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Forestville: Andy ‘Bully groomed most of the trails last night. Grooming included Noque to the second gate past 510, Animoosh, Chiwaji bypass and hills, Bagwaji, Gookookoo, Migizi, Boozhoo, Zing, and Papa say. It was taking multiple passes to get a good result but look for ideal skiing all day today. High temperatures will remain below freezing all day but full spring sun will make for an ideal day on the trails. With lightning fast snow and ‘Bully groomed corduroy, today is the day to ski to the 2nd gate west of 510.
Fit Strip: We groomed the lighted loop Thursday but only cleaning up the skate lane as the tracks were still firm. Conditions are very fast. There is ice in the sunny spots and a bit of dirt in the hemlocks.
Big Bay Pathway: The Big Bay Pathway is freshly groomed. Meditation and Hidden Grin are in good shape. Don’t know how many more times we can groom.
Boe😎👍👍🇧🇻🇧🇻🇧🇻🇧🇻
Saux Head: Tuesday’s thaw may have left us with some icy ruts. Let us know if you have first hand information.
Snow Bike Trails:
NORTH TRAILS
Trail Conditions Highly Variable.
Sunny afternoon skies created freeze thaw conditions. Trail surface ranges from perfect hard packed snow to bare ground with stretches of icy glazed snow and sheet ice thrown in.
Trails at lower elevations and along the river where the base was shallower most affected.
Blue Heron Trail from the river up to the dam is very icy and treacherous, probably best avoided by those without crampons or studs.
Collinsville, Peter’s Sandbox, SilverLead and Wildcat in overall very good shape with limited icy areas.
Use caution
South Trails Grooming: I expect variable conditions similar to the comments above on the North Trails.
One of the winding wooded sections on upper Gookookoo yesterday afternoon. Notice there is still ‘Bully corduroy after two days.
Way Too Long Grooming Report
As the great grooming report writer Robert Burns once quipped, The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men
Gang aft agley. Of course, then, the corollary is also likely true. Evidence my arrival at the trail head yesterday. A week’s to-do list didn’t get to-done until 1:30 Friday afternoon. Of course Joe correctly points out there is a priority ordering error involved but never mind that. So, it takes 10 minutes to find your stuff and get dressed (if you didn’t ski for three days in a row). Then it took five minutes to explain to my skis who I was after the long absence. Finally a long drive to the trailhead. After almost half an hour I was on the snow at 1:55, smack in the sweet spot of yesterday’s Goldie Locks Zone. Now I’m sure one (or both) of you have been busy fine tuning your Goldie Locks zone predictive algorithms. We are in March after all. A miscalculation can be dangerous. Missing too early can land you in the trees with a broken pelvis hoping you have cell coverage; too late and you could be 15k from your car slogging through slush. So, to hit it on the head with zero advance planning was dumb luck to be sure.
Of course, Goldie Locks Zone calculations were far more critical prior to regular PistenBully grooming. Grooming of any kind extends the zone earlier in the day. Even a Ginzu run can add several hours to good skiing by simply knocking down the rough edges of yesterday’s now frozen skate tracks. However, early morning’s first tracks on ‘Bully groomed spring corn will be fast but true. The corduroy will allow an edge to be set and there will be no snow snakes to be found. So, if you suffer that pelvis thing today its all on you. Most of the world skis on man made snow, what we would call freeze/thaw snow all season. It should not be disparaged. Springtime warm days make fresh natural snow wet and good for snowball fights or building snow men but little else. Corn and man made crystals are large enough to allow water to drain faster than it melts. Even into the 50s or 60s one can enjoy wonderful skiing if the trail is properly prepared. Most people need to schedule a trip to the mountain west for such ideal spring skiing conditions.
We will continue to offer our Goldie Locks Zone prediction when warranted because not all trails are ‘Bully groomed and not all skiing is on piste. Crust skiing isn’t here yet but If you want real misery, miss Goldie Locks on the warm end crust skiing. Our algorithms are more carefully guarded than Google’s search engine but we will let you peek under the covers now and again. Any tips and tricks you wish to share will also be provided to your fellow skiers.
See you out there,
Sondo