The groomer spent a lot of time on the trails yesterday. On trails where it appears he made one or two passes (Lillehammer, Serenity Now, Lookout, Cardiac, Ying Yang, Big Falls, Donut) the skating deck is scratched up some but still hard in the center, with some corduroy along the edges, and icy on the downhills. On trails where he made multiple passes (Flyway, Tempo, Forget-Me-Not) the skating deck is a wide, fairly even corduroy with a lot of speed in the snow. Many trails had new classic tracks set (Tempo, Flyway) and they are relatively free of leaves (by Tower Ridge standards) and they are deep and fast without being icy.

(Mark Blaskey)

On most of the trails the skating lane was groomed one groomer-width wide two days ago. The skating lane is hard-packed in the center with sketchy edge control, but the edges have some lightly used corduroy. Overall the skating is fast even with the widespread oak leaves littering the trail. The downhills are icy. No new tracks have been set.

(Mark Blaskey)

Trail was re-groomed this morning. The skate deck was groomed one lane in some spots and full width in others; the groomer was still out there when I left. It looked like tracks were at least partially/mostly reset and appeared in good condition except for the plethora of oak leaves.

(Colleen Duffy)

By 11:00 this morning the groomer had already left. The skate lane was groomed on most, but not all, of the the trails. The skating lane on trails that weren't groomed is hard-packed snow. The snow machine's tracks leave behind a trail that the groomer can't entirely cover, so there is 2' of corduroy in the middle, flanked by 12" wide remnants of the tracks, and outside of that another 2' of corduroy on each side. The snow turned up by the tracks is granular. On "Cardiac Climb" only the sides of the trail were groomed. "Donut", "Nice and Easy" and a few others were not groomed. No new classic tracks were set and the existing tracks alternate between glazed sections and oak-leaved sections.

(Mark Blaskey)

The classic tracks are mostly clear of leaves and have a nice glaze on them. The skate lane is hard-packed snow and uneven in places.

(Mark Blaskey)

Classic track is firmly set and largely clear of debris, though some leaves under the occasional oak. Skate deck firm and well skied in. Conditions were very icy Saturday evening but enjoyable all the same.

(Christopher Wellman)

The groomer went around this morning. All trails now have been groomed. New classic tracks were set where they weren't set on Tuesday. The existing tracks are glazed and fast. The new tracks compress when kicking down but are good. The skating lane is in fair to good condition. In many places the tracks of the grooming machine are deeper than the corduroy and make for an uneven skating deck.

(Mark Blaskey)

No new grooming has been done. Basically the same conditions as Tuesday. Not all the trails have been groomed and only 3-4K of tracks have been set. In most areas the skate lane has a skied-in firm middle section about three feet wide flanked on both side by soft conditions where ski tips sink in 2-4". The classic tracks are firm and quick but the pole track is soft and deep. Oak leaves are falling again.

(Mark Blaskey)

Very good snow cover. Very soft snow conditions. Beautiful. First time at Tower Ridge. I look forward to going back.

Photos:

(Michael Johnson)

Celebrated New Years Day skiing Tower Ridge after about 8” new snow on Monday. Portions of most trails had some grooming and track was set on many of the lighted trails, but much more grooming is needed to bring the trail system up its usual standards. Skate deck looked a little soft, but quite skiable. Classic tracks were full depth and reasonably firm, but pole plants were quite soft.

Photos:

(Rich Dirks)