tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20677013957080530432024-03-13T10:00:35.953-06:00Southwest Nordic Ski Club Blogcross country ski club based in Los Alamos, New Mexico.
Club events, race reports and ski conditions.Tarik Salehhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09664260510124463879noreply@blogger.comBlogger590125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-69769358234567602682023-03-21T22:32:00.001-06:002023-03-21T22:32:13.519-06:00Snow & Grooming Report 3/21/2023Happy Spring to everyone! It's always happier when we get into the good March flow of moisture. When we do see spring take off in full flight, the flowers and trees are gonna be amazing. This week's snow total, accumulated pretty much every day, has been impressive. There was a foot of new, heavy, wet snow up there this evening. I thought there was a lot from yesterday, but today's Clay Moseleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928904864932608336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-35381944454061419592023-03-07T22:53:00.001-07:002023-03-07T22:53:51.199-07:00Trails/Grooming Report 3/7/2023Trails were groomed and classic track was set. It had been above freezing for a long period of time, making them soft and not structurally very strong on the surface. While it was freezing up while I was out there, there are a few places where the machine tracks left somewhat of a rut, mainly where wind caused drifts over the past two weeks. More grooming traffic and settling will alleviate that.Clay Moseleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928904864932608336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-53636589358304733322023-02-10T22:28:00.001-07:002023-02-10T22:28:56.325-07:00Friday Night 2/10 Report---------- Forwarded message ---------From: 'Kevin Reid' via swnordicski-groomers <swnordicski-groomers@googlegroups.com>Date: Fri, Feb 10, 2023, 10:23 PMSubject: [swnordicski-groomers] Friday Night 2/10 ReportTo: Groomers <swnordicski-groomers@googlegroups.com>I did three laps on the trails and four in the meadow. Ran Kermit with the G2. Reset the classic track and refreshed Clay Moseleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928904864932608336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-73152906778711433892023-02-07T23:33:00.001-07:002023-02-07T23:33:41.826-07:00Grooming Encore 2/7/2023The predicted snow actually materialized. There was a decent amount, so the trails needed to be groomed again so it won't blow and drift, and get scraped off from ski traffic. Classic tracks were set, so it'll be the best bet tomorrow. Beware of a pretty ugly bad spot on Dave's Dogleg where the edge of the trail collapsed under the machine's tracks and I got terribly stuck. I Clay Moseleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928904864932608336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-41856223530629129252023-02-06T22:09:00.001-07:002023-02-06T22:09:15.502-07:00Conditions/Grooming Report 2/6/2023We're still in business. That little heat wave did transition the snow on the lower sun-exposed portions of the trails (the fire affected areas), but it's all still nicely covered. The front hill, as usual, is the least good section, but only in a short section. The farther out on the system, the better the snow is. The meadow trails are still perfect. Tonight, I ran the groomer on Clay Moseleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928904864932608336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-4795207118207292672023-02-03T10:59:00.001-07:002023-02-03T10:59:35.488-07:00Grooming/Conditions Report 2/3/2023Trails were groomed for classic and skate for the weekend. It's freeze/thaw weather, but most of the system will ski very nicely. Just the lower, sun-exposed sections will get icy once things refreeze in the late afternoon. Enjoy your weekend and the nice weather. It's supposed to snow this coming week... yay! Clay Moseleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928904864932608336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-78106786764963974822023-01-30T21:59:00.001-07:002023-01-31T08:54:13.279-07:00SWNC Grooming 1-30-23Date: Mon, Jan 30, 2023, 9:55 PMSubject: [swnordicski-groomers] SWNC Grooming 1-30-23The ski trails were groomed for skate and classic by Nick and Travis this evening. The snow is still looking good.