Pre-season Update

 Work is progressing on our preparations for the coming ski season, but with a couple of differences this year.

First, I have to report that a portion of our ski trail network will be closed at the beginning of the season. One of our landowners, the Valley of the Mother of God, is having some timber harvested on their property in November and December. This means that all the northern trails - any trail north of and including #12 or #9 - will not be open until the logging operations are completed. Hopefully this will be done by January 1. After that, the trails will have to be inspected and assessed to see if they have been damaged or blocked by debris. I will not be putting up any of the usual ski trail signage at the north end until the trails are ready to be re-opened.

A second factor is slowing down our preparations this year: I have suffered an injury, a torn Achilles tendon, which severely limits my mobility. I am getting the signage up, but it's taking longer than usual.

On the positive side, the new trail that I mentioned in my previous post is ready to go. I've called it the Twisty trail and given it number 24. It is 0.5 km long and has a nice little hill at the east end.

That's all for now. Let's hope that the weather cools down and we get some snow soon.

Preparation for the coming season

 It's September 8, and the temperature outside this morning is +5. That's cool! Time to start thinking about the coming ski season.

Over the past couple of months, I've been doing the usual summer maintenance on the trails, which mostly consists of cutting the grass. But I've also added a new trail to our network. It's in the relatively flat area in the central part of our trail system, and it runs from west to east, intersecting 7 other trails along the way. The most easterly part of it, where it intersects the Mainline trail, has a very nice, gentle to moderate downhill on it, which I think is going to be fun to ski. Time will tell; we need some snow first, so that we can give it a try.

Season Wrap-Up

 I'm sure you know by now that our ski season is finished. It was not a very good one. The first day of skiing for me was Nov. 29, 2023 and the last day of skiing was April 5, 2024. In between those dates, there were a few days of good skiing, a bunch of days when skiing was possible but not good, and a lot of days when it was not possible to ski at all.

In total, I skied 44 days this season. (Many of these days were not good skiing, just tolerable) Last year, the total was 52. The year before, I skied 79 days! There seems to be a trend here, and it's not a good one.

I've been doing a couple of things to try to maximize our skiing pleasure in the future.

First, toward the end of this past season, I acquired a very old, used ski trail groomer from Mono Nordic Ski Club. It's called a Tidd Tech Trail Tenderizer. It had been used very hard, and needed a number of repairs and replacement of worn-out parts. I've done that work, and the groomer is ready for next season.

The Tidd Tech grooms the same width as my old, home-made groomer - basically a 4 foot platform with a 6 inch transition on each side. It has two advantages over my old groomer. The most important is that it has the ability to handle hard-packed, crusty or icy snow. Across the front, there are 2 rows of very aggressive steel teeth that can be lowered into the snow and break up the hard stuff. The other advantage is that it enables me to start and stop track-setting, depending on the terrain, and the transition from one mode to the other is quite easy.

The other job I've been working on since the snow melted is something I call "daylighting". There are a few places where a trail passes through a dense stand of conifers, and the thick canopy of branches overhead intercepts falling snow, preventing it from reaching the ground. These places always have thinner snow cover, and are the first spots to turn icy when there is a short warm spell. I've been pruning overhanging branches high up in the trees, or in some cases removing entire trees, so that you can see daylight directly above the trail. At the same time, I'm being careful not to allow too much sunshine penetration from the south, to prevent snow from being melted on sunny days toward the end of the season. I will be doing more of this as I prepare for next season.

Hopefully, next season will have more snow and fewer days with above-freezing temperatures. Whatever happens, I will do the best I can with what we get.

Disappearing Act

 Well, we had about 2 hours of decent skiing yesterday. Although the air temperature topped out at -1, the sunshine was powerful and caused a lot of melting. We still have a very thin snow cover, but there are many bare spots. I do not recommend skiing today.

We Have Snow

 Yesterday's snowfall amounted to about 10 cm. Skiing is not bad. If you are looking for one last opportunity to get in some skiing in this dismal non-winter, then this is probably it. This will not last very long.

I will groom some trails in the southern and central sections of the network first thing this morning.

9 a.m. Update: I've groomed everything in the central area, and a couple of routes from there down to the 5 Sideroad. Skiing is nice.

1 p.m. Update: Well, I said it wouldn't last long, and it hasn't. Today's strong sunshine has been too warm for our thin snow cover. Sunny spots have started to melt away, and the snow has become quite wet and sticky. Skiing is no longer very enjoyable.

Still Closed

 Yesterday's forecast suggested that we might receive a significant snowfall from squalls in the afternoon and overnight. That snowfall did not materialize. We received perhaps 1 or 2 cm of new snow. It is not enough to make skiing possible again. Trails remain closed.

Trails Closed

 We lost a lot of snow yesterday, and we are going to lost a lot more today, with sunshine and +10 temperature. There are now too many bare spots for skiing. Trails are closed.

Shrinking Snow

 With bright sunshine and +4 yesterday, we lost a lot of snow. Bare spots and icy patches are showing up in many places. Warm weather today and tomorrow is going to take away a lot more snow.

As of right now (7 a.m.), at a temperature of -1, it is still possible to ski, but it's not going to last long.

