Sandia peak grooming

Today Fredrik set new classic tracks on the service road (2 way), access road to lower loop, and lower loop.  Tracks were still in pretty good shape on the service road when we came down about 2:30.
Chris Norton said he did some shoveling on the access road and parts of the lower loop.

Ron

Sandia Peak

Look:  Official USFS sign with xc ski trail designation:

                                This is somewhere on the 10 K loop (sent to me by Chris Norton)

Sandia Peak grooming

                                              Track on service road before it was walked in

Today Fredrik groomed the UNM upper loop, service road, access road to lower loop, and probably lower loop (did not go below top of steep hill off access road) with classic tracks everywhere.  Between the gate and the rock quarry tracks were already nearly demolished already from pedestrians (mostly snowboarders) walking in tracks.  We need some signs!

Access road

                                                      Lower loop just above 10K parking

                                                            Lower loop

Conditions and grooming up date 1/14/14

from Clay:

Hi all,

Sorry it's taken me this long to get this report out.  Lots going on.

Anyway, I did find some help last evening to get out and do something about the new snow.  Club member and Valles Caldera ski director, Hans Hanson graciously stepped up and learned how to run our little "snowcat" and all its complexities.  We started off pulling the groomer, but quickly realized that the new snow, as scant as was/is, had a lot of moisture in it and couldn't be groomed right off the bat.

We could only run the roller over it, but that actually did a fine job in packing and smoothing out all of the damage from sun, heat, tree debris, walkers, etc.  So as of last evening, the skiing looked good, and I gather that we've had probably another inch or two since then, making even better.  It'll likely be nice through the weekend for touring and maybe even OK for some skating.

Keep in mind that it's still very thin, especially down low and on the sun-exposed front hill.  That tropical week with the inversion really did a number on the good conditions over the New Year holiday time.  Not a whole lot more we can do until we get more snow, so go get out there now while the gettin's good.

We'll plan on freshening things up early next week.  I have some of the club grooming equipment and will be heading up to Chama for this weekend's Chama Chile Classic, which should see some absolutely stellar conditions, so come on up for that if you can.  You don't have to race, just bring your skis and have fun.  But, the events are so much low-key fun and you can wear your favorite costume.

Go ski!

Sandia peak skiing

Another inch or so with about 3 new in last few days.  Only a couple skiers up when I was there.  Pretty dead for such great conditions.  Met another skier by name of Tommy (not Kirchgessner). Told him about the UNM loops.  Upper loop was good (thanks to Rich for removing more of that big tree across the trail) but needs a lot of leveling.  Anyone want to help  with that?  Let me or Chris know (my email is ronmccurley@comcast.net).  Access road to lower loop was great until I hit that steep downhill (turned around).  Service road is good as well.
Hopefully Fredrik grooms Wednesday.
Ron

alaska skater and sandia trail conditions

I am chris, and if you are one of the three sledders who wanted info on skating trails in nm you can email me at chris@sandiasoap.com.   I can get you on the email list for sandia grooming also.   nice meeting you.  
chris m and I shoveled the full length of the access road today, leveling and widening.   I bet is almost 12 feet wide for 90% of the trail now.   its done for the season, except for that tight corner.  I think Fredrik is going to have to look at that when he grooms. 
1 to 2 inches of fresh snow made the service road perfect for skating since you could catch a edge and there is a great solid base of snow underneath.   you can ski on the access road but there is a lot of loose shoveled snow on it so might be better to wait until Fredrik grooms it.  stick and glide guys can go to it.   

Winter events to plan for now!

Lots of great fun nordic events in our area, almost every weekend is taken up! He is a quick list with links for more info so you can plan and sign up soon!

Jan 16-19 Chama Chile Ski Classic, loads of events every day with the flagship events on Sunday. Easy drive from Los Alamos, but we highly recommend staying over night and enjoying all the events and live music!

Jan 24th Durango Langlauf races (kids race too). Great events and across the road from Purgatory, so your downhillers can get some time in too!

Feb 7th Crested Butte Nordic's famous Alley Loop Marathon and races. 

