Open, 20º at 6 am and partly cloudy skies. All trails are open and the skiing is wonderful. Nice tracks. I did hear the Middle Blue Jay is a little soft. Soft is good for me. Ian finds soft, not perfect.

But the weather……….today the weather is perfect. The temperature starting at 20º, will be dropping slightly during the day. The forecast for tonight- wind chill advisory tonight thru Friday morning. Temperatures Thursday night down to -5º. High Friday of 7º. Saturday’s high 10º, Sunday warming up to around 20º.

But we all have warm clothes. Dress in layers. Try to avoid cotton. Neck warmers and hoods help. Mittens are way warmer than gloves.

When Nordic skiing we all warm up quite a bit. So that makes it a great sport for cold weather. (And no chairlift.) So sweating happens. A dry shirt to wear for your second lap and/or to wear home is really nice.

Another thought for pandemic masking times, our masks get wet with condensation in this cold weather. A dry mask or neck gaiter is also really nice.

I see a trend here, dry cloth next to our skin is better than wet. Whether it is your shirt, mask or mittens or gloves. Pack a bag with extras clothes. Some days I go through 4 masks.

Open, 20º 4.8 inches of new snow and snowing at 6 am. Groomed this morning; Woodcock, Snow Goose, Turkey, Grouse, Peregrine, Chickadee, Middle and Upper Blue Jay. Loon, not this morning.

Parking lot is plowed, fires are lit, trails are perfect. Skiing is fabulous. BUT, the temperatures are expected to go to 29º/30º. New snow, and temperatures around 32º, you will need Maxiglide or Swix F4 on no wax skis today. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, ask if it is needed.

Open, 6º at 7 am and clear. Really good hard pack skiing, the track is good. Ian is out in a groomer on the “lower trails”.

25 km open, all trails, 25 km classic and 6 km skate.

Dick is up clipping the sides of the trails back on Middle and Upper Blue Jay. This is a day off from skiing for Dick. He had skied, many kms, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Monday became his day off. So it is a trail work day, and the work of the day involved loppers. Before the 3 feet of snow that fell last week his tool of choice was a shovel. He is happy to move on to cutting the sides of the trail back. Notice his work while you are skiing, you will see little branch cuttings here and there.

We had about 70 skiers yesterday, 2 had trouble with the uphill and downhill. The harder pack snow is not as forgiving as fresh new powder. If you have difficulties with a herringbone on the uphill. Start to march, in the herringbone, up the hill, keep your shoulders moving UP. If your snowplow isn’t working, concentrate on knees bent over your toes, and hands by or on your knees. Never “sit” on your heels, stay on the balls of your feet. These two tips help a lot.

And with all the new snow the animal tracks show up nicely. We are guessing these are coyote tracks, and it is looking for breakfast. These tracks have been spotted in the Turkey, Woodcock area.

Open, 2º at 6am. Forecast high today 23º and sunny. A beautiful day for a ski. 25 km open, 25 km classic and 6 km skate. The skiing really is as good as it gets.

“Kindness is like snow, it beautifies everything it covers.” Kahil Girbran. It is beautiful out there. If you have any photos to share, send them to me.

Cliff got a shot of some nice corduroy up at Styles Junction. The upper trails are great right now. Well, it is all good. Take your pick and today is supposed to be a little bit warmer and not windy. Tuesday a chance of snow.

Martha is out first thing most mornings, skis quite a few kms and gets great, “look what cool things I found” pictures. This nest was on the Chickadee, but not a chickadee nest. Chickadees house themselves in holes in trees. Chuck narrowed it down for us, (say that sarcastically)– migratory songbird. Thanks Martha for sharing!!!