Beautiful afternoon for skiing today with lots of sunshine and no wind. There was around 1" of new snow and many oak leaves in some places after the strong winds Thursday. It was slow skiing today with the new snow and the subzero temps but still a nice day to be in the quiet woods. With the little bit of new snow the track was still somewhat soft and unstable.
With the track still being fairly soft and the 1" or so of new snow I decided to reset the track after skiing today. It should have also covered up some of the leaves that had collected in the old track after the strong winds Thursday. I am not sure how the track turned out overall since it was dark by the time I finished this evening. Hopefully it turned out well and will be good skiing this weekend.

(Paul Klinger)

It was a nice afternoon of skiing at Hiram. Temperature was around 17 with a little snow falling. The new snow was a slow today but still good enough glide to make it fun. The track and deck did not firm up much overnight so it is still to soft and is not holding up well to ski traffic. Maybe the subzero weather setting in tonight for the next number of days will firm it up more. Overall still good skiing today.

(Paul Klinger)

Groomed Hiram today after around 6 inches of new snow last night. All the forest litter is covered up again for now. The track is set pretty much to the full depth of the track setter but is very soft. Hopefully it will firm up overnight with the sub zero temps forecast. Snow was still falling from the trees as I was grooming, looked like a winter wonderland. Get out and enjoy the new snow while conditions are good.

Photos:

(Paul Klinger)

The conditions at Hiram are still holding up pretty well with the sub zero temps keeping the track set hard and still fairly fast. There is more forest litter collecting in the track and creating a little drag on the skis. New snow is needed to cover it up. Still a good weekend of skiing with lots of sunshine and blue sky.

(Paul Klinger)

Had a fun fast ski at Hiram this afternoon. The track setup hard and fast over night after grooming Wednesday. Most areas the track is fairly well formed but it is shallow in some areas where there was not enough loose snow for the track setter to work with. There are many oak leaves mixed into the snow in some places but they were not causing any problem today. Get out and enjoy some skiing while the conditions are good.

(Paul Klinger)

Re-groomed Hiram today since the old track was pretty chewed up on the hills and there were many oak leaves in some places. Since we have not had any new snow for awhile I had to breakup the old hard pack enough to reset the track and try to cover up some of the leaves. In most places the track is set to the full depth of the track setter and fairly well formed. In some places there are many Oak leaves mixed into the snow but it will take more snow to get them all covered up. With the cold temps the track and pole deck should set up firm overnight. There are a few scattered small twigs and of coarse the oak leaves in the track so it's your call if you want to use your good or B skis.

(Paul Klinger)

Skiing Saturday afternoon conditions were very good. Trails were firm very good control on the downhills. Groomer did a great job.

(Paul Erickson)

Conditions this afternoon were fairly good overall and made for some fun skiing. There are many scattered leaves and needles in some areas but it did not cause a problem at least today. The icy crust is broken up and mixed in with the soft snow to make for good glide and a fast ski but still plenty of grip for the kick. The track formed pretty shallow in some places but overall it is deep enough to hold the skis. The track is firm and the deck is firming up for better pole plants in most places.

(Paul Klinger)

Re-groomed Hiram this afternoon to try to breakup the icy crust from the freezing rain on Sunday night and to try to cover up some of the oak leaves. The old Tidd Tech Trail Tenderizer used at Hiram can't dig deep into the base to bring up fresh snow but it was able to breakup the icy crust and covered up some of the oak leaves. It will take more snow to completely cover them up. The track is not as well formed as I would like due to having to drive faster than ideal because the snowmobile was overheating. The overall condition now is fair to good.

(Paul Klinger)

Skied at Hiram this afternoon after we had a light dusting of snow this morning. The track and deck are covered in an icy crust but the little dusting of snow this morning covered up the ice just enough so hard kick wax worked and didn't have to use klister. The strong winds last night and today brought down many leaves and sticks. The trail is also some what rutted up after the weekend traffic and the ruts are now frozen solid. The trail can be skied but conditions are poor because of all the ice and forest litter.

(Paul Klinger)