Six plus inches of wet, sticky snow, warm temps and tree gauntlets made today a challenge. In the end, the best we could do is track pack all the skate lanes, knock the snow off the droopy trees and roll a couple of the classic trails. Grooming plans: We will be back at it tomorrow hopefully whipping the trails into reasonable condition for the weekend.

Photos:

(Robert Polic)

As of Tuesday afternoon I completed first grooming of the season. Prior to this I had rolled trails twice. It is iffy skiing right now. There are places where it would be fairly good, but many stretches that still need more snow. Not possible to set tracks yet. I would definitely use rock skis, and I would use great caution on steep downhills with curves. I discovered that the first side loop of Long Rider will have to be closed for the season as a berm was bulldozed at the completion of a logging project this summer on a steep downhill just before a sharp curve at the bottom. Otherwise, all trails will be open this winter.

(Will Maines)