All DRXC ski loops have been re-groomed for skate and classic skiing, with the exception of B loop.
Regrooming old snow that had been rained upon and refrozen a few days ago is the worst possible grooming conditions to deal with. Conditions are FAIR, with coarse granular snow. Conditions will be very fast, so caution is required on every hill. Intermediate M (king’s road) and short M were also groomed, so those loop options are recommended for skiers wanting to avoid hills, as well as loops R and X.
We had begun preparing B loop last week because there had been snow in the forecast that would have allowed us to do a nice job of grooming it for skate and classic skiing, but that snow didn’t come to be, then along came the warm spell and rain. B LOOP IS NOW TREACHEROUS with the long hills, icy terrain and the lumpiness of the snow base. B loop is not recommended for skiing.
There has to be more snow coming in March, so there has to be good conditions coming. Enjoy what we have until then, with caution.
The skate tracks on loops M, S and H have been re-groomed (freshened up). The classic track on these loops was not reset because it is holding up quite well (still in GOOD condition).
Loop B and the small side loop off H have now been groomed for skate skiing (for the first time this year). That means the classic track on B (back country track) has been taken out. Track setting for classic skiing on B is planned to be done Saturday morning after the next warm spell freezes again. Appologies to those who have temporarily lost their classic sking along that loop.
The classic tracks on Loops D, R, X and C were not regroomed, although they need it (FAIR condition). They will be re-groomed Saturday morning after the next warm spell freezes again.
Grooming has been challenging this year because of the warm periods and because of limited snowfalls and the thin snow base. If there isn’t snow in the forecast, we have to be cautious about re-grooming because we can recycle old snow only to a limited extent. We have to be very strategic to make the most of what we have.
Following our Thursday snowfall, grooming of all remaining DRXC trails was completed last night, with the exception of B loop, which remains a back-country trail until we accumulate more snow.
Trail conditions are GOOD/FAIR overall. We need more snow to recover from the last weeks of warm weather and the absence of snow for 3 weeks. The hills on M, S and H loops are VERY FAST, so caution is required, and for that reason we did not set classic tracks on the downhills (leaving more room for snowplowing).
Last night’s snow was nice to have, but it was about half what we need to restore the trails from the prolonged warm period and the absence of snow. It has been a difficult year. This morning loops D, R, X and C were track set. Conditions are GOOD on D, R and X, and FAIR on C loop because of exposed roots.
Loop M was groomed for skate skiers, but the old track remains for classic skiers to break and ski.
More grooming will happen tonight in preparation for the weekend.
Trails D, R, X and C were successfully groomed. Conditions are FAIR/GOOD but extremely fast and caution is needed on every downhill section of trail.
C loop has exposed stones and roots in a few places.
Loops K and M were groomed for skate skiing, but the trail surface is still coarse granular/icy. The classic tracks on K and M were NOT RESET and they remain icy and dangerously fast.
The other trails require fresh snow before they can be groomed.