Open at 9 am. The temperature at 6:30 am is 8º. The forecast high is 30º, with the possibility of snow showers later.

The skiing is outstanding. Ian took the above photo while grooming on the Loon.

All trails are open, and all skiing is good. Peregrine to Middle and then Upper Blue Jay will be amazing.

Below are more photos from Ian from his grooming late yesterday.

And the photo below is from Todd, on the upper Bluejay in the middle of the afternoon.

And now I need to go watch the rest of the classic sprint races. Ben, Julia, and JC all made it to the semi-finals!

Open at 9 am. The temperature at 6:30 is -5º. The forecast high is 17º. The sky is clear, and the sunrise is pink. This is a great day to ski.

All the trails are open. The skiing is super! There will be a few spots that are wind blown. Cold, wind blown snow is slow. Think about the snowflake chart, Cold snow has 6 branches, the flakes are airy and not icy. (I ordered my snowflake chart, not sure where I will hang it.)

Lower 10 km set with a classic track and a skate lane. Upper 15 km with just a classic track, a little bit powdery. This would be a really good day to ski all the trails.

Tuesday and Wednesday the high temperature is going to be 28º/29º. The skiing will change, especially in the sun. Not a bad change just different than fluffy, lovely powder snow we have today.

Thanks to Sandy for the above photos from yesterday.

And thanks to Mike for the poem below.

The Snow Man Wallace Stevens 1879-1955

“One must have a mind of winter
To regard the frost and the boughs
Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;

And have been cold a long time
To behold the junipers shagged with ice,
The spruces rough in the distant glitter

Of the January sun; and not to think
Of any misery in the sound of the wind,
In the sound of a few leaves,

Which is the sound of the land
Full of the same wind
That is blowing in the same bare place

For the listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.”

Open at 9 am. The temperature at 6:30 am is -10º. The forecast high is 4º, and partly sunny.

The skiing is phenomenal. It is cold out. Almost 4 inches of new snow yesterday morning. Soft quiet snow, 3°F.-10°F.: traditional six-branched flakes (dendrites).

Ian groomed with the PistenBully last night on all the low trails. Classic track and skate lane are fabulous. The Chickadee, Middle and Upper Blue Jay are packed underneath with new snow on top, with a skied in track. What I heard repeated over and over about the snow yesterday, was how quiet it made the woods . When skiing all you could hear was the swish of your jacket and sleeves. When you stopped the quiet was complete.  

This is also one of my favorite poems, Rumi.

“Last night
I begged the Wise One to tell me
the secret of the world.
Gently, gently, he whispered,
“Be quiet,
the secret cannot be spoken,
It is wrapped in silence.” Rumi

Credit to Jillian for the photos above, first tracks on Loon and Blue Jay. Jillian did her 25 km yesterday and broke track though the 4 inches of snow on Chickadee, Loon, Upper and Middle Blue Jay. She finished strong. (Jillian talked about the work of the extra snow, but immediately went on to say the beauty and the quiet were worth it!)

Open at 9 am. The temperature at 6:30 am is 16º, and that is the high for the day, dropping to 0º by the end of the day.

All trails are open and the skiing is pretty darn nice. New fluffy, sparkly snow on top of a really good track and a very nice skate lane. All trails open. Great day for Middle and Upper Blue Jay.

Did you know we are in the new issue of Stratton Magazine? If you get your hands on the print magazine, we are on page 62. If you want to look online click here. It is always fun to talk to people about what we do, how we got here, and maybe where we are headed. Benjamin Lerner came over to talk to us in December. Happened to be the day of the High School race, he was very patient, and he did a great job conveying our mission here. Our friend and photographer Maaike from Maaike Photography let the magazine use some of her photos from last year’s Skida photo shoot featuring the heart strings hat. Side note, a few more heart hats are still in the shop if you want one get here quick. Look for Maisie and her snow heart. Ian and Gretchen skiing. And a line up of the whole family.

A little of the then and now. Chuck and his dad, Angus in 1976, posing for their new brochure. And on Friday, Ian and his son, Asa, struggling to learn to maneuver. It is all a practice. (Look how long those skis are!)

And 3 names added to the Ski All The Trails In A Day board.

Here is a photo of Mary and Fern at the end of their 25 km. I missed Leila. I will post a photo of the board after tomorrow. I heard a little mumbling that there are a few folks thinking Saturday might be the day to get in the every trail and add their name to the board.