grooming on sandia peak

The service rd was groomed by Sandia peak ski area.  The access rd (at the gate) was leveled by shovelers and packed by UNM.  The 10K loop (a shortened version was also packed and groomed for skating).
31 Dec skating reported as outstanding on entire loop groomed.

ps:  we encourage all visitors to this blog to please help with the club by becing a member.

New Grooming (SWEEET classic track set) 12/29/2015

I went up last night and cleaned up more of the blow-down tree cutting mess and fix fences.  A huge thanks to Dave Wykoff for get out there and clearing that stuff up.

I also set a very nice classic track (most places) with the new grooming implement (our Tidd Tech G2).  It is far superior to anything else we have.

Go enjoy some classic skiing before the new snow fills in the track!

See More Frequent Updates on the SWNSC Facebook Page (you don't have to have an account!)

As the title suggests, "See More Frequent Updates on the SWNSC Facebook Page (you don't have to have an account!)"

https://www.facebook.com/swnordicskiclub/

We've had our hands full of things like this (see below).  It has snowed every single day, and the wind keeps blowing and drifting the meadow.  For the last few days, we've had one or two hands working on things, so it's not getting fully groomed very quickly (the couple of hands have day jobs too!).

Ugh, getting tired of this! 

Anyway, hopefully we're through the worst of it.  When you go ski, PLEASE take some time to pick up as much debris and branches as you can. 

Christmas Ski Conditions Update 12/25/2015

Merry Christmas!  Hope you've been able to get out and ski the trails.  They've received a steady dose of new snow just about every day this past week.  Only a little fell today, but it kept the streak going.

We've spent a lot of time rolling, blading and even a little bit of "finish" grooming, but with the wind, trees falling, and some machine and shop maintenance issues, we haven't quite had enough grooming time to get it completely finished.  So, sorry about that.

We did get a classic track reset, but of course, the wind in the meadow just keeps blowing it over and creating more drifts almost as soon as we're done.  It's tough to get a machine through there these days, and it doesn't look to let up until next week.  We'll see how much snow we end up with too.

Please be patient, and get your classic skiing in shape until we can get it all packed, leveled and groomed out.

Also be careful -- there is a tree down below Point A on the Canada Bonita trail (lower road trail).  We'll get that out as soon as we can.

Otherwise, it is very nice classic skiing, and pretty wide, albeit soft, skate skiing.  The meadow trails are fun to ski on backcountry/touring skis too, but you'll have to break your own trail for now.

Have fun!  Ho, Ho, Ho...!

Status of trails grooming (on Sandia Peak)

Here is info from Chris Norton regarding status of grooming, etc.: greg, rich and chris shoveled and groomed the lower trail system today.   its two to one snowmobiles in width so light touring classic or even racing skis might work......no skating yet.   just don't go full speed on some of the new switchbacks until you have skied them once. ( trying to figure out the trail in two spots so had to make some 90degree turns).    its amazing down there.   having a big shovel day this Monday so show up with a shovel after 930 and head down the access road until you see other shovelers.  already got 6 signed up and would be great to get another 6 or more. bring a shovel.   contact chris at CHRIS@SANDIASOAP.COM if you can make it.  

Chris announces:  "shoveling day cancelled.   road to crest is pretty bad so will hold off until Wednesday or Thursday depending on snow fall Tuesday.  email me at chris@sandiasoap.com if you are interested in shoveling.   they got two feet of new snow up there Saturday night.  I am planning on going up Monday sometime to get the same two snowmobile widths set in the lower trails.  hopefully the downhill area grooms the service road. "

groomed trails

Sandia peak ski area groomed the service road for skating.  Chris Norton plans to set a classic track tomorrow there and groom the lower trails tomorrow.

Grooming and Conditions Update 12/22/2015

Christmas is almost here, and we're receiving a nice gift in the form of new snow and awesome holiday ski conditions!

We're still trying to get some sort of consistent grooming rotation down, plus we have one or two new volunteers who are still learning, so things are not always consistent just yet.  But, we have kept things pretty cleaned up and nice for both skate and classic.

We also got a new Tidd Tech G2 groomer, which saw it's maiden voyage last evening.  I used it to set a new classic track in most places.  It works well, but there's a learning curve to it and it needs some more adjustments before it's up and running at 100% efficiency.  Hopefully, we'll all get some practice on it over the holidays.

