Had a beautiful ski this morning in the below freezing temps with a couple inches of new dense snow on top of solid base. Set tracks are gone, but the dense couple inches made it easy to make my own straight tracks. A friend and I skied again this afternoon with temps just above freezing. My waxless skis got sticky, but friend's waxables worked very well. With cool weather we should have skiable trails for a while. And the best news is that dogs are now welcome to join you at any time on the trail. (Just be sure to clean up after them, if necessary!).

Photos:

(Mary Shedd, Howard Wagoner Trails Club)

We are done grooming for the year. Today there was very little trace of our last grooming tracks. Nevertheless there is still lots of snow on the trails and we expect them to be skiable for a while. This morning in the sub-freezing temps the conditions were excellent - a couple inches of powder on top of a very firm base. But as for all spring skiing it is about the weather and temps. Expect all the usual conditions from powder or dense snow to ice, crust, slush, and debris. For now, there are no bare patches and very little debris on trails. Even the snowshoe hares know there is winter left (see photo) as they keep their white fur.

Photos:

(Mary Shedd, Howard Wagoner Trails Club)

It's beautiful out here today! Just broke trail on the main West Loop and now going to do the East Loop. Not many days like this left!

(Mark Peil)

Trail was groomed this morning for first time after all the big winds and warm temps. Some debris still on trails, but groomer says the trails are now in good shape. Still plenty of snow on the ground!

Photos:

(Mary Shedd, Howard Wagoner Trails Club)

Darn! So much snow still in the woods, but skiing is not good because of all this warm weather. We shall see if we get another grooming in when it cools down - there could be good spring skiing if we can pack down the base. For now, the snow is soft and skis sink through most of the time - more like a snowshoe exercise than skiing. Tracks are mostly melted down. In below freezing temps, trails will be really icy. Will post if we groom again.

Photos:

(Mary Shedd)

SKied the new Prospector Skate Trail. The conditions were very good, especially in the first 2 km where our groomer packed and smoothed the trail 3 times. Such a beautiful trail! The final 2 km were good, but there places where the packer didn't fully smooth down the snowmobile track. With freeze-thaw weather coming skiers need to be cautious, especially on the hills, to avoid getting a ski in old ski tracks. As we test this trail out, we can't get out to groom every day. We also have not put up the full suite of cautions signs such as "Steep" or "Sharp Curve" so skiers should take it easy on the many rolling hills and curves. If you are lucky you may see a moose! There is at least one clomping over the trails! Classic trails are in very good condition too - with some slightly blurred tracks on hills and curves.

Photos:

(Mary Shedd, Howard Wagoner Trails Club)

Yes, you read that right: skate skiing! The Wagoner Trail has just opened a 10km round trip skate trail and it is beautiful. We are going to be grooming it for skating for the rest of the season and next year as we seek feedback from skiers as to whether this is worth adding to our trail system permanently. The trail is on a segment of Prospector ATV trail that traverses beautiful rolling and sometimes hilly large pine and mixed forest. We don't have the perfect groomer for skate trails, but what we have has made a very smooth and great skate deck (in these current cold conditions). Start at the South (main) parking lot trailhead. Classic trails all were groomed yesterday and are looking good - there was about 1/2" additional snow since then, but it is light and fluffy and easily skied.

Photos:

(Mary Shedd, Howard Wagoner Trails Club)

About 4 inches of new snow since last grooming. No wind drifts. People have been out and some of the tracks are packed.

Photos:

(Aaron Kania)

Great conditions, tracks are firmed up. Pretty quiet out there on Super Bowl Sunday but even at that a couple other skiers out there for good conversation.

(Aaron Kania)

Trails were freshly groomed today for classic skiing. It was 8 below and perfect for a ski! Skied with green kick wax. We did quite a few of the loops and they are in fantastic condition.

(Ida Rukavina)