Feb 14th the famous Mt. Taylor Quadrathlon! Totally EPIC. Started over 30 years ago by then UNM Ski coach, the venerable Klaus Weber. An amazing event. Must do. Great way to preview the course and how it works is to volunteer for it, which incidentally is a fun party all in and of itself! :) Note the event now features a QUAD KIDS for kids ages 3-13- check out the website for more info.

Feb13-15th Pagosa Springs Winterfest! Includes BB gun biathlon event. Need we say more?! Great set of super fun events, and who can beat soaking in the hot springs at the end of each day?!

Visiting Enchanted Forest XC Ski and Snowshoe Area for Dummies.

All the info you really need is of course on Enchanted Forest XC Ski and Snowshoe Area's website www.efxc.com. However, here are some highlights of that info that you might want to review before heading up for the first time.

- TIMING/DRIVE: drive from Los Alamos to the base lodge is 2 hours (slightly under even). It is a gorgeous drive with Taos about half way. If you are doing a 1 day trip, you could stop for breakfast/dinner in Taos on your drives. Plenty of amazing places to eat there. See below for our faves.

snowshoes for kids too!

rental skis for kids, toddlers and adults!

- GEAR: EFXC has skate and classic xc ski rentals, as well as snowshoes (snowboots included). They have all gear for kids and adults including kid pulks. They also have quite a bit of merchandise, including nice socks, mittens, gloves, hats, sunglasses and more, so if you forget the small stuff, you'll be all set.

- DO I NEED 4WD?: last 400m or so to the area parking lot from the highway is a steep hill. You will need 4WD for it. If you do not have 4WD or are uncomfortable driving that part, you should park on the large pullout off the highway and call the base lodge (large EFXC sign with their number and info at the pullout). They will pick you up and drop you back off at the car as well. You can also walk that 400m if you prefer.

- FOOD: EFXC has a nice warm base lodge with tables, a microwave, cold water, hot water, coffee. They sell microwavable burritos, soups, hot chocolate and cider, bars and candy. They also usually have Nature Valley granola bars out for free as Nature Valley sponsors xc skiing and sends lots of samples out to xc ski areas. We usually bring a lunch and snacks. There is also a warming yurt out on the trails. It has a wood stove in it, a couch to sit on, some table and chairs, so it's warm and cozy. Makes for a great 'picnic' lunch or warm up stop while out skiing/snowshoeing. They also  have a fire pit outside which they get going for some days and tables outside for particularly sunny lunch times (gotta love the NM sunshine all winter long!!)

- OTHER TIPS: if you are traveling with small kids and worried about slow process of getting going, it is really helpful to either stop in Taos to eat on way up, or packing food with you and handing it to the kids just after you pass Taos so they are fueled up and ready to go as soon as you get to the area.

- There are many awesome places to eat in Taos, but in case you are really unfamiliar with Taos, here are the ones we tend to use most often (all right off the main road you'll be on, except El Gamal):

-- for burrito or other to-go breakfast: The Coffee Spot.

-- for sitdown amazing breakfast/lunch: The Taos Diner (either location is convenient off the main road and yummy).

-- famous (and awesome) dinner spot: Taos Pizza Out Back.

-- all around, breakfast, lunch, dinner, bakery, great NM style food and more: Michael's Kitchen.

-- vegetarian-only option with a spectacular kid's toy/play room and floor seating: El Gamal.

WINTER FUN: Enchanted Forest XC Ski and Snowshoe Area also offers ski lessons (both classic or skate) and snowshoe tours. They hold spectacular special events including the super famous Just Desserts Eat and Ski at the end of Feb. They also have two warm yurts you can rent. Great way to winter camp or glamp (glamour+camping :), with the groomed trail access and even an additional option of having them deliver and pick up your gear, it's an easy way to try out a winter adventure!  (you can also rent the yurts in the summer and hike or mountain bike on the trails!) Make sure to check out their site for more details and don't hesitate to call them if you have any questions: www.efxc.com

PPS if you have avid downhillers in your group, you can easily xc ski in the morning and downhill at Red River on the way back, or just drop them off at the downhill on your way up to EFXC!

