Sunday morning ended up being the last grooming of the year. With a 4-8" compacted base and 1-2 feet of snow in the woods, I was counting on being able to ski most of March.
Sunday morning the tracks Lee groomed were perfect Spring skiing.
By Sunday afternoon, thanks to temps in the upper 50's and bright sunshine, the snow started to melt....fast! Water was running big time through the parking lot and the low spots were starting to fill up on the trails.
The snow on the lake melted out completely by Monday afternoon except for the jumps the neighbors built for sno mo x. The dark around the jumps attracted the sun and I thought the jumps would sink into open water but they still were hanging on this weekend.
We did manage to freeze down a few nights and the fat biking on Tuesday morning was awesome. Nice to have the fat tires to mash through the low spots that didn't freeze down completely. Besides that, everything was solid til mid morning and like riding on a paved trail. The 2.0s or whatever would roll early but when it starts to soften, almost come to a complete stop but the fat tires keep rolling.
Jonell and I skied Monday through Thursday. The first two days we could ski from the house but Wed and Thurs we drove up to the goat ranch road so we could access the north facing sections and ski a loop including Suicide Hill.
By weeks end it was getting spotty in sections but the trails are grass and leaves and just scoot across and all good. Just nice to be out in the woods under the beautiful conditions. As long as there is some type of frozen surface under the skis, even if just an inch, skiing is great in my book.
Suicide Hill had the best coverage through the week, and like every year, was the last trail segment to melt out completely. It was snow covered since November 18th and skiable every day since then. Can't complain about that!
Last ski of the year?!? on the trails, March 16th, 2012.
Saturday morning looked across the lake and the ice appeared smooth. Walked down and looked skateable. Told Jon to put his skates on and we went out.
The jumps were still hanging on and the open holes a bit larger but not as much as I expected.
Sunday morning back out. The ice wasn't as good as Saturday but was neat just being out. The breeze rolling down the lake was almost uncomfortably warm. The west side seemed to be better for skating. It was much warmer air than the east side. The conditions are hard to explain. Very surreal feeling.
Jonell was going to come out and join us but she couldn't see from the other side and didn't like the appearance so never made it across.
Jens hasn't worn a shirt much the past few days.
Since I thought we would have snow all through March, I made a goal to ski 30 days straight. Made it to the 16th than had to transition to the lake. From years past, the skiing on the lake has been great when the surface softens from the sun and warmth but hasn't got soft enough to get an edge. Resorted to double poling.
In the process of melting out and hitting low 70's for temps, the mountain bike singletrack has dried out. Along with such dry conditions Aug-Nov. there really wasn't much frost and very little "bleeding" from below. The riding has been excellent for early season.
Jake and his friend Trenton making a tomato launcher. What a great weekend of full range of activities. Not many days you can mix it up like we have. Fun stuff.
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