Southwest Nordic Ski Club

Whew, we almost had to close up shop on the upper trails, but we got a nice little dose of much-needed snow. New groomer, Cameron Staples, got out early to roll pack it all, including Camp May practice area. He reports pretty nice conditions on the upper trails, and pretty good on the lower Guaje Road. It’ll still be thin, so keep bringing your “rock skis” until we get that big 10″+ storm. We’re kinda being strung along with these smaller storms. But, Enchanted Forest in Red River did receive 13″ as of this morning (Dec. 29). They’re totally set with great conditions for New Years!

Well, at least we’re skiing a little bit. It’s definitely thin and “early season” as they say – use your old/rock skis! Be sure to check the club’s Facebook page (see link on this site), and also the club blog, where we post conditions updates as they come. It’s been so super busy trying to get things up and running that we’re behind with some posts, but that’ll change. Looks like more weather at the end of next week into New Year, etc. For now, we’ll take what we got. Also, get up to Enchanted Forest XC and get your season pass there. They have even better conditions!

We ended up being able to ski for most of March, but it only snowed a couple of times, forcing us to alter the tracks just enough to make it out to the good snow in the meadow. It snowed only once in April, with an oddly cold day in a string of overly warm and dry days, giving one last day of touring skiing. After that, we closed up shop and had a great cleanup day from club volunteers.

Well, with the dearth of new snow and recent warm temps, our great ski season is taking a beating these days. There is an interesting forecast for next week, so we’ll see if we get a stay of execution. Trails were regroomed earlier this week, but there are about 4 or 5 thin, narrow sections that require a lot of caution to ford. They’re quite short, but be careful. Skiing was stellar on Tuesday, but things change quickly with long, warm, and sunny days.

Weather is like a box of chocolates…you never know what you’re gonna get, especially around here this time of the year. That storm was weird, with warm rain below 8,000′, and wet slop above that until about 9,300′. The snow that did fall on the lower parts of the trail mostly just added water until it got colder and finally accumulated about 2″-3″, and above a certain level, was pretty good stuff. The new snow in the meadow trails was quite good.

We did get out and groom everything, then it snowed 2″ more (good snow) and the wind blew. So, there’s a mish-mash of conditions, but mostly are quite good. The skiing in the trees should be nice, with a good classic track (probably requiring some klister combo) and a firm skate lane. The meadow trails will likely be wind-blown drier snow. Gonna be cold these next couple of days, then there’s a warm-up over the weekend followed by another (bigger?) wet storm for next week. Roller-coaster weather season, for sure.