Yesterday's wintry mix brought us a little bit of everything: fog, freezing rain, rain, ice pellets and finally about 3 to 4 cm of snow. Unfortunately, the temperature this morning is right at 0, and the snow is heavy, wet and packing. It's the kind that sticks to the bottom of your skis and prevents you from gliding.
As the temperature rises to the forecast high of +2, that is not likely to change. Skiing will be very difficult today.
Right now, skiing is very good on our trails. I groomed the southern and central trails late yesterday afternoon, and they are in great shape. Northern trails have about 5 cm of new powder over the previously packed base. I will groom the northern trails at first light.
But based on the weather forecast, these conditions are not likely to last very long. We are expecting snow mixed with freezing rain, starting as early as 10 a.m. today. The temperature will reach 0, so the snow will become packing and sticky.
If you want a good ski, come early.
9:45 A.M. UPDATE: I've groomed all the northern trails. We currently have a temperature of -2, with fog, but no precipitation yet. Skiing is still good. (snow still loose and powdery).
As forecast, snow has begun to fall here. Today's accumulation is expected to be about 5 cm.
Skiing should be good, with the extra powder on the surface providing a little better control on the hills.
Depending on when the snowfall ends, I may do some grooming this afternoon, beginning with the southern trails.
Conditions on the ski trails continue to improve incrementally, as we get a little bit of new snow each day. Yesterday, we picked up 2 to 3 cm of snow from flurries.
Today's temperature is a very comfortable -5. Get out and take advantage of these nice conditions while they are here. Some warmer weather is coming in on Tuesday through Friday, which will very likely cause a deterioration.
I will groom the northern trails this morning. Yesterday's grooming of the central and southern trails is still looking good.
10:30 A.M. UPDATE: Northern trails have been groomed. Drifted areas were cleaned up, and at the moment it is not blowing/drifting. We've had some snow flurries this morning.
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| Mainline yesterday |
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| Hockleycrest this morning |
Today looks like it will be a nice day to ski. Temperature is currently -8 with a forecast high of -5. There may be some snow flurries.
Trails are in pretty good shape generally, with a few thin and icy spots. Portions of trails on open fields at the north end are drifted in, something which is unavoidable when the wind blows.
I will be grooming the south end trails this morning, as they were last done on Wednesday.
NOON UPDATE: All southern and most central trails have been groomed this morning. We've had a fairly heavy snow flurry for about 2 hours, so you will find a couple of centimetres of powder on the groomed surface. Skiing is good.
Ski conditions continue to improve slightly, as we receive small amounts of new snow. It is snowing lightly as I write this, and flurries are forecast for today.
All trails have been cleared of debris, and have been groomed over the past 2 days. I will not do a full grooming today, but may touch up a couple of areas. Conditions range from fair to good. The icy base is still not far below the surface, so be cautious on larger hills.
It turned quite a bit colder overnight. We are currently at -15, with a forecast high of -9.
The good news is that we have some more new snow. We had about 8 hours of light snowfall yesterday, resulting in 2 to 3 cm of accumulation. This is very welcome padding on top of the old, icy base.
I will be working on the northern trails today; I haven't had a chance to do a full inspection of these since last Sunday's ice storm. I'm sure there will be some debris to be removed. In the meantime, skiing is not bad on the southern and central trails, with generally about 5 cm of powder over the hard crust.
It's OK to take off your skis and walk down any hill you think is too difficult. If you do, please walk along the edge of the trail, NOT in the middle.
NOON UPDATE: I've been over most of the north trails, removing debris, grooming, and clearing 2 large fallen trees. There is one more fallen tree to be cleared, on Plateau Extension. The detour for this is the northern-most section of Mainline. Hopefully, I'll get that tree cleared this afternoon, and I'll groom the remaining northern trails. The morning started off with sunshine, but we are now cloudy with a light snowfall.