-Travis Clay Moseleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928904864932608336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-7150938481814549332023-01-27T23:01:00.001-07:002023-01-27T23:01:26.297-07:00Trail report for Chuck Calef Classic fun race and tour tomorrowTrails were groomed for classic skiing only tomorrow. We're hosting our annual Chuck Calef Classic fun race and "open track tour" (you don't have to race it to have fun and celebrate Chuck). The open track tour is simply that - just come and ski the amazing conditions... wooden skis and old-school wool sweaters highly encouraged.First "racer" (me, cause I also serve Clay Moseleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928904864932608336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-37891523729156381592023-01-27T12:38:00.001-07:002023-01-27T12:39:34.723-07:00Grooming Plans for the weekendThe new G2 tracksetter actuator arrived, so, with Juan's help on Wednesday before kids' group, we got it installed thanks to Juan for helping me get going! That was a scramble, and of course, the only time it snowed that day was right when we were trying to do all of that and had the tools out to get wet and messy. You probably saw that Tom went up and got the full meadow trail (well, Clay Moseleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928904864932608336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-22781428683156921682023-01-26T10:05:00.001-07:002023-01-26T10:05:18.411-07:00Little bit of grooming - leveling and tilling After all the storms that rolled through last week and the week previous, the grooming techniques need to change up a bit. We have to go from "packing things down" and being able to soft-groom things, to putting the tiller and leveling bar down, which is slower and a bit more tedious, but produces that nice smooth corduroy surface we all love... and the firm, deep classic tracks. Clay Moseleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928904864932608336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-74764996859544751902023-01-25T10:06:00.000-07:002023-01-25T10:06:12.843-07:00Grooming Report 1/25/2023 We're back to updating the grooming and conditions blog. It's hard to figure out which site/media source people use most frequently, so we try to keep the "members" email list (become a member!) updated first, then move to the Facebook page and this report medium, the "grooming/conditions" blog. We hope you enjoy reading these!After all the snow since January 1, we've been Clay Moseleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928904864932608336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-79363827221077059832021-03-05T10:37:00.005-07:002021-03-05T10:39:24.304-07:00going, Going, GOING... gone? (March 5-7)Sorry for the long gap in posting a conditions update here. Things get really crazy with work, family, coaching, and of course all of this grooming business. After yet another long drought stretch that almost had us pulling the plug in February (NO!!!), we got that great week of snow and cold weather that saved our season...again. Funny how this year has been. Each month had a storm right in Clay Moseleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928904864932608336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-47715674563421925212021-02-02T21:05:00.003-07:002021-02-02T21:15:06.971-07:00LAlleyFloop 2021!!Announcing a pretty dumb virtual distanced ski tour/not-a-race for our Los Alamos Trails. The Los Alamos Alley Fake Loop aka the LAlley Floop.
As the club is general not headed up to do the Alley Loop in Crested Butte this winter and we miss it so, I(Tarik) have created this course in the spirit of the Alley Loop utilizing the all the ungroomed short cuts on our trail which are our version of Tarik Salehhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09664260510124463879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-74951897108266852952021-01-26T10:19:00.002-07:002021-01-26T10:19:17.352-07:00More new snow for 1/26/2021I think we're finally getting out of the "low and pathetic" conditions reports into the "this is great!" category of trail reports. Not to be too greedy, but I do think we could use just a bit more snow to make things last for a while longer. We just barely got over the hump of getting those giant volcanic rocks covered, so one more good round would really help things out.
