More new snow for 1/26/2021

I 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 trails rolled and compacted as each wave comes through. It takes a long time to set a classic track, so we kinda wait until it lets up so it doesn't just fill in. When it's soft like it is now, a track isn't really necessary anyway. Looks like a break in the action starting tomorrow through early Friday (with some warmer temperatures), with another quick-hit storm right at the start of the weekend. Another round is expected throughout the day today. Groomers will be up each night working on the trails, so check it out!

Trails report for January 23, 2021

We 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 action. We went out to set track and shovel a couple of the thin spots, which went well. It started snowing while we were grooming, but we went ahead and finished the job. It came down pretty hard just as we were leaving, so that was great to see, but obviously, it was going to fill in the tracks...oh well, we need the snow badly. Everything was regroomed and mostly all set with track. Things have improved and it's now mostly possible to ski even the lower meadow without issues if you know the right line ;-) Today, I was able to ski without hitting a single thing, even on the front hill, which is obviously still very thin. With each round of snow, we'll do our best to pack/groom/set track, but there may be some delays depending on volunteer availability. It's a hard job and takes a LONG time to do each session (at least 3 to 5 hours). Thanks to all of you who have renewed your memberships and/or supported the club. It keeps the program running and the trails groomed! Please get out and enjoy these good conditions!!!

Grooming 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.  That really saved us and things are not so bad out beyond Point-B or so on the trails.  Parts of the lower Guaje Trail (aka "Lower Road") are still a little thin, but mostly all good after lots of packing and grooming.  The lower meadow below Point-N on the system index is still bumpy from the huge grass clumps, but if skied carefully, is quite passable now.  

The front hill is still super thin and has rocks all through that middle steep, narrow section.  Use EXTREME caution through there and don't even think about snow plowing in that section unless you really do not care about your ski bases.  You will hit rocks.  We always tell people to twist your poles around 180-degrees so that the ski baskets are in the "up" position.  You can carefully "walk" yourself down with your arms/poles until you're through that bad section.  Or, do the prudent thing and take your skis off to walk (stay on the high side, not in the middle) around it.  At any rate, it's short and you can ski just about everything right now.

We rolled everything twice, then pulled the smaller groomer through.  We need one more good storm to pull out our fancy, big "Tidd" groomer with the tiller and leveler.  There's just not quite enough to do that just yet.  Perhaps after the weekend.

The plan is to get a classic track set tonight on the parts of the system that allows it right now...the upper tree trails mainly.  There should be good skiing this weekend.  

Rolling with the compaction device down

The new snow groomed out nicely

Report for January 14, 2021

We'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 wait to take your ski's base from you.

Camp May Rd practice area was regroomed last evening (Wednesday) to run some tests on the machines. There is both skate and classic set, and the snow is great.

The machines have required a lot of tweaking this year, so perhaps the dearth of snow has been a semi-blessing in disguise for the groomers. We *might* now have them all back in working order, but it has been a bit frustrating. It was just a bunch of little things, and that joyride that the vandals perpetrated back in September did a real number to our poor old Ranger. Little gremlins keep surfacing, but hopefully we're past that now. We'll see. It had a clutch failure and the anti-sway arm stabilizer was completely broken and required full replacement. That is always a fun type of job in our teeny-tiny shop space. For now, we're able to groom if we get new snow, so that's always the focus.

We'll report back on things if one of the other groomers can peel away and refresh things. Plans are in the works for this evening.

The NOAA is predicting some type of snowstorm for late in the weekend or perhaps Monday-Wednesday timeframe. The prediction seems to be improving, so hopefully we'll be able to stay in business. It's getting a bit lean out there in places...

Not 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 obstacles hiding just below the surface.  

This next storm looks like it'll only give us a glancing blow, but hopefully something will come out of it.  We'll see.  Do your snow dances!

Happy 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 all of that fencing.  We have to be ready for this very scenario.

I think we'll keep trying to groom every 3rd day or so for now, so keep that in mind.  It should be pretty OK skiing for about another week or so, if it doesn't get too warm.  

The upper ski trails are best, and the lower road was groomed the other night as well.  The lower half of the meadows are not so good, so use EXTREME caution in those areas.  The front hill is also very rocky, so the advice is to ski carefully up, then take your skis off and walk that rocky section (walk on the high side of the trail, PLEASE). 

Keep your fingers crossed for more snow!!!

12/30/2020 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 cool, so hopefully this lasts for a little while, or until we get more snow.  It just doesn't look like any sort of whopper storm is coming anytime soon, but there are chances of little quick-hitter storms on the horizon.  As long as it's cool and we get some doses of snow here and there, we'll be OK.

Enjoy, and please support the club by joining or donating (see the registration site on our webpage).

