The trails on the north and east side of the mound are thinning, but are still holding snow well. Other trails are getting very sketchy. There is a growing area of ice and slush on John Minix at the bottom of the hill after the sharp left, so take care. Technically not groomed since Jan. 30th, but a couple of snowmobile passes on John Minix over the weekend seemed to help soften that trail a bit.

(Kyle Richard)

BMSP received half an inch of snow overnight. Coverage is still good, though there are thin spots near the trailhead, campground, and under the pines in Pleasure Valley. There is also another dirty area in Pleasure Valley related to brush removal and burn piles. No tracks.

(Kyle Richard)

Able to level the top 1" of snow and scratch the deck level. The base is still thin (2") and firm, and coverage is generally good. No track was set. Expect downhills to remain fast, with thin coverage. Vehicle tracks in the campground have been removed.

(Kyle Richard)

I skied the entire trail system. There are currently no machine-made tracks, though some sections have usable skier-made tracks. Coverage is generally good, but it's starting to thin in a few predictable spots, most notably on the initial descent into the campground and under the pine grove in Pleasure Valley. Some drifting has also occurred on the upper skate loop, though those thin areas are easy to avoid. Overall, the trails have become quite firm due to the recent extreme cold and skier traffic. In less-trafficked sections, there is still about an inch of unpacked snow sitting on top of a solid base. A few areas, particularly parts of John Minix, Willow Spring, and Flint Rock, still have some leaves and debris (including a few larger pieces of scat), though conditions are much cleaner elsewhere. One note of concern: a vehicle appears to have driven through the campground. It doesn't affect coverage, and they're largely avoidable, but skiing over them isn't very fun.

(Kyle Richard)

I arrived to temperatures around 13 degrees which held steady while I skied. Winds were not too bad in the woods. I classic skied John Minx-Flint rock to the campground and on to Ridgeview and a cross the road to Pleasure valley and back to the swimming pool trailhead for a total of 9.2 kilometers. There was no machine set track. There were several inches of loose snow on top of the most recent grooming that worked surprisingly welll for the skier set tracks. There was good coverage everywhere with no thin areas and minimal forest debris. That's why I chose the good ski rating. The downhills had good coverage and control on the steep downhills was very good. I would rate overall conditions as very good even considering there was no machine set tracks. With the absence of machine set tracks, I was able to change into my skate skis and skate ski another 5.2 kilometers. Since there was no real skate deck and with the loose snow on top of the most recent grooming, I would rate overall skate conditions as only fair.

Photos:

(Jim Gantz)

Very nice grooming with thin base. About 6 inches in woods, but it is very fluffy, low moisture "Alberta Clipper" snow that packs down to only an inch or two. Light snows every few days have allowed groomers make a decent base with very few thin spots. As an old guy wary of falls I appreciated the wide, level deck on the steep downhill at the start of the Pleasure Valley loop. Kudos groomers! Let's hope more snow so they can set tracks soon.

(Stephen Simpson)

Trails were groomed by park staff today and are in fair condition. The deck is about 2", but you can expect many thin areas as well. No track was set due to the lack of depth.

(Kyle Richard)

I set corduroy for the entire trail system, save for a few cutoffs and the trail to/around the top of the mound (only rolled). The snow is extremely fluffy and compacted to only an inch or two. There are stretches that look great, but quite a few others where grooming unfortunately brought up a ton of debris. The "base" was mostly bare ground, but there were some sections I slipped on at John Minix where some ice had survived the warm spell. A big thank you to the skiers who helped get me unstuck! As I was finishing up, it began to snow moderately, which should help.

Photos:

(Kyle Richard)

There was no set classic track but the snow coverage was great. It was skiable. I enjoyed being in the woods! The trails were not busy.

(Trudi Delain)

Groomer was out again this morning and was able to fix some of the hiker damage. The trails are largely in good condition. There are still some thin spots, especially near the trailhead, so B skis rating probably still makes the most sense.

Photos:

(Kyle Richard)