And today, this is today. 3/19/2019

Open, 19º at 7am and 1 inch of new snow overnight. The sky is clear and the morning is bright, white and sparkly. Ian is grooming and we have 12 km groomed, 12 km for classic and 6 km for skate. The upper trails, new snow onto of a hard base. Mostly sunny and the forecast high is 32º, so Maxiglide is needed today.

The skiing will be really good first thing this morning, before is warms up, mid winter, again. The new snow mixed in with the frozen granular. Wow. Tracks are great. The skate lane is solid. You may want to ski this morning and then go to work. Martha, if you are reading this, find a way to get out here!

If you haven’t checked out the rock sculpture on the Peregrine, today would be a great day to go look. There are 2 other nice rocks standing up beside the trail also. Let me know if you see them all.

And around we go.

Open, 16º at 7am. Forecast high 31º and mostly sunny. 12 km open, 12 km classic and 6 km skate. Ian is grooming again with the snow cat. It does a great job, making a loose granular surface and putting a track in. This morning the skiing is very skiable and fast. From 10am to about 2pm the sun really softens the snow and the skiing is slower. After 2pm, the sun goes down and the skiing hardens right back up, and it gets faster. Plan accordingly. There are people who loves the hard and fast, and there are people that do not.

While you are out watch for tracks. Animals are moving around more looking for food and also happy to see the sun and warmer weather. Pay attention to the tracks in the new snow, if you take a picture, use something as a reference for size. You can use your ski pole basket or your glove or mitten. You will see animal tracks and scat. Let me know what is out there.

Today he could choose the one on the left. 3/17/2019

Open, 20º at 7am and cloudy. Forecast high 27º and becoming sunny. 12 km open. Woodcock, Snow Goose, Turkey, Grouse, Goshawk and Peregrine. 12 km classic and 6 km skate.

The snow today ground up nicely. A loose granular, sugary snow that the PistenBully, the machine on the left with the hydraulic tiller makes. The temperature and the snow conditions decide which machine is best for which day. Yesterday Ian couldn’t use the PisenBully, 55º on Friday and not cold enough Friday night, the snow was still too wet. Saturday morning Ian used the machine in the middle, the Ranger side by side with the Ginzu groomer. It works well and the skiing yesterday was good, especially after the sun warms the snow a little.

This machine works wonders. 3/17/2019

But today, he could use the snow cat and the skiing is pretty darn “noice”. (Vermont for really good.)

And speaking of Vermont…………the roads, how could it be spring if we didn’t have to talk about the roads.

Our road is one of the better dirt roads around. It is still ok. Wayne graded the bad parts of the roads in town last night before they froze all rutted up. Thank you Wayne!!!

But, Lover’s Lane, a road from Rt 11 to Hapgood Pond Road is not ok. (It is this morning because the temperature is 20º.) Please go around. Instead of turning left on Lover’s Lane go straight on Rt 11 for another mile or so. Turn right onto Peru’s Main Street. Go about 1/4 mile to the stop sign and take the hard right, Hapgood Pond Road, 1 mile on Hapgood Pond Road. Turn left on North Road and it is a mile and a half to us.

Thanks for helping us all survive mud season.

Still snow up here on the mountain. 26 inches. 3/15/2019

Open, 33° at the 7am. Expected high 34°. All trails open, skiing will be fast on this spring corn snow. A few wet spots on the upper trails. Chickadee groomed with little the machine and difficult, the lower 12km groomed with the Ginzugroomer.

The snow is hard, but the groomer worked. Fast and skiable. The low trails will be the best skiing today. The Chickadee will be difficult today. The Middle and Upper Blue Jay did not get groomed today, They will be tricky. The wind has been blowing this morning, spring has sprung.

There are a few things associated with spring in Vermont, Red Winged Black Birds and sugaring, pussy willows buds and the smell of the earth to name a few, but the one not many of us cannot escape, Mud Season. If blogs had music like movies, when you read Mud Season, ominous music would have played. Mud seasons come and go and some are worse than others but here are a few tips to help out. Only drive on the dirt roads you have to drive on. No dirt roads for a Sunday drive. Your mud road mantra, go slow, aim high, don’t stop.

We were closed on Friday. Rain and 55º, so the road was pretty muddy and slimy. The dirt roads do best when the temperatures go down around or below freezing at night, and then are 45ºish during the day. It froze Friday night, and today in around 34º so it won’t be too muddy, but it will be rutted up from Friday. Just remember, go slow, aim high and don’t stop.