We hit 51F degrees at Snowflake today. Four days of warmth and sun have left a thin, wet base and a lot of bare spots. Once temps drop, we expect a sheath of ice, and too thin for the Ginzu knives to scrape a base. We will remain closed until we get a groom-able snowfall. It will come!

(John Graham)

41F degrees and sunny. Due to the warm temps and thin base, our trails are closed and will remain closed through Saturday, Nov 26th. We'll decide on Saturday evening whether to open on Sunday. Our concern is to preserve this trail until cold temps return, next week.
It was a great week of mid-November skiing! Happy Thanksgiving!

(John Graham)

Amazingly decent coverage for the early season, though heavy usage has led to extremely well packed trails that really show off the lumpy nature of a thin snow-base, and some sections are more pump track than ski trail. Skied in classic tracks are decent and I double poled a bit in them. There is the occasional tip of a rock that shows on the 8k, mostly on a couple uphills. If you are skiing at night, there are a couple lights on the 5k that appear to have been set to a disco-mode, flashing on and off. It's extremely disorienting, and could be dangerous for anyone with a seizure condition.

(Ketzel Levens)

This morning we groomed all trails, following a weekend of very heavy use. The compacted base is only 1-2", but still 99% coverage. B or rock skis are suggested. There's a skied-in classic track on the 6K, and classic skiers may ski the right side of the 8K. We'll be open 8-8 today thru Wednesday. Scheduling plans: Based on forecast temps, we expect to close the trails between Thursday - Sunday, in order to preserve the snow into next week's cooldown.

Photos:

(John Graham)

Due to the moderating weather forecast, the chalet will be open 8-8 all weekend. The desk may be unattended, so rental gear will be self-serve/ honor system. Today we cleared and groomed the last sections of the 8K, and regroomed the 6K. So, all trails are now groomed for skating; folks have skied-in a decent classic track on the 6K, and classic skiers are welcome to ski the right side of the 8K. Please sign-in before you ski.

Photos:

(John Graham)

Skied the whole 6K and groomed back loops of the 8k. Still undulating, but all rocks are adequately covered and the skiing was good for Nov 16th.

(Greg Garmer)

The 6K saw a lot of use today. We re-groomed the 6k with two Ginzus, then removed down trees from, and compacted, the 8K segments of the Perimeter Loop, and ran the Ginzus over it. So, the 6K and the Perimeter Loop are skate-groomed. Compacted snow is too shallow for the track-setter, but classic skiers are welcome to ski the right side of all trails. The remaining segments of the 8K are low ground and very wet; we plan to groom them on Monday, after the weekend cold. The Chalet will be open 8-8 on Thursday and Friday; Sign-in when you ski, please. The chalet/rentals will be closed on Saturday and Sunday, due to extreme cold, and a staffing shortage. The trails will be open. Early Bird member pricing ends on November 30th.

Photos:

(John Graham)

We had 5-7" of powder thru tonight, on a cold trail base. Tonight we compacted and skate groomed the entire 6K. The compacted snow is too shallow to set a classic track, but classic skiers are welcome to ski the right side of the trail. Skate skiers are asked to ski center and left. The chalet will remain closed on Wednesday, but will be open 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. beginning Thursday and all skiers must sign-in at the counter before skiing. Early Bird Season Membership pricing ends on 1 December: take advantage of the discount!

(John Graham)