Outting Monday!

Sorry for the short notice.  I went down and groomed the new snow Sunday evening.  It looks better than I expected, and should set up pretty nicely.  So, I will be down there Monday from 4:00 - 5:30 for a little ski session.  All are welcome to join.  I can give some lessons to kids and parents, or we can just ski around.  I set track on Rod & Gun and also up on DNR.  The DNR trails are still a little thin, with some ant hills, brush, etc.  But, it is ski-able.

See you tomorrow (Monday)! 

Grooming Update

Pretty much the same as last week; I set some tracks on the Rod & Gun land and packed the DNR trails.  It is still very thin... use caution if you go up on DNR.  There are some tracks along the stream.  On the side by CTH P there are bare spots, ant hills and brush.

The Jumping Club will have a Junior Tournament on Feb 5 and 6, using the 65m jump.  They will be actively grooming the landings and out-runs and driving on the hill road until then.  After the tournament, I will start grooming down there again.  In the mean time, please stay away from the jump area as they prepare the hills.

If you are up for a drive, Blue Mound and Mirror Lake SP should be good.  I saw a report that Levis Mound is also in decent shape.  Sounds like Hixon Forest and Coulee Experimental both could use more snow in order to set decent tracks.

Finally, a little snow!

We got just enough snow to set some tracks on the Rod & Gun land.  They should set up pretty nice tonight.  It is a short loop, on both sides of the stream.  Not enough snow to ski across the bridges, so carry your skis over.  I packed the trails on the DNR land, but there is still not enough to ski on up there. Hopefully we'll get more this weekend.  Get out and enjoy what we have.

More snow, please!

I tried to set some tracks at the Rod & Gun Club this morning.  The snow is incredibly thin and transformed, so the tracks are shallow and they will be rock hard and icy when they set up tonight.  In other words, it is very poor conditions.  There is no snow on the bridges, and the jumpers took a lot of the snow from the field.  You are welcome to give it a shot, just be careful where you ski and watch out for dirt and rocks.  Don't expect to get much kick in these icy conditions... you would need klister and that stuff is no fun to deal with.

There is almost no snow on the DNR trails, so please do not try to ski up there.  

Winter will come.  In the mean time, I hope you have a nice patch of snow in your back yard, or access to some grassy field with good snow cover.  Please be extra careful with the skis when the snow cover is so thin.

Where can I ski?

Skinny Ski Trail Reports

Skinny Ski has the best collection of first hand trail reports in the Mid West.  Select "SW WI" for the region, and check out conditions of local trails.  Blue Mound State Park is listed under "SE WI".

Finally some snow!

The new snow looks wonderful.  It is a bit wet and heavy, which can make grooming troublesome.  Sometimes wet snow can pack up in sheets and get pushed off the trail, or even worse, it can turn to slush under the weight of the snowmobile.  I may have to wait a day or two before grooming at Timber Coulee.  I will update the blog after I get out.

In the meantime, please get out and ski!  Some folks had skied-in their own tracks at Viroqua Hills Golf Course earlier, and it looked pretty good.  Just be really carefully about the paved cart paths... one wrong move can easily damage the bases of our skis. Do not ski where there is not snow (parking lots, the tunnel under the road, etc).   Also, please stay off the greens and tee boxes so we don't damage the turf.

Enjoy the snow and stay tuned for updates.