SWNSC Trail Update 1/8/2014

Trail is still mostly covered, but has taken a beating with a lot of foot traffic and the very warm days earlier in the week.  There is now a big bare spot where the fencing stops on the front hill, so be careful above and below it.

Lots of debris on the trails have left things in sort of a mess, so keep that in mind if you go ski, and pick some up and toss it off the trail if you can.

Trail may be bladed to preserve the base until we get more snow.  That cold front with the fog didn't quite reach the higher elevations, so it may not be as icy up there as it is down here in town, but the snow did transform a lot during the warm spell, so it'll be icy unless it's groomed.

The UNM-LA ski class is this weekend, so new track will be set on the Camp May Rd.

Hope for snow next week!

Remember, the SWNSC kids' clinic will be this Sunday at 10:30 A.M. at Enchanted Forest.  The clinic (games, relays, obstacle course, etc.) is free, but regular trail pass and rental fees are still in effect.

sandia snow conditions

it was 32 degrees at 10 am  up there today.  service road was a bit hard packed but still skateable.  I imagine it will be better once the sun warms it.  access road in the woods was good, kind of like skiing on one inch new snow in spots.   a little bumpy in spots.   10k loop is actually good skating, just watch for two branch stubs that are sticking out a bit on the downhill with the sharp corner in the northern woods section.   don't know what warm temps are going to do to it the next couple days.  okay, its not great groomed skiing but its the next best thing.     

sandia conditions wednesday

it was 32 degrees at 10 am  up there today.  service road was a bit hard packed but still skateable.  I imagine it will be better once the sun warms it.  access road in the woods was good, kind of like skiing on one inch new snow in spots.   a little bumpy in spots.   10k loop is actually good skating, just watch for two branch stubs that are sticking out a bit on the downhill with the sharp corner in the northern woods section.   don't know what warm temps are going to do to it the next couple days.  okay, its not great groomed skiing but its the next best thing.     

Trail Report 1/7/2015

No new grooming since Saturday. Perhaps a possibility late this week before UNM-LA class on Saturday.

Try not to ski during warm part of day. It actually accelerates deterioration.

Sandia ski update

Groomed trails below service road Chris Norton reports are deteriorating due to a variety of reason.  I did some classic on the service road. It has deteriorated drastically from 2 days ago.  Only a few hundred meters of any semblance of the groomed tracks left, heavy damage due mostly to pedestrians.  Isolated thin coverage due to winds.  I have a manual track setter and would be willing to bring it up the tram if someone wants to help with pulling it.

Grooming on Sandia peak

Fredrik groomed and set diagonal tracks on the  service road.  He also groomed the access road from the service road down to the 10K loops along with the actual 10K loops themselves (no tracks set).

Classic tracks on service road

Sandia Peak update

Below is a photo taken by Steve Roholt of a section of the access trail (not groomed yet) from the tram service road to the trails near and adjacent to the 10K parking lot.

SWNSC Trail Update 12/31/2014

Happy New Year!  Hopefully, the first day of 2015 will see some new snow.  We need it.

But...  things are finally taking some form after the massive blow-down of many, MANY trees before Christmas.  I think it took Dave and me a total of 20+ hours to get all that cleared.  Sorry to keep mentioning that, but dang, that was an awful lot of work to clean up!

OK, onto the trail conditions:

Things are covered and the trail is quite skiable, but bring rock skis.  There are some thin areas and a lot of debris from the tree cutting, etc.  Rocks are just beneath in a few areas too, especially the main trail between the intersections of Dave's Dogleg and TJ's loop.

It's lumpy and bumpy, but not bad for skating and pretty nice for classic touring.  There's no classic track set yet, but with just a little more, we'll be able to set it.  The lower road is also in good shape out to Point O, but not so great above that due to rough trails underneath and of course the meadow always needs more snow to be skiable.  You can can back into the woods at Point O, or turn around and take "Clay's Cutoff" at Point B (groomed).