Snow & 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 today. 

Did two loops. 

Made some mistakes: going out on the lower trail once you get to the snowshoe trail fork I went left on the first pass and wasn’t sure if that was correct, so went right on the second pass. Sorry about that. 

Also groomed out in the meadow out past the fence and just did a lollipop turnaround. So didn’t groom the full meadow loop. Went back To the upper trails and got mixed up a little but made everything work out fine. Had to detach the roller and do a turnaround because on the second loop I didn’t turn right where it loops around and has the really steep turn hill. Made it smooth and used the shovel to correct my mistake (hopefully well enough). 

Did some passes on the camp may road and when I got back people had already walked all over it. Figures haha

Conditions Update for 12/23/2020

Merry 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 keep the ground frozen enough for when we do get more snow, which is in the forecast for early next week...fingers crossed!

Trails were regroomed last evening, but no new classic track was set with the low snow conditions.  We might try pulling something around in a day or two to get at least something set.  It'll be a thin track, but it'll be nice to have something to ski in.

Hopefully, the surface conditions aren't total boilerplate today and tomorrow.  We tried a different thing to grind up the surface before running the "Tidd" groomer.  

As it has been, and is getting worse by the day, there are a lot of rocks and obstacles on the lower part of the course, with more grass and twigs on the upper part.  The wind will probably lay down some tree trash too, so please keep your eyes peeled for that stuff.

Use extreme caution in the burn areas of the system, and especially the front hill.  If you do take your skis off to walk, walk to the upper side to avoid making holes in the middle.  (thanks!)

The upper part of the trails should still be nice for skiing, so it's worth it...

Season 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.  We also got the upper meadow and Caldera loop packed in.  

It's all lumpy and bumpy until we get more snow, so keep that in mind.

Here are some recent snow pics of the trails and the mess we had to clean up:

SWNSC shop

SWNSC kids skiing on Camp May Rd

Clearing downfall out on the trails

Good skiing the next day out on the trails

LATE grooming report March 6, 2020

Trails 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 and after. 

We gotta do some "shade augmentation" work this next summer and fall, so please make some time to volunteer.  There are other things that need doing as well...so please come out and help!

Anyway, everything was groomed and track was set, etc.  I'm not sure if any of the other groomers are going to have motivation to groom before the weekend, but I'm out until next week due to this weekend's Demo Days by Salomon and Fischer, up at Enchanted Forest XC ski area.

Here are some pics of the grooming on Tuesday and the great skiing the next day:

Trail conditions report 2/19/2020

There 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 were not groomed, but have some soft, new snow on top of the frozen crusty stuff.

The front hill is getting quite lean with narrow and thin ice, especially in that steep, south-facing middle section.  Be very careful there.

There may be more grooming this evening by one of the junior kids team parents, but generally speaking, conditions are holding alright for now.  The classic track is a bit old, but with the new skiff of snow, it is still good skiing.  Tomorrow is supposed to be cold, then maybe a wet storm over the weekend.  Hopefully we get a good dump of heavy, wet snow, followed by cold weather.

Trail Conditions (?) 2/18/2020

We don't have much to report - the weekend got pretty warm, so there was some thawing on those sun-baked parts of the trail.  The forecast calls for some new snow tonight, although not much, so we'll wait to see what plays out before heading back out with the groomer.  It'll likely be refreshed by Thursday or Friday.  Looks like an even bigger chance of some warm, wet snow over the weekend.  Stay tuned for that one as well.

Last Friday afternoon, Kevin Reid did go back out to refresh the skate lane and finish putting some reflective wands out in the meadow so we don't get lost every time it snows or drifts.  A big thanks for that.

For now, we stay in a holding pattern to see what happens.  Regardless, we'll report back by Thursday/Friday.  Still a lot of skiing to be had this season!

Grooming Report 2/13/2020

Well, this winter, while not the biggest or snowiest, or coldest, is turning out to be pretty OK.  Just when we start getting on the dry side with some melting, we seem to be blessed with just enough to keep conditions pretty nice for a few days.

Travis and Zach got out with the YTS roller and compactor to get things started and skiable after the storm.  It was really nice skiing with the kids junior team last evening, with cold temps and all.

I got out with our Yamaha Viking and G2 groomer just around sundown thinking it would be a quick job with the faster machine.  Well, things don't always go to plan, but it wasn't too bad.  With the new snow filling in the meadow trails, the packing work got a bit off course since we haven't had a chance to set out any reflective wands all season.  The ironic thing is that a club member donated some to us and set them by the Point-L tree, but we haven't gotten them set out.  They were still leaning on the tree as I drove right by them after getting stuck out in the meadow!  sigh

Anyway, after wrestling with getting the snomo and groomer stuck a couple of times and wrestling with it out there, I finally found the correct alignment and was able to get most of the meadow groomed, but it looks kinda weird for now.  I also found that our various paths through there have drifted us over a couple of buried fence posts, so it was REALLY time to get those reflective wands set out.  I did that at noon today, so just keep an eye out for them.  Two of them are directly on the tops of buried steel fence posts.

