January 31 - still good

 Day 44 of skiing this season.

Conditions on the trails are still good, but not quite as good as they were a couple of days ago. We had a lot of people here skiing yesterday, so the heavily travelled trails have gotten quite packed down. There is not much that I can do about that, as my home-made grooming equipment can't transform hard-pack into powder. I will try a bit of scarifying this morning, to see if it helps.

If you come here to ski, please obey directional signage (a few trail sections are marked as One Way), and please stay on trail. I've noticed quite a few tracks heading off the trail, and this could be dangerous. Trails have been cleared of tree stumps, boulders and fallen logs, but if you go off the trail there are lots of obstacles you could hit. Also, in some of the open field areas, there are small trees planted, which could be damaged by a passing skier.

Here is one photo from yesterday afternoon:

Trail #12

January 30

 Day 43 of skiing this season.

 Conditions on the trails are very good again today. Yesterday, we received close to 5 cm of new powder snow from a flurry that lasted from mid-morning to mid-afternoon.

I groomed (re-set the track) on most of the central trails late yesterday afternoon. I will do touch-up grooming on southern and northern trails this morning.

It is cool this morning, at -12, but should warm up to about -6 with some sunshine this afternoon.

UPDATE: Southern and northern trails have been cleaned up with the roller/comb, and some new track set. It's a beauty day out there.

The Pasture Trail #9

Mainline trail, just north of the north junction of #3

January 29 - chilly, but very good

 Day 42 of skiing this season.

Skiing is very good again today, as we received another 1 to 2 cm of new snow in flurries overnight. I will be doing some touch-up grooming this morning, on heavy traffic and drifted areas. The main areas that drifted in yesterday afternoon were #17, #12 and the short piece of #1 adjacent to #12.

It is cold this morning, currently -16, with a forecast high of -8.

The forecast looking ahead looks good for skiing until next Thursday, when the temperature might hit 0.

UPDATE: This morning's grooming: South end trails were cleaned up with the light rubber snow comb. Drifted areas and the larger hills in the north end were groomed with the roller and comb, and a couple of central trails had the tracks refreshed. There has been a persistent snow flurry here for the past couple of hours; we've probably received another 2 or 3 cm of light powder snow this morning.

January 28 - Nice, and cool

 Day 41 of skiing this season.

Ski conditions on our trails will be very good again today. There is lots of packed powder on all our trails, plus 2 cm of new snow that came in flurries overnight.

It is, however, quite cold this morning, at -14, and will warm up to -9 by this afternoon.

I will do some touch up grooming on heavily trafficked areas, and try to extend the track-setting a bit as well.

Trail #5 yesterday afternoon

11:00 a.m. UPDATE: Most trails have been cleaned up with the light rubber comb, and I've set some track on portions of trails in the south and north ends, where it was appropriate.

January 27 - Winter Wonderland

 Day 40 of skiing this season.

Yesterday's weather forecast did not disappoint. We received 14 cm of beautiful, dry, powder snow on a gentle easterly wind. Skiing conditions will be excellent today, once I've finished grooming. I rolled all the central trails last night; I will do the rest this morning, starting with the southern section, and then moving to the north.

The temperature is also perfect: cold enough to maintain the dry powder snow, but not so cold that it's uncomfortable.

UPDATE: All trails have been packed at least once. Ski conditions are near perfect. After a coffee break, I will do some track-setting in the central section.

Trail #3, just after track-setting

January 26 - snow coming

 Day 39 of skiing this season.

The weather forecast says we will have a significant, day-long snowfall today - perhaps in the range of 10 cm. In the meantime, conditions on our trails remain about the same as the past couple of days - not bad, but not great.

I will start grooming once the snowfall has stopped.

Noon update: It's a veritable blizzard out there right now. Skiing should be very good tomorrow.

January 25 - No change

 This is Day 38 of skiing this season.

Trail conditions remain about the same here: fair to good. Because of skier traffic over the weekend, the trails have become somewhat hard packed, and there are a few icy spots. I see that the weather forecast has been changed, and now includes a snowfall, perhaps as much as 5 cm, for tomorrow. Let's hope it's correct, because we could use the snow.

Current temperature is -5. The high may reach 0 this afternoon, so skiing will probably be best in the morning.

January 24

 This is Day 37 of skiing this season.

