Groomed and set new track at Hiram this morning after a few inches of new snow on Saturday. The track formed up well and most all the leaves are covered up for now. With the mild temps and clear sky the snow was warming up and getting tacky when I skied later. The track and deck are fairly soft this afternoon so we will see how well it holds up to ski traffic today. It should firm up overnight and be fairly good skiing in the morning before it warms up in the afternoon. It was a beautiful day to be in the woods skiing today.

(Paul Klinger)

I skied again at Hiram this afternoon and conditions were fairly good overall. There are some sections that have a lot of leaves in the track which were getting grabby on the downhill runs. The track is getting a little shallow in the open areas from the strong winds blowing snow into them but they will still hold the skis. On some of the hills the track is getting washed out from people herringboning on the way up but it is not a problem since the snow is still soft enough to get plenty of edge control for the decent. Still worth a trip to Hiram for some skiing.

(Paul Klinger)

Temperature was 15 degrees and sunny. Trail was recently groomed and excellent condition except for oak leaves in track. Although the leaves did not stick to my kick wax, they did slow down my glide when present. This trail is "old school" with single track and no skate lane.

(Earl Stabenow)

I skied at Hiram today mid afternoon and conditions were good overall except for lots of oak leaves in some areas along with the track being washed out on some of the bigger hills from the weekend ski traffic. With the time I had left before dark I reset the track on the first big loop up to the bench and back to the parking lot. The track turned out fairly well but there are places with a lot of oak leaves mixed into the snow which will slow you down. If we get a little dusting of snow yet tonight that should help cover some of the leaves in the track. The deer have been using some parts of the trail quite a bit but the worst areas were the part I reset the track on this evening. It should be pretty good skiing this week.

(Paul Klinger)

Made one pass around Hiram this morning to reset the track after a little new snow since the last grooming. There are still many exposed oak leaves mixed into the snow in some parts of the trail. I skied later after I had reset the track and it was fairly good skiing. The oak leaves in some spots will slow you down and the track was still some what soft. The track was already getting torn up in places from skiers ahead of me since it had not had enough time to really firm up. I had a fun ski with good glide even with the fresh soft snow, oak leaves and the cold temp.

(Paul Klinger)

Groomed and set new track at Hiram today after the a few inches of new snow Friday night and the very strong winds on Sunday. There were a lot of oak leaves, pine needles, cones and sticks on the trail. I was able to clean off most all the sticks and cones. There are a lot of oak leaves and pine needles mixed into the snow on some parts of the trail. The track is a little ragged in places with the oak leaves and ice chunks getting stuck in the track setter. I skied after I finished grooming and over all it was pretty good skiing. With the cold temps I was using a harder kick wax which the oak leaves were not sticking to so the glide was good. If we get a little snow it should pretty much cover the leaves and needles up. Worth a trip to Hiram for some skiing this week.

(Paul Klinger)

Groomed and set new track at Hiram this morning after around 3 inches of snow yesterday. Most all the forest litter was covered up and the track was forming to the full depth of the track setter. Not sure how firm it will be this afternoon with the mild temps since I didn't ski right after I groomed. I wanted to let it set for a few hours before I ski on it this afternoon. Beautiful day to be in the woods, get out and enjoy.

(Paul Klinger)

I skied Hiram this afternoon to check it out after the inch or so of snow and the strong winds yesterday. In the more open areas the tracks were completely covered over and there were some scattered Oak leaves in the tracks that were not completely covered up. Plenty of deer damage in places also. I decided to make a single pass with the groomer and reset the track for the weekend. The track setter was icing up so the track did turn out as clean as I would like but for the most part it turned out well. With the cold temps tonight the track should set up firm. The overall conditions should be very good this weekend and make for some fun skiing. Get out and enjoy the winter wonderland if you are able to.

(Paul Klinger)

Groomed and set new track at Hiram today after another 5 inches of new snow yesterday. Lots of snow in the woods. Track turned out well over all just a few ragged spots from ice chunks getting stuck in the track setter. Not much for forest litter since there has not been much wind lately. With the deep snow in the woods the deer are walking on the ski trail more this season but you can still ski over the damage they cause. I included some pictures so you can get a better idea how the conditions are. I skied it after the grooming was done and it was very good skiing. Get out and enjoy the good ski conditions while they last.

Photos:

(Paul Klinger)

Groomed and set track after 7 to 10 inches of new snow. It's a winter wonderland out there. There are scattered oak leaves and pine needles but not enough to be a problem. The track has some ragged spots once again from the track setter collecting ice chunks but over all the track turned out well. The deer have been using the trail a lot so there probably will be some damage from them in some places. I skied after I finished grooming and it was good skiing. The track should set up well overnight with the subzero temps. Get out and enjoy some good skiing and the beauty of the woods this weekend.

(Paul Klinger)