OMG! What happened to that chicken?

Thursday

Hank groomed everything 2 days ago.  So much for up-to-the-minute bloggerman.

Conditions:  Icy in the morning, surprise.  Slushy in the afternoon, though today might be pretty good in the late morning to early afternoon window, since it's supposed to stay pretty cool all day - predicted high of 36.

Some large bare spots opening up, and with each passing day less likelihood that we'll be able to groom again this season.  Do chickens cry?  Or do they accept the passing season with perfect equanimity?

The upper trails ought to be in relatively fine feather.  It's a matter of getting to them, possibly walking around the bare spots.

Have you planted your onions yet?

Plucking the feathers

Just a quick notice to let all you hungry skiers know that conditions at Chicken Creek are what the ski areas euphemistically refer to as "Spring Skiing."  In other words, alternately icy, slushy, sticky, scary and generally not-so-awesome.  Bare spots are emerging in the usual places, the warm days are creating a rutted out layer of ice in the mornings, etc. etc.

This begs the question "why don't the trails get groomed more often, to improve the surface?"
I'm glad you asked.  The grooming does improve the surface - temporarily.  Sadly, it also results in the more rapid melting of what little snow cover we have.  The only long-term solution to the problem is a good dose of snow, followed by consistently cold days and nights.  What do you think the odds of that are?  There is a chance of some snow coming up and we will keep an eye on it to see if we can extend the skiing a bit more.  That would be fantastic.  Stay tuned...

Bi-Polar Chicken

Sorry to be so late in the day with the grooming report, but life just kept on happening today.  Anyway, here it is:

Cap and Peter fired up the stinky grooming machines early this morning and laid down some nice corduroy on the Bauer Loops, The Rush Connector, The Road to the top, and the Rush Creek Loop.  Everything mentioned got fresh classic track as well.  Current conditions as of this afternoon were good to excellent.

Still needing attention are Hamlin - which was severely blown in at the top - and the west Turkey Creek leg.  With the very warm temperatures in the forecast it remains to be seen whether those two legs will receive any further attention this season.

About the bi-polar comment.  The snow was super friendly on the way up, while it was still cool and fresh.  It was a bit crabby/grabby and temperamental on the way down.  A bit hot and cold, you might say.  Nevertheless, it was a worthy late-season skiing experience.  I suggest you try it tomorrow.

Brrrrrrrrr.....

Good morning: Saturday.  Frosty.  Really.
Mark and Allen groomed Yesterday - Friday.  Really they did.  Then the wind de-groomed.  This morning, Cap and the groomer yet to be named, will be re-grooming.  Unless their faces fall off.

This is just a heads up.  No details available as the grooming hasn't happened yet.  But it probably definitely might.  Could be happening now, as you read this.  Time is so relative...

Uncle Chicken.

Rubber Chicken

The area bounced back with that fresh snow, and I don't think it's a stretch to say there's a good 6"+ of new snow on the higher reaches of the ski trails.

Mark and Andy put in 6 hours of groom time today to pack things down and freshen up.  Bauer loops and the Rush connector both got groomed, complete with new classic track today.  The Road to the top, Hamlin and Rush Creek all got new corduroy but no classic track.

Really nice late-season conditions prevail right now.  There is decent to excellent coverage (except for the few perennial trouble spots) and the track was soft and forgiving.  So bounce on up there and sink yer teeth into some fine skiing.

Snow is flying

The snow did fly today - Tuesday - though it looks to be winding down for now.  It sounds like Mark and Andy are planning on doing some grooming tomorrow morning.  So if you're jonesin' for some skiing, check it out.  I'll update the blog as reports come in as far as conditions.

More snow possibly on the way.  The chicken keeps getting a reprieve on her final flight.

Friday Freshener

Happy Friday morning to you all.  This is just a quick note to let you all know that Tom R. is up at the area at this writing and is freshening up the Bauer Loops, breaking up the crust and making the world safer for chicken lovers.  I will update later when I know exactly how much terrain he has groomed.

Between the warm, the wind, and the sun, it's a bit like a convection oven for the ski trails out there, so conditions will be something less than optimal.  And with no credible promise of new snow, the more grooming we do the quicker we will lose the coverage we have.  However, the fattened hen has not loosed her final song yet, so if time allows get up there and enjoy it while you can.