New Snow!

 We've received about 8 cm of new snow overnight. It looks like we got lucky and avoided the freezing rain that was also predicted.

I will start grooming right after breakfast. Skiing will be good this morning. By afternoon, the temperature may get up around 0 and the snow may get a bit sticky.

10:30 a.m. Update: All trails have been rolled and combed, and central area trails were track-set. Conditions are very good. Temperature is still holding at -1, which is better than 0 or +1. It's a bit windy, so there is some drifting on open-field trails in the north end.

Trail #3 this morning

A Slight Deterioration

 Ski conditions are not quite as good as they were, due to two factors. First, we had a lot of skier and walker traffic on the trails over the weekend. Second, the temperature reached 0 yesterday afternoon, so snow crystals have started a transformation from powder toward granular. Overall, the snow is still fairly soft, and most trails still offer good skiing. However, the more heavily trafficked trails have become a bit hard-packed and lumpy.

We are expecting a snowfall starting late this afternoon, accompanied by strong winds. Estimates vary on how much snow will come; some say 2 to 4 cm, while others put it around 10 cm. This event may include some ice pellets and/or freezing rain. We'll have to wait until tomorrow morning to find out.

I will not groom today. There is no point in doing it just before a snowfall.

Still Nice

 A lot of people were out enjoying the trails yesterday. In the strong sunshine of the afternoon, we began to have a little bit of melting on the snow surface, even though the air temperature was -5. However, the snow texture is still predominantly powdery as we begin today, so ski conditions are good.

According to the forecast, the temperature will reach 0 briefly around noon today, so the snow might become a bit heavy and sticky.

I will do a small amount of grooming this morning, to tidy up a couple of areas at the north end.

Trail #3 yesterday

10 a.m. Update: I've done some grooming at the north end, and I tried something new. I packed a new trail across the north field, from the SW corner where it's high, to the NE corner where it's much lower. If you're in that area, give it a try; I think it may be a nice downhill run.

On the way home, I re-packed the Pasture trail (#9) to repair some of the many places where people have crashed.

Good Skiing Continues

 There is a bit of new snow coming down right now; it may amount to a couple of cm by the time it's done later this morning. Skiing conditions are very good on the trails. The grooming I did on Thursday, with a bit of touch-up grooming yesterday morning, is still standing up well, as there hasn't been too much skier traffic on it yet. Also, fortunately, there have been very few walkers on the trails.

With a forecast high of -3, today should be a very good day for skiing.

I have one request: if you must take off your skis and walk for any reason, please walk along the edge of the trail, not in the middle. Try to leave the nice smooth groomed surface for others to enjoy.

Noon Update: Light snowfall has continued all morning. I've gone over the whole system with a light rubber comb, and then reset tracks in the central area. Unfortunately, we have had quite a number of walkers through this morning, and some trail sections have been trampled. Nevertheless, skiing is still very good.

Proof that people do not obey signs. The left side was deliberately packed so that walkers would not have a reason to walk on the ski track.

Trail #12, Southfield, this morning

Nice Skiing - Finally

 All our trails were groomed yesterday and are still in great shape today. We had a little bit of freezing rain yesterday afternoon, but it did not affect the snow quality. We also got a light dusting of fresh powder overnight.

The glide is a bit slow this morning (temperature -12) but should improve as the day warms up to -8. Either today or tomorrow should be excellent days to ski.

Abundant Snow

 We have received about 15 cm of new snow. I will be starting to groom as soon as it's light enough outside.

10:15 a.m. Update: All trails have been rolled and combed. Skiing is very good. After a brief coffee break, I will go back out and set track in the central section.

Noon Update: Central trails have been track-set. Skiing is excellent.

Trail #3 just west of Central Park #6

Snowfall has Started

 Our snowfall has begun. So far, we've received about 2 to 3 cm of light fluffy snow. The main body of heavier snow is expected after 5 p.m. this afternoon. I will be grooming tomorrow morning.