the new snow, and I will reset tracks on the central trails.

Skiing will be good today.

MID-DAY UPDATE: All trails have been groomed, with tracks set in the central area. Skiing is very good. It's a beautiful sunny day, temperature - 10.

The Pasture Trail #9

Trail #25 Easy Does It