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

Jan. 24 - Hoping for a little more snow

 The trails saw a fair amount of traffic over the weekend, and are therefore looking a little bit beaten up. Some trail surfaces are getting quite hard packed, and the track-setting is obliterated in some spots. I was considering doing some grooming to renovate trail surfaces, but I see there is some snow expected this afternoon, so I may wait until after that is done.

This does not look like a major snowfall - probably around 2 to 4 cm - but it would give me something to work with in refreshing the trail surfaces.

Skiing is fair to good today. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it a 6.

MID-AFTERNOON UPDATE: I've been out grooming with the Piranha, scarifying/softening the base while new snow comes down. We've been having a pretty persistent snow flurry since this morning and it's starting to accumulate. New snow can only make things better!

Jan. 23 - Another Good Day

 We have received a couple of cm of new snow in flurries yesterday afternoon and overnight. This helps to give a softer texture to the surface of the trails, and a more comfortable ski. Conditions will be good today.

We're expecting temperatures steady around -9 all day today, and possibly some more snow flurries.

UPDATE: I will be taking the groomer over a couple of trail sections that are drifted in.

North Plateau this morning

Jan. 22 - A good ski day

 Conditions on our ski trails are still good; perhaps not quite as good as they were a couple of days ago. Snow coverage is more than adequate, but some trails are beginning to get a little bit hard packed and bumpy. These are the trails that get the most traffic, especially those shared with walkers.  If you get off of those onto exclusive ski trails, the surface condition is softer and more comfortable to ski on.

Temperature will be comfortable; it's currently -13 and will go up to -7. We're getting a light snow flurry right now, and expect more flurries this afternoon.

Jan. 21 - Another cool morning

 As I had my early-morning ski around the trails with my dog, it was -21, which is a bit cool. But it's supposed to warm up to -10 under a sunny sky, so it will be a good ski day.

Trail conditions are good, with a firm, packed-powder surface. Yesterday's grooming is still looking pretty good, except for a few places where walkers' footprints have spoiled the surface. I will go out on the groomer later and see if I can restore the track-setting on the central trails.

UPDATE: track-setting on the firmly packed trails was partly successful. The photo shows one of the better spots, on the Stone Hedge trail.

On the negative side, I bumped a gate post with my ATV and did some damage to the ATV. It will need to be repaired before I do any more grooming.

Jan. 20 - Survived the thaw

 We got through yesterday's brief warm spell with little damage to the trails. The snow now has a slightly crusty texture, but is still quite powdery. That's the good news.

The bad news is that we had quite a bit of drifting on some trails. I will be out with the groomer this morning to break through and pack down those drifts. Once I've done that, skiing should be good today.

One down side: it's fairly cold this morning, currently -18. Glide is very slow in these cold temperatures, but should improve as the temperature rises to about -12 later.

The parking lot on 5 Sideroad has now been snowplowed.

UPDATE: I've just finished going over most of the trails with the roller and comb. The drifted areas packed down reasonably well. Skiing is good (still a bit cool out there!)

North Plateau (#20) just after grooming

Jan. 19 - Not quite so good

 We received one or two cm of new snow last night, and this morning it is being blown around by some strong SW winds. The result is considerable drifting of snow onto the trails, and from a direction it doesn't often come from. Compounding the problem is a rise in temperature; it's now 0, and will probably reach +1 or +2 by noon. Snow will become wet and sticky; it will definitely not be as nice to ski on as yesterday's dry powder.

Snow at this temperature cannot be effectively groomed. Running a machine over it now would result in hard-packed ice once the temperature drops again. And it will drop again, this afternoon, accompanied by flurries.

We still have plenty of snow, but I would suggest that skiers wait until this half-day warm spell has passed before heading out to ski.

Good Skiing

 After yesterday's 20 cm snowfall, we have good skiing conditions on the trails today. All trails were packed at least once yesterday, although some were done before the snowfall had completely ended so there is a little bit of loose powder on the surface. Some trails, especially those at the north end, were also getting drifted in as soon as I had packed them, as the wind was quite strong from the north.