Things were bladed, flattened, and somewhat groomed last evening.  It should ski nicely, but there's already new snow falling, so it'll change quickly.  I think some nice classic striding will be the best bet until we get more snow and get it all groomed.  It's all in good shape, with one thin spot on the front hill, and those big rocks near the entrance/exit to that grove of trees in the meadow above Point-M, and on that off-camber hill break-over between M and O.  Be careful in those spots.

Other than that, conditions are pretty nice and improving all the time.  We'll certainly have some nice holiday skiing this year!

Stay tuned...

Our new Tidd Tech G2 groomer after last evening's grooming.  It does an awesome job on the trails!

grooming Monday

Chris Norton and some others (?) are shoveling this weekend preparing trails for grooming this Monday.
Chris told me he groomed service rd for skating and packed the trails below concentrating on lower meadow.

grooming

Chris Norton groomed the service rd for skating today. May  groom some more this weekend.  Also got several additional inches night before last.

New snow

So far 5" new on Sandia crest.  Update dec 13: another 6" or so.  So about 1 foot new snow.  Chris Horton plans to groom the service rd (possibly more) tomorrow  (Monday) morning.  He is looking for help with the grooming (e.g shoveling).  Will update once grooming is done.

New equipment coming!! Want to help us groom?

OK, so we've been busy getting grants, donations, selling junk, etc., etc., so that we could pay off our debts and build up an account to cover the cost of some better stuff and more sustainable grooming equipment.

That being said, we just spent a ton this fall on the groomer (~ $7,500), some auxiliary stuff like a trail utility trailer,  a couple of lightweight grooming implements for certain conditions and situations, and assorted maintenance items that had to be purchased to get things back in order.  The chainsaws have also taken a lot of abuse and suck up some money to keep running!  Even without the grooming expenses, we've had to make a bunch of runs around the trails to keep things clear.

It has taken several years of miserly spending and a lot of effort and to build up the account to something we were comfortable with, but now it is going to be a little bit fragile until we get some more grants, donations, sell some more junk, etc., etc.  We got off to a pretty good start this year with everyone's generous donations and memberships.  Hopefully, El Nino will kick in and we'll see a bunch of great snow, which will be groomed to perfection with our new high-tech groomer.

We don't have a lot of grooming help, so we'll see how the schedule works out.  There may be some gaps in the grooming if no one is available.  If you're able and willing, we could use some help here and there.  Even if you can't groom, go out after snowstorms and ski pack (or snowshoe pack) the trails.  That really helps, actually!

Hope for some snow!!

sandia peak skiing

Fredrik did a good job smoothing the icy/rutty service rd and shoveling snow in many places (need more help!).  No tracks set since was too icy and pretty thin in places.  Road is skiable with rock skis and either no wax classic or skating skis.

12/6 Chris Norton reports he did some more shoveling today and also some skating on the service rd.

Trail Report 12/2/2014

After being out all last week for some actual xc skiing in Crested Butte, I feared what our trails looked like after over a week of neglect.  It took quite a few hours for three of us to clear what came down before Thanksgiving week, so with another storm that came in the form of ice and wind, I was very much dreading what I was going to find up there.

As it turns out, it wasn't so bad.  It wasn't perfect, but it was manageable for me, by myself, to complete in one evening, albeit a somewhat long one!  I counted eight new trees down, only a couple of which were of real significance, but certainly no whoppers like the "G" tree (see earlier post) that take all day to remove.

The trails are holding a good crusty base of snow/ice on at least 90% past point A.  Before that, the front hill has a long bare stretch, but also a good stretch of snow/ice, so the fencing is doing its job.  I had to fix it in a couple of spots, however.  It was really cold up there last night, so that is good.  I started taking pictures of all the trees, but only made it to about #5 before my phone's screen froze!

Anyway, the trails are once again clear and actually skiable in a few sections, but we won't be grooming until we get a good storm.  There is a lot of debris that needs to be picked up if you're out snowshoeing or otherwise.  Please pick some of the leftover sticks and branches when you come to them, and report any new trees down.

Starting the long trip around.  This was just the beginning!

The ones with all the limbs and branches make the biggest mess.

Lots of debris left on the trail once the tree is cleared.

Don't ski across this with klister!

Tree #4 for the evening.  More branches and debris =(

Tree #5.  My phone froze shortly after this.  It was cold.

Just past point A on the lower road.  The conditions range from quite good coverage, to nothing, and much of the early sections are down to this ice crust covered by that last little skiff of snow.