January is here and it’s time to start the trail reports for the 2023 race – our 25th year!
The Christmas storm brought plenty of snow and skiing was great across the system – then it warmed up. Warm temperatures and some rain put a big dent in the ski trails but luckily the overnight temperatures dropped back down after a few days which helped create a solid base on trails that are groomed regularly. Things were thinning out quite a bit though and we lost the ability to set new classic tracks. Anywhere from 5-10 inches of heavy wet snow returned on 1/3 and is currently coming down (1/4) so that will be helpful to get things back to a better place. The current grooming report at Forestville is that the Pisten Bully is out grooming with mixed results because of the wet nature of the snow. Overnight temperatures in the extended forecast look to be decently below freezing with daytime temps right around the freezing mark. December and January have certainly been unseasonably warm and that appears to be the long term trend at this time minus perhaps a shot of cooler air the middle of next week. We will be keeping our eyes on that – it remains to be seen if that will turn the lake effect snow machine on or not.
No report on the major water crossings yet.
More to come!