| We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. When you register for an account you will see the following message -Due to the amount of "spammers" trying to get on the board all registrations must be approved by me. What this means is that after you register your registration must be authorized. Also your email address has to be verified, you will receive an email with a link YOU MUST CLICK ON THIS LINK TO VERIFY YOUR EMAIL OR YOUR ACCOUNT WILL NOT BE APPROVED. I check the message board several times a day and approve registrations as they come in. Sorry for the wait but it is necessary to keep the spam off the boards.Thanks,Koz It is very important that you click on the link in the email to validate your email. Please check your spam folder as the email message may be sent there by your email provider. IF YOU DO NOT CLICK ON THIS LINK YOUR ACCOUNT WILL NOT BE APPROVED !!! Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
| How's the season going??? | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 24 2010, 02:43 PM (1,143 Views) | |
| cowboy | Jan 24 2010, 02:43 PM Post #1 |
|
Advanced Operator
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Thought I'd see how everybody's season is going. Our's started off with a bang with a 3ft dump in Oct. Since then, not much in the way of snow. Roughly 3ft in 3 months... 1in since x-mas. Trails are getting a little ugly. note the bare ground on either side of the trail ![]() getting a little chunky(still small chunks though) ![]() one kinda neat thing. Since Cody WY didn't have any snow, we got to host their race. A 1.5k classic sprint. First time tried around wy. 12 at a time, and a mass start skate the next day. Both new to the HS racers. starting grid, 8 tracks set, 4 more to go. ![]() (yes the middle set have a wave in them, had to back into the start bldg, hell of a time trying to keep them straight not being to 'pass through') |
![]() |
|
| arly | Jan 24 2010, 03:22 PM Post #2 |
|
Advanced Operator
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Our ski/snow season was going fine other than the work sled mechanical greif. And speaking of that, our venerable VK Pro was predicted to get out of its shop on Friday equipped with a new stator. We've really had little snow for 2 weeks now AND this morning it rained for more than a hour. Did anyone here imagine that could happen in the upper peninsula of MI??!! This afternoon it seems to be switched back to snow and lake effect is coming back in force for the 5 day forecast. How's anyone else holding up??Thanks for posting some cool photos Cowboy Edited by arly, Jan 24 2010, 03:25 PM.
|
| http://keweenawnordic.org/ [/url] keweenawnordicskiclub.blogspot.com [/url] | |
![]() |
|
| Steve.M | Jan 24 2010, 03:50 PM Post #3 |
|
Advanced Operator
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
In West Central Wis we have had a good season...til today. Snow before Christmas (is always a blessing here it seems) then 2 days of rain Christmas, but cold snap froze everything down. We've pretty much been rehashing that pre-Christmas snow ever since, with a few fluffy inches here and there-still....classic and skate have been very good. Rained all last night and temps yesterday were 36, never dipped below 34 since, so needless to say, we have very wet snow now-mush and flooded swamps. Just hoping it'll freeze down overnight and we can start several days of grooming to get everything back into shape. Not sure about getting good tracks back until we have new snow. BTW-assembled another G2 track setter today to attach to our G2-no more sliding that thing back and forth-just have to get the wiring figured out. Those puppies are 80# each-don't think we'll need to add much wt on the G2 anymore! |
![]() |
|
| air19 | Jan 24 2010, 04:53 PM Post #4 |
|
Advanced Operator
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Out here in Vermont we have had the lightest snow fall I can remember in the last five years. We had about a foot of snow in the last week of December and maybe a foot in total since then. I've had to take a very different strategy this year regarding grooming. I'm just trying to keep coverage on all our trails vs. smoothing them out. Anytime I've tried to level this trails with this low amount of snow, I've started to dig up dirt from the high spots. The skiers can deal with the bumps, but they don't like any dirt or stones mixed into their wax and scraping their skis. That means that in about 15 grooming runs this year with the G2 that I've used the teeth once. It's been a good winter to motivate me to learn how to use the rake attachments and they have really saved me by having some way I can work the surface and still lay out a decent cordoroy finish. Another tradeoff has been minimal track setting. Again with such low snow, it's been hard to use the tracksetter without bringing up dirt or hitting obstacles. I have a website for our ski trails www.bbftrails.com, and I've been using it constantly to "educate" our skiers on these tradeoffs and set their expectations a little lower. In fact, I always try to set the expectations low and then try to produce conditions better than that. So far the feedback has been very positive. Two things have saved me this season - first we have been doing a lot of summer work over the last couple of years to make some trails wider. Widening means both cutting the trees back and working the trail surface from 8 feet up to somewhere between 10 and 12 feet. This will be a multi-year project, and I'm maybe a quarter of the way done. The new wider trails have made a big difference, mostly because I got the overhanging hemlock and fir out of the way so whatever snow we are getting is finding it's way down to the trail surface. The second thing is that during this snow season we have been constantly brushing in any wet areas that have shown through, usually by dropping a small fir tree nearby and piling up the branches in the wet areas and then lots of shoveling snow on top. It's going to even more challenging in the next 48 hours because we are forecast to get the rain that just hit the midwest. Ugh. The good news in all this is that the low snow hasn't stopped the skiers from coming out. We've had our highest number of skier-days so far at this point in the season. They want to ski as much as we want to groom, and they will find a way, or lower their expectations, and get out and do it. |
![]() |
|
| couchsachraga | Jan 24 2010, 04:54 PM Post #5 |
|
Advanced Operator
