Open, 29º at 7 am and sunny. Forecast high, 58º and there could be a few clouds. The photo is from late yesterday’s grooming, Ian set about 5 km of with new tracks, groomers choice. It will be fast corn skiing and the track will hold early this morning. By 11:00 it will all soft mashed potatoes and slow spring skiing.

There are a few rocks and dirt patches emerging. Nothing yet you can’t ski around. Loon was getting tricky on the downhill yesterday morning. Skip it if you are up there while it is still fast. Upper Blue Jay holds the snow the longest, and Middle Blue Jay will start having bare spots emerge, but on Middle Blue Jay you can get around those easily. The first hill on the Chickadee always melts out early, walk up the hill and you still get a nice long ski.

The view from above.

We will be boiling late this afternoon and tonight, if anyone wants to come hang out.

Open, 27º at 7 am and sunny! This is corn snow, turning to mashed potatoes in the warm sun. All trails open, and as of yesterday morning there were no bare spots. The snow and the skiing change by the hour, variable conditions/spring skiing. You will need to walk a bit on the uphill after first chickadee road crossing today.

We gathered and boiled yesterday. About 300 gallons of sap, boiled for 6 hours, and made 7 and 3/8 gallons of syrup. It was a good day, and we will do it again today. I will get some syrup to the barn if anyone stills needs it.

Above, watching sap boil. And below, finishing the product.

Open, 26º at 7 am and sunny. The expected high 55º and sunny. All trails are open and the skiing is really, really good spring skiing. Ian finished grooming last night about midnight. Long, long night for grooming. The skiing will be good and fast this morning, and will soften with the sun. If you like hard and fast get here early. If you don’t, wait and ski later in the day.

All trails are open today. We moving toward the end of the season. Skiing varies day to day, and hour by hour. Your timing at this time of year matters.

As of today, according to the weather forecast we will be open today, Monday, Tuesday, maybe Wednesday.

We gathered sap late yesterday. Chuck and I pumped the barrels still in sunlight. Ian and Audrey emptied buckets, between grooming runs, by headlamp. And the sap really didn’t run very well yesterday. So hopefully today the sap gods will let the sap run. If so, we will be boiling at the end of the day.

The tubing runs down the hill into the barrels and we then pump to a bigger tank on the trailer. And then pump that into a stainless steel tank behind the sugarhouse. And then the sap gets pumped into the tank that feeds the evaporator which then gravity feeds into the evaporator. I feel like the sap travels more than we do these days.

Happy Spring! Open, 20º at 7 am and sunny. Forecast high 47º and sunny. There is just no such thing as too much sun or too much spring skiing. All trails open. The sun will soften the snow and the skiing, really nice corn snow.

Ian said that the south facing areas, the tree wells are growing and any spot with dirt gets bigger with every hour of sun, warmth, rain. Spring is on it’s way. Skiing won’t last and this weekend is really nice.

The local kids’ program, BKL, held its final practice Friday afternoon. They know how to have fun on skis.

The guy in the orange coat said, “Everyone lie down. Ready, set, go.” And anyone, who wasn’t here, who can name that guy, gets a free hot chocolate.

And the hula hoop at the end of the obstacle course. The obstacle course also included a limbo, pushing uphill with little poles (really miserable), throw the ball into the bucket, ski backwards, and the the hula hoop. Lots of laughing and some cowbells.