Poor Conditions again

 I'm getting tired of posting the same gloomy report everyday. As the temperature continues to fluctuate up and down around the freezing point, things are not getting a lot worse, but they are not getting better either. We still have some snow on the ground and on the trails, although it's getting thin in a few spots.

When the temperature is above 0, the trail surface will be soft, wet and slushy. When it's below 0 (overnight and early in the morning) trails will be icy.

I will not be posting again until there is a significant change to report.

Poor conditions

 We had rain yesterday with a high temperature of +1, so there has been further deterioration of the snow. This morning, it has dropped to 0, so there is an icy crust on top of very wet snow. Skiing conditions are poor.

Losing Snow

 Warm temperatures and rain are eating away at our snow cover. We have lost 5 cm of snow in the last 24 hours. We had another unpleasant surprise this morning: freezing rain.

It is still possible to ski, but it's no fun at all. Conditions are poor to fair.

Deteriorating Conditions

 After a day when the temperature hovered around 0 or just above, snow conditions have changed significantly. It's now +1 and will reach +3 later today. The snow structure is beginning to collapse. Trail surfaces that were firmly packed to support the weight of a skier have become soft, wet and heavy.

It's still possible to ski, but it's not much fun, and will get worse as the day goes on.

Changing Conditions

 Yesterday's forecast proved to be quite accurate; starting about noon, we received 5 cm of new snow, which was on the moist side as  it came down, thus making it a bit sticky to ski on. I was out grooming in the late afternoon, finishing up at 5:15 p.m. as the snow was still falling. I packed all the southern trails, and almost all of the central and northern trails.

Snow was still falling at 11o'clock last night, but sometime overnight there was a transition to either rain, or freezing rain. This morning, at a temperature of -1, we have a thin icy crust on top of the snow. This is both good news and bad news. On the good side, glide is excellent. In fact, it's really fast out there. On the bad side, control on hills is much reduced, as it's not easy to snowplow in the crust.

Conditions will continue to change throughout the day, as the temperature rises to about +4, and there may be some rain. Welcome to skiing in southern Ontario!

More New Snow, but then.....

 We did receive 1 or 2 cm of new snow yesterday. I did some "touch-up" grooming in the afternoon, once there was a bit of new powder to work with. The combination of these two things has resulted in slightly improved conditions this morning. Trails are still "fair to good" but tending a bit more toward the good end.

The forecast today is calling for some additional snow, possibly around 5 cm. This will be nice for a little while, but unfortunately we have a few days of warm weather arriving tomorrow. It looks like our period of tolerable skiing may be coming to an end.

New Snow in the Forecast

 Conditions on the trails remain about the same - fair to good. We have some wind this morning, and some trail sections have become drifted. However, I'm not going to groom right away, because we are expecting some new snow this afternoon and tomorrow. My grooming schedule will depend on how much we get, and when it finishes.

Sunday Report

 Ski conditions continue to be fair to good on the trails. We received about 1 cm of new snow yesterday in flurries, so there is a little bit of powder on the surface. The firmly packed (sometimes icy) base is not far below.

It looks like the temperature will be more comfortable today, with a high of -4, and there is a chance we may see some sunshine.

Another Cool One

 It's minus 17 outside as I write this. I've just come in from a short ski. Conditions remain about the same: fair to good. Yesterday, I took the light snow comb over the trail sections that were the most drifted in. This was not 100% effective, but it did knock down the biggest drifts and you can now see where the trail goes.

Friday Report

 Trail conditions remain about the same. We have decent coverage, with a firm (sometimes icy) base, and a little bit of loose powder on the surface. Some trail sections, especially those in open areas, have gotten drifted in a bit over the past couple of days. I will try to tidy those up today. Skiing conditions will range from fair to good.

More Comfortable

 It's going to be a more comfortable day for skiing today, with a high of -6. Trail conditions are about the same, with one exception. Yesterday's strong winds caused some drifting of snow on open field sections of trail. Normally, I would try to tidy this up, but due to other commitments, I will not be able to groom today.

Some snow flurries are expected today. A little bit of fresh powder will not do any harm on the trails.

Cold

 It's cold out there this morning: minus 17 right now, with a brisk wind.

After yesterday afternoon's grooming, ski trail conditions are fair to good. The wind today will cause some drifting on trails through open areas. As long as the wind keeps blowing, there is no remedy for this.

A touch more snow

 Once again, we've received a small amount of new snow overnight - about 1 to 2 cm. Every little bit of powder snow on top of our icy base is beneficial.

Yesterday, I tidied up the southern and central trails with a light snow comb. I may see what I can do with the northern trails later today. Conditions are generally fair, with a few thin and icy spots.

LATE AFTERNOON UPDATE: All northern and central trails have been regroomed with the roller/comb, to pack and level the new powder on top of the base, and also to knock down some snow drifts that resulted from the winds of the past 2 days. Conditions are slightly improved to "fair to good".

