Feb. 16 - Crazy weather

Ski conditions right now remain the same as they have been over the past several days: we have plenty of snow, but trail surfaces are icy. That is all about to change, due to a weather system that will pass through later today and overnight.

By mid-morning, the temperature will be above freezing, and by tonight it will be around +7. Significant rainfall is also expected overnight. This will definitely result in some snow loss.

After that, we're expecting a snowfall, possibly in the range of 10 to 20 cm, so if we're lucky, we may end up with better conditions than we started out with. But we won't know that until Friday.

In the meantime, I would ask that skiers stay off the trails during the time that the temperature is above freezing, so that we can preserve as much of the base as possible.

Feb. 15 - Still icy

 Ski conditions remain about the same today; we've had a light dusting of new snow, but not enough to make a difference in the icy trail conditions.

Skiing is fair on the flatter trails, but hills are challenging when the snow is this crusty.

It looks like we might get a significant snowfall on Thursday, after Wednesday's warm spell.

Feb. 14 - icy and cold - again

 Our conditions remain the same as yesterday: the trails are still icy, and it's cold outside. Current temperature is -20, hoping to warm up to -11.

Skiing will be tricky again today; hills should be skied with extreme caution, or avoided altogether. I don't see any improvement coming until perhaps Thursday, when we are supposed to get 5 cm of new snow.

Feb. 13 - Cold and icy

 It's a cool morning out there: -22 as I write this. Skiing is basically the same as yesterday; it's definitely on the icy side. Crunchy, granular snow with not much "give" to it. Conditions are tolerable on the flatter areas, but larger hills should be skied with extreme caution, or avoided altogether.

I won't be grooming today, as there is nothing more I can do with this snow. It's just not workable.

Feb. 12 - Icy

 It snowed for the entire day yesterday, but with almost no accumulation. Much of the snow came while the temperature was above 0, and it melted on contact with the ground.

The temperature has now fallen to -4, and the result is icy conditions on the trails. I will go out with the Piranha later this morning and try to pulverize the icy crust, but it will not produce packed powder conditions. Skiing will be tricky today.

UPDATE: I've been over the entire network with the Piranha (some sections more than once). The one skier that I met while grooming told me that this had been beneficial; the groomed sections were easier to ski on, with better control, than those that hadn't been done yet. So this is the best I can do with the equipment I have. Skiing is fair.

Temperature is dropping (as predicted); it's now -10.

Feb. 11 - a mixed bag of weather

 In spite of my efforts yesterday, the trails are definitely a bit icy this morning. I would rate the skiing as "fair" right now.

We are expecting some snow later this morning, which might help to improve the skiing. However, that is to be followed by a brief warming trend this afternoon and evening, when wet snow, rain or drizzle might also occur. We will have to wait and see what the conditions are like after all that is done.

MID MORNING UPDATE: It's been snowing here since about 7:30 this morning, and skiing is improved as a result. However, the conditions are extremely variable, depending on how the wind has deposited the snow, and the amount of tree canopy overhead. Some places are very soft and powdery; others are still quite icy.

I expect that conditions will continue to change throughout the day, as the temperature rises, and the snow may transition to rain or drizzle.

Feb. 10 - Tricky conditions

 Yesterday's high temperature was +4 with sunshine, so the snow definitely started to melt. We've dropped to -1 now, so that snow has re-frozen into an icy, granular texture. We're now getting some flurries of new, wet snow which tends to be slow and sticky. Result: difficult conditions for skiing.

The forecast says today's temperature will just reach 0 and then begin to fall this afternoon, with flurries continuing; so things might improve late in the day, but it's impossible to know for sure.

UPDATE, 5 P.M. Our temperature did indeed drop this afternoon. Once it was clearly below 0, I got out with the Piranha and scarified most of the trails. This broke up the icy crust and left a small amount of loose snow on the surface. So the skiing right now is slightly improved, and we have a better base for the snow that will hopefully come tomorrow.