February 22 - A change in the weather

 Day 66 of skiing this season.

We've received 3 to 4 cm of snow overnight, and it's still snowing fairly hard, on a moderate wind from the south. This is expected to continue until about noon. The temperature is forecast to rise to the freezing mark by mid-morning.

Skiing right now is good, on an ungroomed surface of new-fallen snow. I will start grooming about 8 a.m., and hope to get most of the network done before it warms up. One of the rules of grooming is that it's not a good idea to pack snow at temperatures above freezing.

10:15 a.m. Update: The snowfall has just about ended, and the temperature is just reaching 0. I managed to groom almost all trails with the roller and comb. No track-setting today. Only the NE portion of trail #17 was not done. Trails are in good condition, but the warmer snow will probably be sticky on the bottom of skis today.

Now we wait and see what the next 2 days bring: some more snow, maybe some rain, temperatures a little above 0 are predicted.

4:30 p.m. The snow has become very moist and packing. It would be better, both for you and for the trails, if you did NOT come skiing under these conditions.