A Little More Snow

 We received a little more new snow yesterday. It's hard to say how much because the wind was blowing pretty hard, causing drifting. In some places it piled up fairly deep, in other places it got stripped away, down to the icy base.

Yesterday afternoon, I groomed some of the worst drifted areas with a light rubber comb, and it seemed to help temporarily. I will do more of that today. Conditions will remain variable, with some trail sections nicely covered with powder, and others quite icy.

It's cold out there today, but not as windy as yesterday.

Improving Slowly

 Southern Ontario weather makes ski trail maintenance a real roller coaster ride. We started yesterday with 10 cm of very wet new snow at a temperature of +1. After waiting for the temperature to drop below freezing, I rolled all the trails, producing a flat packed surface. As the temperature continued to drop, the trail surface became quite icy. My attempt to set a track was not successful, because the trail surface was too firm to press a track into it.

The good news is we have some additional new snow - about 4 cm generally, but with strong winds there are drifted spots that are much deeper. The fresh powder over the firm base is making skiing much more comfortable this morning. Overall, I give it a "fair" rating.

Snow squalls are forecast for today (and it's snowing right now). Any additional snow will be beneficial, but it won't be uniformly distributed because of the wind.

Disappointed Again

 The predicted 20cm snowfall did not happen. Instead, be received about 10cm of snow, mixed with rain. The result this morning is that we have good coverage, but the snow is very wet and heavy. It will be hard work skiing on this stuff. Glide is poor at the moment, with the temperature sitting at +1.

I cannot groom this snow until the temperature drops below freezing. It looks like that will be later this morning, or early afternoon. I will provide an update when I have something new to report.

NOON UPDATE: I have groomed most trails with the roller/comb. I spoke to one skier who said it was not bad. I have not packed 3 short trails in the central section: Ash Grove, Stone Hedge, and Black Cherry. I will do those after a lunch break, and will try some track-setting. The temperature has dropped to -3. Trail #1 crossing the creek between #1a and the north junction of #3 remains thin, and wet. There is a slushy spot right beside the bridge; this will freeze and become ice as the temperature drops lower.

Improved Conditions

 Ski conditions are much improved this morning. This is the result of 3 to 4 cm of new snow we received yesterday, plus some grooming that I did, and the fact that this morning's temperature is -3. We have about 10 cm of snow on the ground, which packs down to about 5 on trails that I have groomed. Only the trails in the central section of the network have been groomed.

We are expecting a major snowfall tonight and into tomorrow, but again there is likely to be some rain mixed in. We will have to wait until tomorrow to see what the results are.

For today, conditions are fair to good, with a few thin spots.

NOON UPDATE: Some trial grooming showed that it made a noticeable improvement, so I have gone over all trails that were not previously groomed, with the roller and snow comb. A notable thin spot is trail #1 where it runs down across the stream toward the north junction of #3. Also, every place where the trail passes beneath a hemlock tree is thin.

Need to wait a little more

 With a return to below-freezing temperatures, yesterday's very wet snow has now frozen. We have coverage of 5 to 7 cm on the trails. However, the surface is quite icy. Skiing is possible, but I DO NOT recommend it. Hills will be very fast today, and control is difficult.

This is not the snow we want to ski on, but it will make a good base for future snowfalls which will hopefully be soft and velvety smooth.

We are expecting a little bit of new snow today, and substantially more Friday and Saturday.

UPDATE: Since I posted at 7 a.m. we have received about 3 cm of new snow, which is on the moist side. You can make a snowball with it. I have also taken my scarifier over the central trails in an attempt to pulverize the icy crust. These two things have resulted in a slight improvement in the skiing conditions; trails will be "slower" now. The new snow might be a bit sticky on the base of your skis.

Conditions are still challenging; for good, experienced skiers only.

We need to wait!

 Yesterday's snowfall was about 10 cm, and was followed by about 6 hours of rain, with temperature reaching +3. The result is that we do have a white coating on the ground, but the snow is saturated with water. It could almost be called slush. The current temperature is +1.

I cannot groom until some of the water drains away, and the temperature drops below freezing. That is forecast to happen sometime this afternoon.

In the meantime, please DO NOT SKI on the trails. It will not be an enjoyable experience, and you will only cause lasting damage to the snow base.

Things should improve as the temperature drops, and additional snow is forecast for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Snow expected today - but.....

 A significant snowfall is expected today and overnight into tomorrow. That's the good news. However, the bad news is that the temperature will be near 0, and probably above 0 by tonight, and there may be rain following the snow. Grooming of wet snow is always difficult, and often does not produce good results.

We will have to wait and see exactly what Mother Nature decides to give us, and then we will deal with it.

No skiing today; tomorrow maybe.

Disappointment

Yesterday morning, Environment Canada promised there would be "flurries, at times heavy" last night, with accumulation of 2 to 4 cm. It did not happen. We received only about a half cm of new snow. Not enough to ski on. Trails remain closed.

The New Year has arrived, but Winter has not

 We received about 2 cm of new snow last night. It's a start, but not nearly enough to ski on. Trails remain closed.