We're keeping the Clay Moseleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928904864932608336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-67961973207857976382021-01-23T18:01:00.003-07:002021-01-23T18:01:29.440-07:00Trails report for January 23, 2021We got up to the trails to groom around a quarter to six, did some work to the machines and unearthed our "good snow" groomer, which has been frozen to the ground, covered in fall leaves, then buried under the less than optimal snowpack thus far. Things are improving, so we think we'll be able to pull it out and finally use it this season! One more round of snow, and it's gettin' called into Clay Moseleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928904864932608336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-35348610585937806762021-01-22T11:37:00.000-07:002021-01-22T11:37:01.047-07:00Grooming report 1/22/2021 Dang...again, apologies for the long delays in updating the news blog. We suffered a mysterious mechanical on one of the machines and it took a big effort to go rescue it and get it repaired. Too many things to do with so little time...Anyway, woohoo for the new snow, ~13" of wet stuff that quickly got saturated in the next day's sun and compressed to a firm 7" or so. ThatClay Moseleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928904864932608336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-76889151895890799582021-01-14T16:23:00.004-07:002021-01-14T16:23:40.352-07:00Report for January 14, 2021We've had a lot going on, if not a lot of snow falling on the trails. The entire system was roll-packed after the small storm over the weekend, and there continues to be some OK rock skiing throughout. It improves as one skis up and around the shadowy Canada Bonita ridge. Above Point J, it's not bad at all. Below that, use extreme caution and learn where those big volcanic rocks hide and waitClay Moseleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928904864932608336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-27607409790003195262021-01-06T11:10:00.004-07:002021-01-06T11:11:30.094-07:00Not much to say...except that we NEED MORE SNOW!!! (January 6) Not much to say here. I haven't personally been up to groom, having to deal with a few mechanical issues with the machines. Cameron Staples has kept things in shape, but we are running perilously low on snow and so the skiing reflects that. Be SUPER careful when you head out into the trail network. There are great sections, then some that are just super thin with Clay Moseleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928904864932608336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-65419241108729495362021-01-04T14:18:00.003-07:002021-01-04T14:18:26.422-07:00Happy New Year - January 4 Report Happy New Year to everyone. Hope you've been able to get out and ski on our thin but well-maintained snowpack. The trails have remained in pretty decent ski shape, despite the dearth of snow. Ugh...we need a big storm!Anyway, we'll keep working on making things skiable as long as we can. This is the very reason why we keep the trails maintained all year and hang up Clay Moseleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928904864932608336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-69444417882735335592020-12-30T13:47:00.004-07:002020-12-30T13:47:36.514-07:0012/30/2020 Grooming Report We went back up last evening to finish the full grooming work after Cameron ran the roller/compactor in the morning, following the little storm we got.It was nice and cold, and with just enough snow to set a partial system classic track. It will be thin in spots, but the upper trails have a pretty nice classic track, plus the skate lane looks good too.It's supposed to stay seasonably Clay Moseleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928904864932608336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-16278848908965713922020-12-29T15:34:00.004-07:002020-12-29T15:34:44.857-07:00Snow & Grooming Report 12/29/2020 Finally, some much needed new snow! It wasn't the big dump we were hoping for, but it keeps us in business. It was in the neighborhood of 6", so that's pretty good. Here's the report from our new grooming hand, Cameron Staples:*********************************Groomed this morning with the roller and wing down. The snow is looking great, hopefully it doesn’t get too warm Clay Moseleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928904864932608336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-11423896711448641452020-12-23T11:07:00.005-07:002020-12-23T11:07:40.114-07:00Conditions Update for 12/23/2020Merry Christmas on this cold and blustery December 23. Not a whole lot to report - we've tried to keep up with some mode of trail maintenance with the little bit of snow that we're farming and trying to hold onto. We did install more sections of fencing where the trees have continued to fall and allow too much sun to shine on the snow. That should help conserve what we have and Clay Moseleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928904864932608336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-21382670772582979882020-12-18T12:28:00.005-07:002020-12-18T12:28:42.638-07:00Season is ON! 12/15/2020 Finally, we received enough snow (barely) to go out and groom. We also got some damaging wind, but it wasn't too bad and we were able to clean it up and get the trails packed and groomed.It's super thin in many sections, so be SUUUPER careful and use your rock skis. Mostly, the lower road is groomed and skiable from A to O, as are the upper trails, which ski a bit better. Clay Moseleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928904864932608336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-18088105560520375262020-03-06T15:31:00.000-07:002020-03-06T15:31:05.677-07:00LATE grooming report March 6, 2020Trails were groomed to perfection Tuesday night, but alas, these super warm days are taking a toll on a few sections. Most of the coverage is still fine and probably skis great in that 10am to noon window, but it's probably icy in the early morning and early evening. There are about 4 or 5 short sections that are very thin and narrow, then it's great and totally good skiing before andClay Moseleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928904864932608336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2067701395708053043.post-25961767638148687852020-02-19T15:35:00.000-07:002020-02-19T15:35:27.157-07:00Trail conditions report 2/19/2020There was about one inch of new snow from last night. The sun came out pretty strongly for a bit, so it softened up. A single grooming pass was made on all of the front/low trails: Lower Guaje Trail, the "NO" hill from Lower Guaje into the lower meadow, back into the main ski trails from Point M to J, then down the lower stuff. The upper tree trails and the upper/outer meadows Clay Moseleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928904864932608336noreply@blogger.com0