Things groomed out well for both classic and skate.  Kevin Reid has plans to groom the skate lane again Friday evening.  Should be nice skiing over the weekend, but will probably be icy again by Monday.  Be careful on the narrow front hill ice path!

It's about time we got some photo documentation of how nice our conditions have been this year (click on the pictures to see them in larger size):

Camp May Rd beyond the gate.  Paul Allen grooms it for us when he's working the Pajarito Mtn shift.  Good man, Paul!

Point A, looking down the Lower Guaje Canyon Trail

Point A, looking up the xc ski trail

Nice view of the eastern shoulder of Pajarito Mtn

Our difficult sun-exposed, fire ravaged "Front Hill" section.  The shade fencing really has done its job this year!

A section on TJ's trail, between Point E and F on our trail system index

Looking at Point E on TJ's

Nice little narrows on Dave's Dogleg

Looking east, over the Rio Grande Valley and the southernmost tip of the Sangre de Cristos

Sun splashed tree section, above Point J

Typical curves in the climb out toward Canada Bonita

Getting higher, just above Point K

Another curve, above Point K

Nice classic skiing today

Upper Baca meadow loop

Looking down the Canada Bonita from the rim of the Valles Caldera

Looking up to the top of the Canada Bonita and the Caldera Rim

Nice view of Cerro del Medio magma dome in the Valles Caldera

Hairy Sasquatch that is commonly found out in the Canada Bonita

Final curve at the top

Another view of Cerro del Medio ~10,000 ft

Trail Conditions Update 2/10/2020

It's been a little too hectic to keep everything updated with info.  We're down to a super bare-bones grooming crew, so those long hours spent grooming means no discretionary time to keep things posted.  We're doing the best we can on the trails, so hopefully you're able to get out when it's all groomed and good.

It did snow last week, got really cold for a couple of days, then the temps went UP after a nice cold day on Thursday, during the night!  That's weird.  So, Friday, and especially Saturday were warm.  Those sections that are very sun-baked (front hill, etc.) took kind of a beating.  Everything else stayed nice, however.  There's still plenty of skiing, but things did transition quite a bit.  Sunday was nice.

Things were groomed completely on Friday night.  Lots of drifts out in the meadow, so those zones are pretty wonky.  We did get out Saturday evening again to regroom for all the full-moon baskers, and so the skate lanes were magnificent yesterday and stayed nice since there was a good cloud deck that kept the temps and sun in check.

Looks like a storm on the horizon, so stay tuned.

Trails groomed 2/05/2020

Oof, that was a long night!  There was quite a bit of new snow for what seemed like not much of a storm.  The total amount was hard to figure out, but it looked like anywhere from 5" (bottom) to nearly 8" at the top.  Sometimes that happens.

Anyway, the entire system was packed/groomed out, but may be just a bit soft out in the meadows.  The tree trails and stuff down low will be firm right away.  It was very cold, so it set up fast.

Kids ski program this afternoon starting out about 4pm.  We'll have a classic time trial this Saturday, about 5km or so, so come on out if you're up for that.  First skier off at 9:30AM.

Enjoy!

2/04/2020 Snow Update

After a bit of a break from getting some "real" snow over this past week, things look to have improved with today's storm.  Travis got up there last evening to grind up all the old snow, tree garbage, crust, glaze, etc., so that this new snow fell on something a bit cleaner. 

We'll get this groomed out, likely without a classic track, for the week, then put in a classic track for the weekend.  The kids (and anyone else who wants to join in) will have a ~6km classic-technique time trial on Saturday morning, first skier off at 9:30 AM.  So, we'll have a pretty good track set by then.

Updates as we get them...

Currently snowing pretty hard! 1/16/2020

It's been snowing since late morning, with some heavy squalls passing through.  Looks like the good dose of snow we were needing and hoping for...with a good, solid base underneath.  Woohoo!

Please be patient with our volunteer grooming operation, usually conducted by us "old" guys after a full day of real life.  I think there are plans for a couple of guys to go up tonight and do some packing laps, with another volunteer scheduled to go up tomorrow.  It'll likely be soft throughout the weekend, with plans to groom on Dr. MLK, Jr. holiday (Monday).

We'll try to get a classic track pulled in, so hopefully that'll be the really good option for classic touring in new, soft snow. 

Stay tuned.

Trail conditions 1/15/2020 - GREAT!

