If we groom now the trails may turn into slush. Grooming plans: We hope to groom either later today or on Saturday.

(DAVID Michael GREYMONT)

I checked how well the trail has held up, with today's above-freezing temperatures, while on a walk at Quarry Hill this afternoon. The trail is still in mostly good shape today, as can be seen from the pictures. There is also a skier-set classic track on parts of the trail.

Photos:

(James Martenson)

Early season conditions exist! Coverage is good for early December, but snow is very soft and wet.

(Laura Wooten)

The trails were packed this morning for skating. Not enough base of snow to set a classic track. We had some equipment issues that left a ridge in the middle of some of the trails. Grooming plans: This should be repaired on Saturday. We had a bunch of girls (does) watching us. They thought we were doing a pretty good job.

(David Greymont)

After the thaw on Friday, I was surprised to find that it was still quite skiable. In fact, the coverage for the far east hill side was still very decent. Rock skis, but better than nothing without snowmaking in the city.

Photos:

(Ian Chang)

All but the west ball field trails have been rolled and combed. Parkwood Hills ball park trail, Meadow trails, and Quarry Hill woods are in good shape for rock skis.

(Mike Holmes)

After classic skiing yesterday, I decided to try freestyle skiing the same track today. When I got to the park, I found that the Rochester Active Sports Club's amazing groomers had set a skate deck! In places conditions are actually pretty good, while in others, coverage is quite marginal. Even the most marginal parts of the trail are skiable, but extreme caution is recommended in places where there are lots of bare spots. If you hit a bare spot at anything but an extremely slow speed, your ski will stop and a face-plant may be the end result. It is very easy, however, to take these sections as a slow pace, such as very slow double-poling, or semi-classic skiing, or even just walking over them or using a herringbone technique. The trail was the best on an approximately 0.7 km loop that starts just to the north of the Nature Center. The Nature Center is at the most southern point on the attached screen-shot. From there, ski north on the gently rolling section of trail in the woods. Take the first left, near the structure with the solar panels, and ski back to the start on the part of the trail that goes through the meadow. Another alternative is to ski north from the Nature Center (similar to the beginning of the 0.7 km loop). This time, however, skip the first left and continue straight. Take the second left-hand turn, near the bridge, and ski back to the Nature Center on the meadow trail. This is an approximately 1.4 km loop. The trail is not quite as good as on the 0.7 km loop, but it is still very skiable. The attached photos will provide a sense of the range of trail conditions. Overall, it was a blast to be able to get out and do any skiing at all at this time of year!

Photos:

(James Martenson)

Quarry Hill is skiable! I did 8k on the trails this morning. I was actually surprised at how skiable the conditions were. Rock skis are mandatory, however.

Photos:

(James Martenson)