The trails were busy yesterday, under sunshine and blue skies. Consequently, the little bit of new snow that we had is now pretty packed down. Skiing should still be fair to good today. I will not be grooming today, as there is really nothing I can do to make things better. We could still use a good snowfall of at least 10 cm, but it doesn't look like that is coming anytime soon.

We're currently sitting at -8, with a predicted high of -3, so it should be comfortable for skiing.

I occasionally have people contact me seeking clarification on our location. The trail access and parking area is on the 5 Side Road of the TOWN OF MONO, about a half km east of Airport Road. The turn-off from Airport Road is just 3.4 km north of Hwy. 9 (the village of Mono Mills). If you are inputting the location into a GPS device, it is important to specify MONO; otherwise, it may direct you to a 5 Sideroad in a different township altogether.

Here are a couple of photos from yesterday:

Trail #9 - The Pasture

Trail # 12 - Southfield

UPDATE: I changed my mind and did a little bit of grooming on the drifted sections of Southfield (#12), Mainline, and North Field (#17). It should be easier to find the trail there now.

January 23, 2021

 Day 36 of skiing this season.

5 cm of new snow yesterday. Skiing is good

I will be grooming this morning.

January 19

 After receiving a couple of cm of new snow, I've re-opened the trails. Conditions are still not great, but they are tolerable. There are many spots where ice is just below the surface. If you ski, use extreme caution on hills.

January 16 - Trails Closed

 Conditions on the trails have deteriorated. Yesterday's warm weather, followed by a mix of rain and a tiny bit of snow overnight, followed by below-freezing temperature this morning, has left trails very icy. Please do not ski here today.

January 13 - warming up

 Day 26 of skiing this season.

We had a bit of freezing drizzle yesterday and overnight, so the trails are a little more icy. Trails that were scarified yesterday in the central and northern areas are skiing better than those that were not. Conditions are still fair to good. The forecast says we will reach +1 this afternoon and will remain above freezing Thursday and Friday. There is also to be some mixed precipitation, but it remains to be seen whether it will be rain, freezing rain, or snow.

I will try to get out and touch up a few more trails today before the temperature goes above freezing.

Starting tomorrow, there is a provincial stay-at-home order to try and slow the spread of Covid 19. Consequently, I will not be posting any more ski condition reports until the order has been lifted.

January 12, 2021

 Day 25 of skiing this season.

Conditions on the trails remain about the same again today - fair to good. Snow coverage is adequate, but the trail surfaces are hard packed and a bit icy in spots.

Yesterday, I scarified and reset track on busier trails in the central section, plus some trails in the southern part, including Mainline coming out of the access at the parking lot on 5 Sideroad.

I spent the rest of the day yesterday building a new scarifyer. I will be trying it out today, to see whether it's capable of breaking up the hard crust and giving us some softer snow to work with.

UPDATE: I tried out the new scarifyer, and was fairly happy with the result. After a couple of small modifications, I took it over some of the trails in the north end, including #1, #1a, #17, #12 and #3. I can use it in advance of the track-setter to loosen the snow thus helping the track-setter to penetrate better; or I can use it alone on hills to create loose powdery snow for snow-plowing. We received a tiny bit of snow mixed with freezing drizzle today, but not enough to make a significant difference in conditions.

January 11 - same old thing

 Day 24 of skiing this season.

Our weather pattern continues the same, and so do our snow conditions. Yesterday was another day on which the temperature reached near 0, and this morning it's -5. Environment Canada says it will not reach 0 today; time will tell.

Trails still have adequate snow cover, although they are hard-packed and a bit icy in places. The grooming I did yesterday with the new track-setter was, I think, a success. I will touch up some of the busier trails, plus a bit more, this morning.

January 10, 2021

 Day 23 of skiing this season.

The temperature reached +1 yesterday afternoon, under mostly sunny skies. We did have some melting, but damage to our snow base was minimal. The trails generally have sufficient snow cover, but they are getting hard packed and a bit icy. Also, the trails that are shared with walkers are getting trampled with footprints. It seems that hikers just don't understand the needs of skiers.

It should be a bit cooler today, with a predicted high of -2. I built a new, smaller track-setter yesterday, specifically designed to set a shallow track in hard snow. I will be using it this morning to touch up the flatter trails in the central section.

The results of my grooming can be seen in this photo of trail #6 Central Park, taken at 10:30 this morning.

January 9, 2021

 Day 22 of skiing this season.