Hi all,

Hopefully you've been out skiing since the weekend's little "refresher" doses of new snow.  It was just what we needed after the little freeze/thaw hardening of the older snow last week.  Nothing got really bad or anything, it's just nice to have some "freshies" to work with while grooming.  One day last week saw some more firm conditions for the first time this season.  Snow-pack is still holding well and I think things look great at the moment.  There's a pretty good storm in the forecast for tonight through Friday, so hopefully that will really add to our already great ski season.

We did get out Monday night to blend/grind in the new snow on the Lower Guaje Trail, then bust drifts and wind-slab crust in the meadows, and then simply "mash" in the new/tracked snow on the upper tree trails from L-J-down to A, etc. (we groom in a counter-clockwise direction).  It was a mish-mash of conditions and situations that required setting the teeth down in some spots, lifting then in others, and then combining methods in yet others still.  No two parts of that trail system are the same!

Logan Ott also set some good track on most the system, so classic is great too.  Travis Gibson went back up last evening to clean up the drifting and untidy passes from Monday nights' efforts.  We had to pull out different equipment to run everything, so it needed just a bit more work here and there.  A big thanks to those guys, and to Kevin Reid for keeping up the shade fencing maintenance work.  The fencing is SO incredibly crucial to the grooming and continued great ski conditions.

Ski on!

Resolution Classic Results - January 5, 2020

Conditions were fantastic for this year's Resolution Classic "Tourace" - we call it that because it's hard to give it 100% when you're just out there having fun.  You're kinda racing, but also looking at the views and just enjoying the conditions, so it's halfway between a race and a tour.

Speaking of conditions, there was plenty of snow that had just a bit of transformation from what had been pretty much new snow conditions for two weeks, to a more frozen and faster type.  Some of the course was rocket fast, but some sections were still cold and grippy.  The day before was fairly warm, but it froze up hard overnight and didn't warm up much during the race, keeping things firm and fast.

It was a day to apply a slightly warmer grip wax, somewhere in the violet/purple range, or a very thin and short section of universal klister - that's what I opted to use, but very thin and very short under my foot.  It provided solid kick when my technique was good, while also allowing my skis to glide well.  The snow was the type that would have allowed a pretty good range of things to work, depending on where on the course you really wanted the best kick.

The track was set in a "best line" path in the trail, which made for a smooth course that is quite a bit easier to ski than when it is groomed for both skate and classic (classic track way over on the low side of the trail).  It skis quite a bit differently when it is set like that with wider turns and straighter lines.  It was kinda sad to go groom it out after the day was over.

So, here is the tale of the tape.  Great job to everyone who came out to enjoy pretty much perfect classic conditions.  You've achieved your New Year's Resolution!

2020 Resolution Classic Tourace
10km Course
Name	Start Time	Finish Time	Race Time
Clay Moseley	00:50.0	29:16.0	28:26.0
Sanna Sevanto	01:40.0	31:54.0	30:14.0
Travis Gibson	02:05.0	32:45.0	30:40.0
Scott Baily	00:00.0	31:22.0	31:22.0
Zach Leonard	01:15.0	33:30.0	32:15.0
Liz Quinney	03:45.0	36:04.0	32:19.0
Andy Jones	05:00.0	42:11.0	37:11.0
Tarik Saleh	04:35.0	42:48.0	38:13.0
Kevin Reid	04:10.0	44:13.0	40:03.0
Siobhan Niklasson	02:30.0	42:55.0	40:25.0
Dina Pesenson	00:25.0	42:21.0	41:56.0
Paul Gooris	03:20.0	50:54.0	47:34.0
Steve Venturoni	02:55.0	57:22.0	54:27.0
5km Course
Levi Gibson	06:25.0	25:36.0	19:11.0
Mila Moseley	07:15.0	26:42.0	19:27.0
Zach Gibson	07:40.0	28:27.0	20:47.0
Diego Leonard	06:00.0	28:38.0	22:38.0
Madalyn Baily	06:50.0	32:12.0	25:22.0
Chris Michel	09:20.0	35:33.0	26:13.0
Axel Niklasson	08:55.0	35:58.0	27:03.0
Anders Niklasson	10:10.0	38:03.0	27:53.0
Lindsay Gibson	09:45.0	39:04.0	29:19.0
John Ullman	10:35.0	40:08.0	29:33.0
Phoebe Reid	08:30.0	38:51.0	30:21.0
Aida Saleh	08:05.0	38:48.0	30:43.0
3km Course
Luke Gibson	12:00.0	29:21.0	17:21.0
Quanah Moseley	12:50.0	32:37.0	19:47.0
Harper Reid	13:15.0	36:13.0	22:58.0
Liv Niklasson	13:40.0	37:21.0	23:41.0
Samantha Baily	12:25.0	****	****