There are lots of aspen shoots still thriving on the edges of the trail, especially on Dave's Dogleg and the upper meadow.  Please take a little time to cut a few if you can -- 10 minutes can do a lot of good.  Be sure to cut them down below the snow line!  That really helps a lot.  I kept running out of time during this fall's work days and it would get dark, so I missed a few spots.  Now, my 44 yr-old back is worn out from lifting logs and I don't feel like bending over to cut any more aspen shoots!

We'll try to stay on top of the grooming with the new snow, but be patient.  We are down to almost no groomers now.  Hopefully, we'll get some more reinforcements in January sometime.

Resolution Race will be on Sunday, January 11.  I'll send out more details later.  We'll do a kids fun thing too, after the adults event.

Sandia peak trail update

Fredrik Landstedt, head ski coach of UNM, is planning on grooming trails (most of which have been extensively leveled by some volunteers using shoveling and snow shoes) between the 10K parking lot (on the lower elevation side) up to the tram service road, including an upper loop above the service road.  He will be doing this on the 1st or 2nd (Thursday or Friday).  If you can help with further preparation please notify with an email to ronmccurley@comcast.net or chris@sandiasoap.com.

Ron

12/29 Trail Update and possible "Annual Resolution Race" on Jan 10th or 11th!

from Clay:
Hi all,

Since there is some activity on the trails with the new snow, mega-bad wind and subsequent tree-fall, I thought I'd send an update.

So yeah, the wind did a number on all the weak trees around the trails.  I estimate that close to 50 trees fell, many in clusters of 5 to 10 trees.  That has made for a big mess to clean up, and with only a couple of us, it's been slow progress.  But the good news is that it's getting close to being done.

To get out there, we did pull a groomer through the trails, so there is a little bit of "groomed" trail open for skiing.  I hope to finish that up this evening, pending getting the tree cutting job all done.  The last big snags have to be cleared off of Dave's Dogleg, but the rest of the system should be clear now.

Please take some time, if you go out to ski, to pick up some of the debris (branches, sticks, etc.) in those bad spots where we cleared out the deadfall.  That stuff is a mess and although we did clear a lot of it out when we cleared the big trees, we couldn't get it all.

Coverage is still thin and you'll certainly hit a thing or two here and there, but some spots look great.

After this first round of work, we'll take a break and probably won't get around to grooming until next week.  Dave is gone, and I will likely be doing stuff with my family over the holiday weekend.

Please consider renewing your membership if you haven't already this year. We can't operate without it (we're spending a fortune on chainsaw maintenance this year!).  Thanks to those who have. You can renew/join/donate online here: http://www.newmexicosportsonline.com/events/details.aspx?id=10386

One last thing:  if things look good after this round of storms, we may hold the "Annual Resolution Race" on either the 10th or 11th of January.  I'll update on that as we know for sure (via email, on our facebook page and here on the blog).  It's FREE and hopefully we can also do a fun event for the kiddos too.  

sandia peak skiing

Sandia peak has received more than a foot of snow and there is fair classic skiing on the service road and some feeder trails in that area and I also have reports of fair skiing near the 10k trailhead (south).
There has been no grooming thus far.  I have a manual track setter but need help to do anything if anyone wants to help set some classic tracks.

Trailwork update from 11/9 anf for 11/15-16

We had a small, but effective group on Sunday.  There were various nagging items that had to be checked off the "to-do" list, most of which got done.  We also managed to string up one row of shade fence from Point A, down to the end of the fencing.  

All of the fencing rolls are out and distributed along the front hill, with the rest at Point A.  Lots of trees had fallen on the "hard" field fence, requiring some awkward sawing and then repair of the field fence.  I really hope this wind didn't result in more.  That is not a quick and easy job!

Anyway, there are more zip ties on order (we ran out), and I think Paul Graham will be picking more up locally for this coming weekend's fencing hanging work group.  

Paul and Kristina Brown will be heading up the fencing project.  I'll get more information from them on times, etc. on the work groups.  It should go quickly if we can get a few (as many as possible!) hands working on it.

Looks like the weather will me more like winter by the weekend, so keep an eye on that.  

Overall, the trail is looking pretty good, actually.  Like I said, I hope todays high winds didn't result in a whole bunch more fallen trees.  It's getting tiring cutting those things out.  

--Clay