Grooming and skiing turned out way better than expected! The new 2 inches of snow groomed up well. We groomed about 35 km of skating lanes and set 50 km of classic tracks. We tried mixing the old snow with the new snow but had to be careful with the base. We did hit some debris and grass in resetting the classic grooves. Some of the skate lanes have thin areas under the conifers (Christmas trees),… but they are very skiable. The conditions this weekend are not as good as last weekend, however they are better than early season conditions because the Pisten Bullies have flatted and leveled the base. We need a bit more snow to open the black diamond trails.
Thursday 6 PM
2-3 inches of snow fell so far today and temps are at 14 F ! I took a cruise on one of the light weight groomers at 2 PM, out on the trails and spent 2 hours doing recon and picking up branches. I was surprised that the trails were firming up quickly. I covered 20 km of combo trails picking major debris off the main trails. We plan to have 3-4 groomers out early AM Friday grooming with light groomers (not Pisten Bullies) I expect we will have 30-50 km groomed by 9 AM and skiable.
Thursday 8:30 am trails are closed today.
I am just coming back from inspecting the trails. There is still snow on the ski trails, however it is too soft to ski or groom today. We plan to groom tonight or Friday early morning and plan to reopen Friday am.
Wednesday 6 PM
So far so good. The base survived the melting up as of the last skiers at 4 PM and snow coverage is holding up thanks to the Pisten Bullies packing in the 47 inches of snowfall to date this season.
Forecast rain is around 11 PM and then temps start to drop and get below freezing at 8 AM. Forecast snow is following the rain. We plan to have a crew on standby for grooming at 7 AM and go out when we can without damaging the base we have. I am not sure if it will be in the Pisten Bullies , Tracked JD Gators or snowmobiles…but we are ready. We are going to delay opening the chalet, parking lot and the ski trails until 11 AM Thursday to let temps cool and groomers turn a potential icy surface to skiable. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. I will update midday Thursday.
Tuesday 7 PM
We groomed up about 32 km today; 20 km with 2 groomers on light equipment out to the Highlands and East. I groomed about 12 km with the bigger Pisten Bully on the old ABR Trails. The base was well covered except in 2 locations where the 2 groomers added snow to the downhills on the Highlands exit hill. We were grooming cold dry powder this morning!
Temps got warm again today and we are still above freezing. I am not sure of the grooming plan for the AM but we have 2 groomers coming in at 7 AM and we will decide. The trails skied well today. I closed the Puumala Trails, Pelty and Ridge Runner today to preserve snow on the steeper hills.