I will be out grooming again this morning to tidy up some drifted areas and to set some track.

Mid-day Update: All trails in the southern and central areas were groomed again this morning, and track was set on several of them. Skiing is very good. The sun is out and the temperature is comfortable. It's a beauty day for skiing.

One word of warning: the parking lot is not plowed yet. Skiers are parking on the roadside.

Trail #3, section shared with walkers. Packed wide so there is room for both walkers and skiers

Trail #10 Field and Forest this morning

Jan. 17 - It's Snowing!

 As predicted, it's snowing this morning. We've already received about 5 cm and the snowfall is supposed to last until about noon. So, with any luck, we will end up with about 10 cm total.

I will begin grooming when the snowfall ends. In the meantime, we will have good "backcountry" conditions on new powder snow. There is a fairly strong wind, so there will be some drifting; that means some places where the snow is quite deep, and other spots where it's completely blown away.

Temperature is comfortable, at -8, but driving conditions are poor.

Mid-day update: After a month of complaining that we didn't have enough snow, we now have plenty. I've been out and done a first pass with the groomer on the southern and central trails, but the snowfall has not yet stopped. Based on weather radar, it looks like snow will continue for at least another hour. I will do a first pass on northern trails this afternoon.

When we have this much new snow all at once, it requires more than one pass to achieve adequate compaction.

Yesterday, this measuring stick was showing 5 cm on the ground

Black Cherry trail, in the pine bush.

Jan. 16 - some improvement

 Yesterday afternoon, when the temperature had warmed up to -17, I tried a bit of grooming. My goal was to scarify and break up the ice on the surface of the trails, so that when we receive new snow tomorrow, it would not land on a glare ice surface and simply blow away or get pushed off to the side. I used my home-made piece of grooming equipment that I call the Piranha, and pulled it over the trails in the central part of the network.

The result was better than I expected. I managed to create a fair amount of loose granular snow on the trail surfaces. My wife and daughter went out skiing and confirmed that the grooming had had a beneficial effect.

I will do some more of this today, and then we will be ready for the predicted snowfall tonight and tomorrow.

Trails are still icy and difficult to ski on, and it's still fairly cold out there (right now -18). I would recommend waiting until after we've got our new snow. Hopefully it will measure up to the predictions.

Update: I've scarified the ice on all trails in the south and central sections, up to the north junction of #1 and #3. I hope to be able to finish doing this on the north end trails late this afternoon.

Jan. 15 - No Change

 Conditions remain the same on our ski trails. Snow coverage is extremely thin and the surface is icy. Skiing is poor. On top of that, the temperature is -25 right now, and is expected to "warm up" to only -17.

We're hoping for new snow Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Current predictions suggest we might get about 10 cm. If that is correct, then we would be happy, although more would be better.

Jan. 14

 We received a little bit of freezing rain yesterday. Trail surfaces are icy. Skiing is poor.

We're hoping for some snow starting Sunday night, through Monday into Tuesday. It's too soon to have any confidence in the snowfall amount, but it looks like it might be enough to significantly improve skiing conditions.

Jan. 13 - a little worse

 Yesterday's temperature got up to around 0, and the result is that powder snow that was on the surface has been transformed to an icy, granular texture. Ski conditions are a little worse than before. Trails are icy and very fast this morning, and that's not likely to change over the next couple of days.

Forecasts suggest we may get some snow starting Sunday night and on through next Wednesday. Let's hope they are right.

Jan. 12 More of the same

 Conditions on the ski trails remain the same: poor to fair. Snow cover is thin, with ice just beneath.

Jan. 11 - Brrrr!

 It's cold outside this morning - currently -24C. This means very slow glide, at least until the temperature warms up to -9 later this afternoon.

Through flurries yesterday, we picked up an additional 1 or 2 cm of snow, so conditions on the trails are slightly improved. Winds were strong yesterday, so some trail sections, particularly toward the north end, will be drifted in, while others are blown almost bare.

On a scale of 1 to 10, our ski conditions today would be a 3.

