Be Careful What You Wish For

 In yesterday morning's post, I was hoping for some new powder snow to cover the ice on our trails. In response, Mother Nature delivered 20 cm of new snow (instead of the freezing rain that had been forecast). This is actually more than we wanted, as it's very difficult to work with such a quantity of new snow all at once.

I did some initial grooming of some of the trails with a roller/comb late yesterday afternoon, while it was still snowing. I will continue that this morning. Today's forecast says the temperature will rise from the current reading of -4 to a high of +3. I will groom only up to the time when it reaches the freezing point, which will probably be about 10 or 11 a.m. Hopefully, I will be able to pack most of the network.

Even after 1 or 2 passes with the groomer, trails will still be a bit soft.

10:30 a.m. Update: Trails have been packed, all except for the eastern half of the Northfield loop. I did only a small amount of track-setting, as I was trying to get done quickly before the temperature hit 0. Current temperature is -1 and the snow is still powdery. Skiing is very good, with one caveat: the temperature will probably reach 0 soon, which means the snow may become sticky. Some liquid glide wax, like Easy Glide may be necessary.

Not a Ski Day

 Today will be a day to stay at home and hunker down. Ski conditions are poor at the moment, with yesterday's soft wet snow having frozen into an icy crust. With sunshine and a high temperature of +10 yesterday, we lost about 10 cm of snow. The good news is that we still have complete coverage; we just need to get some new powder snow on top to cover the ice.

Freezing rain and ice pellets are forecast for today, which is not great.

4 p.m. Update: Well, the forecasters sure got that one wrong. Instead of freezing rain, we have had heavy snowfall since 8 a.m. this morning. There is 20 cm of new powder on the ground, and the snowfall seems to have stopped. I've been out with the groomer and done an initial pass with the roller on central and some southern trails. I will do more grooming tomorrow morning.

Deteriorating Conditions

 The temperature yesterday rose to +3 and the result is easy to see: snow is no longer powdery, and there is an icy glaze on the surface. The current temperature is 0, and the glide is very fast, to the extent that it's difficult to control your speed, even on small downgrades. As the temperature rises to +3 again today, this will slow down and become wet and heavy.

The structure of the snow pack is also collapsing; trails that have been packed all season long now collapse under the weight of my ski.

Although it's possible to ski today, I would not recommend it.

Later today, I will be doing some remedial work on a problem area on the Mainline trail between Pine Cut and Hockleycrest. I'm hoping to correct the cross-fall on the trail so that I will be able to continue grooming it for the remainder of the season.

Some nasty weather is predicted for tomorrow: a wintery mix that might include rain, freezing rain, ice pellets, and snow. We will have to wait and see what impact it has on our skiing.

Come Early for Best Skiing

 Ski conditions are much the same today as they were yesterday. Although the temperature briefly touched the 0 point yesterday afternoon, our snow is still quite powdery, and it is currently -6 here. The forecast says it will get up to the freezing mark by noon, but possibly as early as 10 a.m. Once that happens, the snow will begin to get moist and sticky.

So, for the best skiing, come before 10 a.m.

Saturday's grooming is still holding up well.

Noon Update: I've just come in from skiing. The temperature is now +1 under a hazy sun. On waxless skis (fish scale) freshly coated with Easy Glide liquid wax, the glide is slow but tolerable. We now definitely have "snowball snow".

Still Good Skiing

 We were fortunate yesterday that the temperature only reached +1 briefly in the afternoon. Our snow was not radically transformed into icy crust; it is still quite powdery.

Once again today, the skiing will be best early in the day. Current temperature is -4, which is ideal. It will reach 0 around noon, and that is when the snow may become moist and sticky.

The coming week looks like it will not be kind to our trails, but the following week should bring a return to cooler temperatures and better skiing.

Today is Day 74 of skiable conditions here this year, and it's only mid-February. There have been quite a few years when we never reached that number of ski days.

New Snow

 We received about 5 cm of new snow yesterday afternoon and evening. Right now, at a temperature of -3, that fresh powder on top of the old packed base is very pleasant to ski on, with great glide. However, I'm afraid that is going to change, as the forecast high for today is plus 1. It's very likely that the snow will become moist and sticky.

I will start grooming at first light, hoping to get as much done as possible before the temperature reaches the freezing point. For the best skiing today, come early.

Based on the forecast for the next week, it looks like we are going to get into a period of "spring skiing", with above-freezing temperatures in the daytime, and below-freezing overnight. This means hard, fast, icy conditions in the mornings and soft, wet snow in the afternoons. It's not my favourite kind of skiing.

10 a.m. Update: All trails have been groomed, most of them just with a comb, and not track-set. Temperature is still just below freezing, and snow is still powdery.

Flurries Today

 It looks like we will get a little bit of snow today, and the temperature will stay below freezing. That's the good news.

I can't comment on current conditions on the trails, as I'm away for a couple of days, skiing at Stokely Creek Lodge in Algoma. There will be no grooming at Hockleycrest until Saturday at the earliest.

The bad news is that, based on the current forecast, some milder weather will be moving in on the weekend, with temperatures at or above freezing. This will probably mean a deterioration in our skiing conditions.