Closed for the season

 Today is March 31, the temperature today will be +12, and our snow is almost all gone. So, our trails will be officially closed until next winter. 

Considering that we got a very late start this year, with virtually no skiing in December, and not much in the first half of January, the season turned out not too badly. I personally was able to ski on 79 days, which is 3 more than last year.

Please note that trails that were open just for skiing during the winter are NOT open for walking in summer. You are welcome to walk or run on the main Bruce Trail (marked with white rectangular blazes) and the Bruce side trails, marked with blue rectangular blazes.

March 27 - New snow

 We've received some new snow, but it only amounts to about 2 cm. Not enough to ski on.

Trails remain closed.

March 15 - Trails closed

 We lost a lot of snow yesterday, with the +6 temperature in the afternoon. There are many bare spots on the trails.

Trails are closed.

March 14 - Last Chance to ski?

 Ski conditions this morning are not bad. We received a little bit of new snow yesterday afternoon, resulting in a small improvement in trail conditions. However, there are still many thin spots.

If you want to ski today, come as early as possible; by noon the temperature will be above 0, and rain is expected this afternoon.

The rest of the week looks like a washout, with temperatures up to +16 two days in a row. Today might be our last chance to ski this season.

March 13 -

 The snow squalls that were predicted for yesterday afternoon did not occur. We had a few flurries, but no significant new accumulation of snow.

Ski conditions range from fair to almost good. I will pack a few more trails in the north end this morning, in order to better define the trail where there was drifting yesterday afternoon.

UPDATE: Northern trails have been groomed (packed with roller and comb). Trails in the bush are fairly good, but those on the open fields are poor to fair. There are several places where the snow has been totally blown away. The section of #17 that parallels Airport Road has almost no snow on it. The pinnacle at the top end of North Plateau is also very thin and icy. Mainline hill at the east end of the open field between the 2 ends of trail #12 is also icy.

March 12 - Open again

 Yesterday's snowfall accumulation was about 7 cm; just enough to restore skiable conditions on the trails. I've been out this morning, and it was skiing quite nicely.

With this amount of snow, I'm not sure grooming is necessary. I will try some limited grooming this morning, and then assess whether it is worthwhile.

There are still many thin spots, and the old icy crust can be felt just beneath the surface of the new powder. Ski with caution, especially on hills. Rock skis are recommended if you have some.

Late this morning and this afternoon, snow squalls are possible. Additional accumulations of 5 to 10 cm might occur, with blowing and drifting snow and strong northwest winds.

MIDDAY UPDATE: I've groomed all central trails with the roller/comb and they are skiing very nicely. Ski conditions are almost to the point where I would call them "good". As predicted earlier, we are beginning to get some flurries, and the snowsquall watch has been upgraded to a warning. As long as it continues snowing and blowing, I will not do any further grooming.

One further note of caution: the parking lot on the 5 Sideroad is quite icy.

South end of trail #3, after grooming this morning

March 11 - It's snowing

 It's 4 p.m. and it's been snowing moderately since this morning. I think it may be OK to re-open the trails tomorrow morning.

March 9 - still closed

 Trails are still closed, due to lack of snow. Unless we get a major snowstorm, this may be the end of our season.

I will not make any new posts unless there is some good news to report.

March 8 - Not enough snow

 Yesterday's snowfall only amounted to about 2 cm total accumulation. This is not enough to restore skiable conditions on our trails.

Trails remain closed today.

March 7 - Trails Closed

We lost a lot of snow yesterday. There are multiple bare patches and some flooded spots on the trails. Any "snow" that remains is really ice.

Trails are closed until further notice.

We are getting some precipitation today; at the moment it's a mix of freezing rain and ice pellets. This should transition to snow later on. Time will tell whether this will be enough to restore skiable conditions.

Example of one of many bare patches

March 6 - Trails closed

 Trails are closed today, as we experience high winds and high temperatures. It's currently +8 and will hit +14 before starting to drop again. We've already lost some snow, and I'm sure more will disappear before the day is done. Bare spots are beginning to appear on trails.

Please, do not come skiing here today.

March 5

 Ski conditions remain poor to fair. Right now, trail surfaces are hard and icy with just a tiny bit of powder on top. As the temperature reaches the freezing point around noon today, things should soften up a bit, but we will start losing snow at that point. We already have a few very thin spots.

So, things do not look good for skiing today, and tomorrow looks even worse, with a forecast high of +12 degrees.

March 4

 Conditions on the trails remain the same; it's very hard and icy. Skiing is difficult under these conditions. I do not recommend skiing today.

March 3 - small improvement

 With an overnight snowfall of 1 to 2 cm, we see a small improvement in skiing conditions. However, the trails are still very icy. Skiing is only Fair today.

March 2 - Icy

 Yesterday's high temperature was +3. We're now sitting at -4, and the result is that the trails have become quite icy. Skiing is poor to fair. Extreme caution should be used on the larger hills.

March is here

 The arrival of March signals the beginning of the end for skiing in southern Ontario. While it's certainly possible to have significant snowfalls and very good skiing in March, it's more likely that we will see above-freezing temperatures and snow loss.

Today, we start out with about 1 cm of new snow on the ground, and a forecast high of +4. Skiing will be only Fair today, with slow, sticky conditions this afternoon.