Jan. 10 - a slight improvement

 After yesterday's brief warm spell and mixed precipitation, the temperature has dropped again, and we've received a little new snow. Thus far, it's only 1 or 2 cm, but the flurries and possible squalls are forecast to continue until midday, so we may get some more.

The new powder provides a little bit of a soft cushion between your skis and the icy crust below. Trails are skiable, but extreme caution should be used on hills. On a scale of 1 to 10, today's score would be 2.

I will not be grooming, as there would be no benefit to doing it at this time. I need more snow to work with.

Black Cherry Trail #23 this morning

Jan. 9 - A good day to stay at home

 It's now 0 degrees outside, and the powder snow that was on the surface of our trails yesterday has been transformed into icy granular. Trails are very fast and icy. Even moderate hills will be dangerous under these conditions.

On top of that, we've had some freezing rain, and more is predicted for today, so driving conditions may be difficult.

There is a potential light at the end of the tunnel, however. A sharp cold front will pass through this afternoon, followed by strong NW winds coming off Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. This may set up snow squalls, with possible significant snow accumulations. Only time will tell whether we get lucky or not.

Jan. 8 - Fair skiing

 There has been no change in our conditions since yesterday. Skiing is fair. Our snow cover is very thin, but trails are skiable. Use caution on downhill sections, and rock skis are a good idea if you have some.

I will not be grooming today, since yesterday's groom is still looking good.

It's very cool to start with this morning (currently -18), but heading for a high of -5 under sunny skies.

Trail #5 this morning

Jan. 7 - A little more snow

 Yesterday's flurries were nearly continuous through the entire day, resulting in  2 or 3 cm more snow on our trails. The result is somewhat improved conditions for skiing. According to the measuring stick in my yard, we now have about 8 cm of snow on the ground.

I will groom this morning, extending the amount of packed trail, and touching up what I did yesterday. Snow cover is still thin, and extreme caution is required on the bigger hills.

It's cool today; present temperature is -14, with a forecast high of -9.

11 a.m. Update: I've groomed almost the entire network this morning, and even set a very shallow track on some of the central trails. Conditions are now what I would call "fair"; on a scale of 1 to 10, they would rate a 3.

Trail #12 crossing the South Field

Mainline trail toward the north end

Jan. 6 - A slight improvement

We received about 3 or 4 cm of new snow yesterday. As a result, conditions on our ski trails are slightly improved. The snow came on a fairly strong wind, so it's not evenly distributed; there are still places where the snow is very thin, with ice just below. Rock skis are still recommended.

I will try some grooming later this morning, to see if it makes any improvement. 

10 a.m. update: I've packed trails in the central area, and I think this has had some benefit. At least it will help to hold the snow in place, and aid in accumulating more snow. We are having light flurries this morning and the current temperature is -7.

The photos illustrate how thin the snow is in some places.

Jan. 5 - a little snow coming today

 Ski conditions remain the same; we have very thin snow cover, with ice just below the surface. We're hoping for some snow later today and tomorrow. Based on the forecast, it looks like the most we can expect is about 5 cm. I will not groom until after the snowfall has ended, and only if there is sufficient snow.

January 4 - No Change

 There has been no change in our ski conditions. Skiing is still poor.

January 3

 Our snowfall yesterday resulted in a total of about 4 cm of new snow. I tried some skiing in the afternoon; it's possible to ski, but it's not much fun. There is not enough powder snow covering the ice beneath, so it's difficult to ski, and on downhills it would be dangerous.

The temperature this morning is -17, the coldest we've had so far this winter.

I do not recommend skiing here today.

Another Disappointment

 The snowfall that was originally predicted to be 5 to 10 cm has so far given us only 1 cm. It's still snowing lightly, so there may be a little more accumulation before it ends, but I don't think it's going to provide skiable conditions.

Trails remain closed.

New Year's Day - No skiing today; hoping for snow tonight

 The New Year is coming in wet and mild. It's currently +1 with drizzle outside, and this will likely continue through this afternoon.

The forecast is calling for a drop in temperature and the beginning of snowfall this evening. 4 to 8 cm is predicted.

Skiing tomorrow perhaps?