Conditions continue to be tolerable but not great on our trails. We have not had any new snow in more than a week. The trails, while adequately covered, are hard-packed and a little bit icy.

We may see some melting this afternoon. Environment Canada predicts a partly sunny day with a high of -1, but The Weather Network says it will reach +2 this afternoon. Skiing will be best before noon.

Evening update: There was not much to do today, so I took advantage of the opportunity to put up 6 more signs asking walkers not to walk on the ski trails.

With that done, I decided to build a new track-setter that could create a track in the kind of hard-packed snow we have right now. By 4:30 p.m., I had finished, and took it out for a trial run. I'm pleased with the results. The new track is not very deep, but it's straighter than the tracks made by skiers, and the snow is a little softer as a result of being scarified.

January 8 - Good news and bad news

 Day 21 of skiing this season.

We have good news and bad news. The good news is that we have not lost any snow. The bad news is that the snow we have is getting old and hard-packed, and isn't as much fun to ski on as fresh powder. According to the forecast, it will be at least a week before we get any significant new snow.

Our trails have generally good snow cover, with some sections tending to be a bit icy. It's definitely cooler out there today. We're starting off this morning at -10.

January7, 2021

 Day 20 of skiing this season.

Our snow cover remains good, but this snow is getting "old". Once again yesterday afternoon, the temperature rose slightly above freezing, causing a transformation of the snow: a little less powdery, a little more icy. Unfortunately, there is no new snow in the forecast for the next week.

Colder temperatures have arrived; today's predicted high is -4. Glide should be a little faster and more consistent than it has been.

January 6 - more of the same

 Day 19 of skiing this season.

Yesterday was another of those days where the temperature approached 0, and the snow began to make a transformation from powder toward ice. The glide is good this morning, and the snow has a slightly crusty consistency. We still have pretty good snow coverage on all trails, but control on the downhills will not be quite as good as it was with packed powder.

A cooler temperature trend is coming in, which is a good thing. Unfortunately, there is no significant snowfall in the forecast over the next week, so we will have to make do with the snow we have now.

January 5, 2021

 Day 18 of skiing this season.

Conditions on the trails remain about the same: fair to good. We have not received any new snow since yesterday, and yesterday's grooming is still holding up pretty well. The temperature is predicted to reach a high of -1 today, and there is a possibility of some light flurries.

Yesterday afternoon, the temperature got up near 0 and the snow began to get a bit moist and packing. Glide became inconsistent, skis sometimes stuck, and manoeverability suffered. Packing snow is just not as pleasant to ski on as powder.

I checked back to my posts from a year ago. At this time last year, we were in the middle of a period of about 3 weeks when skiing was either very poor or impossible. So by comparison, we are fortunate to have the snow we have right now.

January 4 - Better than expected

 Day 17 of skiing this season.

Yesterday turned out to be better than expected. We received 5 cm of new snow, and the temperature did not go above freezing. I groomed the central portion of our network last night, and then went out to ski using a headlamp. It was quite nice.

I will finish grooming the southern and northern trails this morning. Ski conditions should be generally good, with only a couple of spots that are still thin and icy.

LATE MORNING UPDATE: All trails have now been groomed. Current temperature is -1.5C. Environment Canada says it will reach 0 at 1 p.m. and +1 at 3 p.m. But if you prefer a more optimistic forecast, the Weather Network says it won't go above -1 today. Take your pick; but one thing is certain - the earlier you come to ski, the better it will be.

January 3 - OK skiing

 Day 16 of skiing this season.

Conditions on the trails remain about the same as yesterday: not great but tolerable. Everything was groomed yesterday; I will not be grooming today.

The forecast calls for a little bit of new snow today, with temperatures either just below, or just above freezing, depending on which weather service you look at.

January 2 - back to skiing

 Day 15 of skiing this season.

We received about 4 cm of new snow overnight, just enough to make our trails skiable once again. Conditions are still not great, as there is ice just below the surface in many places.

I will be out this morning to pack this snow, to help hold it in place.

Current temperature is -3, with a forecast high of +1.

Late morning update: Trails have been packed and will provide fair to good skiing. There is not sufficient snow depth for track setting. The section of trail #1 Mainline, between #1a and the north junction of #3, is probably the worst section, with thin snow cover and lumpy ice. It is skiable, but exercise extreme caution.

January 1,2021 - Hoping for snow

 No skiing again today, as it's still too icy. A weather system moving through tonight might bring us some snow. Let's hope it's enough.