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Nice work on those trachs Cowboy! For the season, "Ok", at least until tonight, about sums it up. We started skiing a bit late this year (usually just after Thanksgiving, but Nov. was really warm), but still had decent skiing on most areas before Christmas. Only about 6" of snow since mid-December though, so the "fluff" in the last images I posted up was a real treat! (really 1" of full over crust over 3" of sugar on top of the last time I'd groomed). It's been frustrating - since before Christmas all I've needed was a foot or so of snow (or 6"of wet snow) to really make everything nice and be 100% open...and I've yet to get it. This time last year we'd already had 5' or so...which was a little above normal, but we're far below normal as far as snow goes right now. We've got 12" or so on the ground, but that may change tonight... 40 degrees plus and 1" of rain forecast...then single digits. Thanks for sending it our way!! |
![]() |
|
| Steve.M | Jan 24 2010, 07:02 PM Post #6 |
|
Advanced Operator
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Sorry.....it never dropped below 35 today, snowed after rain, but never stacked up. I'm afraid to venture out on the trail-we have two low spots that flooded a few weeks ago and I'm guessing they will be pretty wet over and under the trail bed. If the temps drop tonight, I'll try to groom in the early morning hrs before work, otherwise, it may have to wait til later. |
![]() |
|
| mt groomer | Jan 25 2010, 08:11 AM Post #7 |
|
Advanced Operator
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
The el nino winter that was predicted has been correct, at least here in NW Montana. Minimal snowfall and warmer temps this winter. Fortunately the trail I groom at the 5000' elevation has been in great shape. The quality and quantity of snow is excellent. When it snows, it snows in inches rather than feet, so it's been fairly easy to maintain. The trail I groom in town @ 3000' has minimal snow cover and is pretty hard packed. I'm amazed though how it's holding up, and what you can do w/ minimal snow as long as you stay on top of it. At least it's not going away because it's cold enough. Just need some new snow to freshen it up. I'm picking up a used TT Trail Tenderizer today, to use @ the trail in town. Hopefully, it will work a lot better than my pallet groomer . |
![]() |
|
| Steve.M | Jan 25 2010, 08:47 AM Post #8 |
|
Advanced Operator
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I went back and looked at your pallet groomer-amazingly good! Looks like it does a nice job! I had a Nordic 50 myself-always a good machine! |
![]() |
|
| Boldy | Jan 25 2010, 06:54 PM Post #9 |
|
Advanced Operator
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Good season so far here in New Brunswick. We've only had 3 decent snowfalls but it's given us enough to keep the trails in great shape. Our trails pretty much follow woods roads so we don't have to fill in many dips or uneven spots. We had one 2 week stretch where the classic track didn't get touched but it stayed in pretty good condition. We're just starting the mild weather that has been hitting some of you. Rain forecast tonight but I think we have enough of a base that once it turns cold on Thursday we'll put the Ginzu to work and churn up some decent snow. |
![]() |
|
| bcuz3769 | Jan 25 2010, 09:12 PM Post #10 |
|
Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
here in southern ont we just got washed out, 2 days of rain now they are talking about snow for the next week, but with our pb down and waiting for parts all we can do is see what happons next
|
![]() |
|
| couchsachraga | Jan 25 2010, 11:23 PM Post #11 |
|
Advanced Operator
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Rain's stopped, temps supposed to drop back below freezing tonight, still some snow on the ground. I'll have to wait until later this week to do a full trail check, and hopefully try and bring something back Friday night for the weekend. Nordic 50 / 60 was a great machine. I used one of those at a center for a long time. Roller or Tidd Tenderizer did really well behind it. Wish they still imported it (as I recall it was imported from Europe, was not a standard US / CA sled). |
![]() |
|
| Burgess | Jan 25 2010, 11:27 PM Post #12 |
|
Advanced Operator
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Although it did rain here in northern MN on Sat, it snowed all day and night Sunday and temps dropped into the high teens. We probably got about 6" of new snow on top of the rain/snow from Saturday. Grooming tomorrow. |
![]() |
|
| mt groomer | Jan 26 2010, 07:18 AM Post #13 |
|
Advanced Operator
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Guess I can retire the pallet groomer now. Used the TT yesterday, and it does a better job of tilling up the hardpack- having sharper knives instead of teeth. Seems like the TT needed some weight on the front end (over the knives). I added some 8x8 concrete blocks. Any other ideas for improving on the TT? Yes, the Nordic 50 is a good ol' boy. It's such a contrast- driving a new SWT800 4 stroke in the morning, then firing up the Nordic in the evening. |
![]() |
|
| Steve.M | Jan 26 2010, 07:25 AM Post #14 |
|
Advanced Operator
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Wt on the TT does help-depending on how old a model it is, I found it could be hard to get a decent corduroy when adjusting the tooth height. I almost always used two tracksetters off the back, suspended by their (raise and lower) cables and that helped press the comb into the snow. Those knives are thick and as you found out, you can't set them too deep or the TT will squiggle and crab down the trail. Better to do several passes as with most groomers. |
![]() |
|
| arly | Jan 26 2010, 07:46 AM Post #15 |
|
Advanced Operator
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
We got rain here on Sunday with the temps only varying about 30 to 35 since Saturday. Wow did our base go down! It finally started to snow yesterday, but only a insignificant amount arrived. Good news is the temperature have dropped lots overnight and the lake snow is predicted to return.
Edited by arly, Jan 26 2010, 07:47 AM.
|
| http://keweenawnordic.org/ [/url] keweenawnordicskiclub.blogspot.com [/url] | |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · Cross Country Talk · Next Topic » |
- Pages:
- 1
- 2





![]](http://z1.ifrm.com/static/1/pip_r.png)






This afternoon it seems to be switched back to snow and lake effect is coming back in force for the 5 day forecast. How's anyone else holding up??
now they are talking about snow for the next week, but with our pb down and waiting for parts all we can do is see what happons next
It finally started to snow yesterday, but only a insignificant amount arrived. Good news is the temperature have dropped lots overnight and the lake snow is predicted to return.
4:30 AM Jul 11