Snow is on the way

Flurries are predicted for today, and a general snowfall tonight. I will be monitoring the snowfall, and if there is enough, I will groom. 5 p.m. update. I groomed the skate loops this afternoon. Snow is beginning to fall at a moderate rate right now. Hopefully I can pack the new snow either tonight or early tomorrow morning.

Good News/Bad News - again

I've just returned from my week at Stokely Creek Lodge in Algoma, where snow is plentiful. Unfortunately, I pulled a hamstring muscle while there, so I'm on the limp right now. That's the bad news.
The good news is that stable, below-freezing temperatures have returned to our area, and we have a bit of new snow. We got about 5 cm of snow yesterday and overnight, and it is snowing lightly right now. There will be no grooming today, but the new powder over the old crust is providing fairly good skiing. It looks like there will be a general snowfall on Tuesday. I may try to groom after that.

Hope for the future

It looks like things are going to cool down by this weekend, and there is a chance of some new snow. According to long range forecasts, temperatures over the next 2 weeks will be great for skiing, if we can get a bit of new snow on top of the icy base.
Meanwhile, I am at a place where snow is abundant - Stokely Creek Lodge in Algoma, 70 km north of Sault Ste. Marie. Although there is close to a meter of snow in the bush, and half a meter of packed snow on the trails, temperatures here have been just as mild as in southern ontario. It was plus 2 yesterday, and the skiing was slow, so I opted for a snowshoe hike to the top of King Mountain.

A narrow spot next to a rock face near the summit

In a holding pattern

I skied yesterday afternoon, and it was actually not bad. The warm temperature had one benefit, which was to soften the surface and get rid of the ice. That said, however, each warm day means a little more snow lost. There are definitely some thin and bare spots out there, but 95% of the trail surface is still well covered.
We have to get through about 3 or 4 more warm days before colder weather returns.
I will not be posting regular condition reports over the next week. I am going on a holiday to a place where snow is plentiful: Stokely Creek Lodge, north of Sault Ste. Marie. I hope that when I return, there will still be something to ski on here at Hockleycrest.

Skiing is still possible!

Amazingly, after close to 3 weeks of mild weather, we still have reasonably good snow coverage on the trails. There are definitely some thin, bare, or icy spots, but generally the trails are covered with a soft packed granular snow. Conditions today are safer and more comfortable than a couple of days ago when everything was ice.
It is not what I would call great conditions, but if you're desperate to get out on skis, it is possible.

Poor skiing and a dismal forecast

We're sitting at plus 1 right now, and yesterday's ice is starting to fall off the trees. The forecast calls for very warm weather for the next week, so I don't think we're going to be skiing here anytime soon. Meanwhile, there is lots of debris to pick up as a result of the ice load on the trees.

A dead scots pine that came down across trail #1a as a result of the freezing rain.

Tuesday - freezing rain

As predicted, we are receiving freezing rain. Trail conditions are poor. Skiing is not recommended today.

icicles on a sign at the junction of Hockleycrest #3 and Central Park #6