Get it while it lasts

 Yesterday turned out to be a very nice day of skiing. Conditions remain about the same, at least for the first half of today. For the most part, trails are nicely covered with packed powder. There are a few small thin spots, some containing ice.

My experiment with track-setting yesterday was a success; I was able to set some quite good tracks on several of the central trails. These remain in good condition this morning.

Unfortunately, a warming trend is arriving. It will be above freezing by noon today, and the next 2 days are predicted to be much warmer.

Today might be our last chance for a while to have decent skiing.

A Little More Snow

 It snowed lightly for most of the day yesterday, with very little accumulation. But then, late in the afternoon, a heavier squall parked over us for about an hour. As a result, we have a total new snowfall of about 4 cm. This is very nice, dry snow, with good glide.

I will be grooming right after breakfast. Once that is done, skiing should be good. It's cool to start off this morning (-11), but should reach a comfortable -3 this afternoon.

9:45 a.m. Update: Most trails have now been groomed. Only a few in the central area have not been done yet this morning; after a coffee break, I am going to try some track-setting on those. 

There are still some thin spots. One particularly bad one is on #7 Around the Pines, just west of the corner where Tornado Alley connects. The wind has blown away all the snow at the top of the hill there.

Windy

 We have strong winds this morning. This has 3 results: first, it feels much colder than the -8 temperature; second it has caused some drifting of snow on the trails; third, it may bring us more snow through squalls.

I had planned to do some renovating/grooming this morning, but with this wind blowing it would be pointless. Grooming will have to wait until the wind dies down.

Ski conditions remain about the same as yesterday, ranging from fair to good.

Better Skiing

 Conditions continue to improve gradually. We had a couple of heavy flurries yesterday afternoon, and a little more snow has fallen overnight. North end trails were groomed yesterday morning, and the central trails were done again late yesterday afternoon. I will groom the southern trails this morning.

Snow is still thin in some places, such as under the thick canopy of conifer plantations. Also, a few open field locations had most of the new powder snow stripped away by the wind, leaving only the old icy base. I have not done any track-setting, because the snow depth is generally not sufficient.

Ski conditions still range from fair to good. Temperatures today are nice: currently -10. The forecast says there is a possibility of snow squalls both today and tomorrow.

9:30 a.m. Update: All the southern trails have been re-groomed and are looking pretty good. It's a nice sunny day out there right now.

Improved Conditions

 Having just skied a little bit this morning, I'm going to upgrade my assessment of the ski conditions. An additional 2 to 3 cm of snow has fallen overnight. Conditions now range from fair to good. I will be grooming the north end trails this morning; trails that were groomed yesterday afternoon will have a small amount of fresh powder on the surface.

10 a.m. Update: North end trails, and some of the central trails were groomed this morning between 7 and 8:30. Light intermittent snow is continuing to fall.

5:30 p.m. Thursday

 Well, we did receive the predicted amount of 10 cm of new snow today. The snowfall has pretty well ended, although there may be some flurries or squalls overnight.

10 cm of powder snow does not take you from impossible skiing to good skiing instantly. It packs down to about 3cm when groomed. So, we have what I would call fair skiing. I have groomed all the central and southern trails. Northern trails will be done tomorrow morning. I tried some track-setting in the central area, with mixed results. In some places the track is quite good, but in other places the snow was not deep enough, so the bottom of the track is right down to the old ice below.

Preparing for New Snow

 All the forecasts now seem to be predicting a snowfall tomorrow afternoon/evening. So, in a giant leap of faith, I have been getting ready to groom the snow for skiing. Today, I did a walking inspection of the trails, clearing fallen trees and checking the current condition of the trail surfaces. Tomorrow's snow (if it comes) will be landing on one of 3 different surfaces: about 10% is currently bare ground; about 60% is crusty snow; and about 30% is glare ice. The most concerning is the last one, since the new snow will not adhere to the ice surface, and I may not even be able to drive the groomer up hills that are icy.

I have also been preparing a new/old piece of grooming equipment. The Mono Nordic Ski Club has loaned me an old Tidd Tech Trail Tenderizer (yes, it's really a thing; Google it!) which they do not use anymore. I've been doing some repairs on it, and will give it a try once we have enough snow.

Here's hoping we'll have some skiable conditions by Friday.

Is Snow Coming?

There might be some snow on the way. Most forecasts are calling for snow late Thursday into Friday. The amount being mentioned is 5 to 10 cm. Will it be enough to allow us to start skiing again? Time will tell. In the meantime, trails are still closed. 

Ski Trails Closed

We have now lost so much snow that it's no longer possible to ski.

Trails are officially closed. 

Now is the Winter of our Discontent

 With continued above-freezing temperatures, our snow is disappearing fast. There is supposed to be a return of cooler temperatures after Sunday, but there is no significant snowfall in the forecast over the next 2 weeks.

Skiing conditions are very poor.

February 4 Update

 It's been a week since I last posted a report, so I thought an update may be useful. Things have changed very little in the past week. We still have snow cover, but the snow is very hard, crusty and icy. Skiing is almost impossible on this stuff.

I tried some grooming yesterday afternoon, when the sun was out and the temperature was above 0, but it was not effective. Basically, it didn't change anything.

Ski conditions are poor, and will probably continue that way for the next several days.

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.