Track set was a little shallower than the past couple of weekends, and there was a significant amount of skier damage to the tracks, especially on the CCC and White Pine Trails. Slightly less track damage on the Greeley Creek Trail, and noticeably better on the Triangle. All segments on the north side were well-used (Thompson conditions reported by my wife) with the exception of the Lower Triangle, which appeared to have a skier set track, and the Oak Trail, which I did not ski or see. Grooming had not taken place on the south side trails. With yesterday's big wind, oak leaves were scattered all over the trails, but skiing with blue wax in the morning and lifting skis whenever possible, I did not experience any debris sticking to the wax pocket. I gave up on burying oak leaves as there were just too many. Some pine needles in the usual spots.

(Joel Rosen)

We skied CCC and Thompson this morning. Plenty of snow at Jay Cooke, but it could use some new grooming. If you are in an area without much snow, this would be heaven, but if you are used to good tracks it needs refreshing. Little to no debris, firm pole plants, someone walked up the middle of the trail for quite awhile, and tracks are misshapen aka wider than they should be for about 70% of the trails we skied and wiped out for about 20% of them completely. They groomed the other side of the bridge in the past few days but that gets so much foot traffic we opted for this side.

Photos:

(Eve Graves)

Very good conditions on the north side. White Pine and CCC used fairly heavily by late afternoon today, with quite a bit of skier damage to the track on the CCC. Greeley and Triangle less used, with Triangle a bit slower, possibly due to being groomed more recently. Lower Triangle (black diamond) viewed but not skied by me (or anyone else when I went by). Looked like a very clean, recent single track (all others are double tracked). Very good glide on other trails, given cold temperatures and untransformed snow. Beautiful day and grooming is definitely improved at this beautiful park.

(Joel Rosen)

South side update. Warning: two trees down, one on Bear Chase and one in Silver Creek south. This area isn't groomed yet, but is still quite enjoyable (those trees are easily stepped over). The main Silver Creek loop has seen a good amount of ski traffic; though hikers have walked in the tracks, they're still packed. Farther east / Bear Chase less so, but a couple of us have laid tracks. I did not go farther east than #39.

(Alex Leslie)

Best grooming I've seen at Jay Cooke in 38 years! Skied White PIne, Greely, CCC. Tracks were very clean and crisp, with less than a dozen oak leaves in the tracks over my entire route (I speared and buried a few). New snow groomed in the morning was set up but not really fast yet. With the hour getting late, I skied just enough of Triangle to confirm it was in similar condition. Quite a few paw prints on Greely east of the dam for a short way (<1km), but this did not significantly detract from track quality. Saw only one skier on the extended outing, but three different groups were arriving to ski just as I returned to the parking lot with sunset approaching.

(Joel Rosen)

The north side is groomed and in good condition. In some spots snow is soft and slows (especially CCC trail) as to be expected with first layers and fluffy snow, but many areas feel like a dream. Thanks to the groomers for good work! Crossing fingers that the south side will get some love soon too.

(Alex Leslie)

Beautiful conditions at night for the candlelight ski at Jay Cooke. They groomed the trail yesterday before the event and planned to re-groom Sunday. Perfect tracks with only a few small areas where snowshoers or walkers had veered into the ski tracks. A beautiful moonlit night to enjoy!

Photos:

(John Lund)

White Pine and Triangle trails were rolled but not tracked. White pine was thin in areas with bare ground or exposed rocks that could be easily avoided. There were several sets of human and dog footprints down the center of the trail. Trail next to the reservoir was wind blown and required ski removal. Triangle trail had better coverage and no footprints.

(Adam Van Straten)