Trail grooming update

Hi all,

I don't normally post trail conditions via the group emails, but decided to post something since we (or I...) have not been updating the blog very well.  We (club grooming volunteers) are very short-handed with the grooming efforts this year (injuries, absentees, etc.) and things are not as scheduled as they have been in the past.  Hopefully we find some fresh blood, er, uh, new volunteers to help out with grooming in the future =o)

Anyway, we've been receiving little scraps of snow here and there, although last evening's/today's storm is a bit of a bust.  We were hoping for at least 4" more with no wind this time to freshen things up and sit on top of the wind-scoured areas, but we only got an inch or two.  Fortunately, the last storm left more than we had expected, but the wind was not so good.  The meadows got hammered with big drifts that took some concentrated effort to bust through...that effort was last evening in anticipation of today's storm.  We also had to cut out some downfall and clean a lot of debris off the trail.  If you see debris, please take the time to pick it up and toss it off to the side.

Another grooming session is planned for this evening to go over the little bit of fresh overnight and further smooth out the drifts, and finally put in a classic track throughout the system.  After all of the wind the past couple of weeks, we rerouted that sketchy/crusty/icy stretch at the bottom of the meadow (where it enters/exits the woods above Point O) to a tighter, and unfortunately, more off-camber line; but, there is lots of fresh snow on that stretch that will undoubtedly ski much nicer and make for a safer descent into the woods. 

The front hill access and a few short stretches above and below Point A are still at bare minimum coverage and need to be skied with much care and caution.  We just haven't gotten those areas covered since the thaw, so it's likely we'll see some spots "open up" there if we get into another dry pattern, which looks somewhat likely. 

Otherwise, the rest of the trails look fantastic, amazingly!  I don't think I've ever seen this much variability in conditions from the lower to upper parts of the trails.  It was just a strange series of events that have led to this and hopefully we can take some measures in the coming years to rectify the situation.  I'd say less than 5% is at the fair/poor stage, while everything else is good to great.  Just be cautious and have patience on your ski.  There is lots of great skiing to be had out there.

One more request:
Please don't hike/walk in the trails when it's warm, and even try to ski when it's a bit colder.  Trail use in warm temps is very damaging to the base and takes a lot of grooming to fix. 

Have fun.

Clay Moseley