Snow / Trail Reports

[kgoldswo]

Anyone care to comment on snow / trail conditions in their area?

I went cc skiing locally, Tewksbury, and the conditions weren't great due the crust on the snow. Mostly broke through it, but with very short strides. I assume HP & LDT will have similar conditions.

Based on the daily snow fall & daily precipitation maps, Borderland looks like it could be interesting tomorrow morning. Possibly a few inches of heavily saturated snow that could freeze up solid tonight? Anyone in that area have an idea on what biking conditions may be like on the morning.

How about Southern NH for cc skiing?

[C.P.]

Down here in Easton (Borderland) we recieved about 6-7" snow before it turned to sleet & freezing rain/rain mix late last night. There's now a good 4+" of heavily saturated snow. Unless we get a good freeze, it's too heavy/deep/slushy for any kind of riding...

Otis has bare ground, and been that way since the storm ended late last night/early this am. with temps dropping tonight, an early AM ride could be pretty good there.

OTIS AFB, MA
Current Conditions
5:55 PM EDT MAR 17, 2007 Overcast
32°F

Weather Forecast
TONIGHT
Mostly cloudy. Lows in the mid 20s. West winds 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.

SUNDAY
Partly sunny and brisk. Cooler with highs in the upper 30s. West winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 35 mph.

[Jisch]

NE CT got about 6" of snow with a bit of rain on top. Its crusty, but not strong enough to ride on top of. Skiing would suck, I think.

I'm going to ride at the Snip tomorrow, but it will likely be 100 percent dirt road riding...Oh well.

John

[splat]

The Blue bus is making its way down to Otis tommorow !!

[Slider]

Just tested the snow, and it looks awesome. 20s last night, and the crust supports my big bulk. Might be another great winter ride.

Slider

[thecanoe]

Let me know how Otis is. We might go down on Tuesday to ride with John on the cape

[BigMac]

Montague got about 14" snow with another 1" or 2" of ice on top of it so Wendell will be out at least for a couple of days until the sleds groom it .

[C.P.]

Surprizingly awesome conditions in Borderland! In fact, I wasn't planning to ride today till I saw Sliders 8AM "snow test" post, and I did the same...called a couple locals and they all couldn't make it, so I took a go at it alone...So, the snow is frozen enough to ride on top of. I probably hit speeds on a few of the trails that I've never attained before otherwise...the entire woods was paved with a smooth 5" layer of frozen sugar...there were snow burmed turns, most of the rock gardens disappeared, and big rocks that otherwise are sharp edged ups, ended up being nice launch spots...sorry, no pics other then one my wife took just as I departed...

[kgoldswo]

Thanks for the update CP, cold again tonight so I'm going to try to ride Borderland tomorrow morning.

- Kirk

[Slider]

Jisch and I got stuck on the main roads at the Snip, where the snowmobiles packed it down. Still, a nice ride and a better workout, since it was straight up Soapstone, down the other side, and back up and over again.

If you got outside the track going fast downhill, you were in trouble quickly. I did two trips over the bars, once finishing with a perfect faceplant into grainy frozen snow. Better than a rock, I guess.

Slider

[C.P.]

Thanks for the update CP, cold again tonight so I'm going to try to ride Borderland tomorrow morning.

- Kirk

Do yourself a favor and start from the Bay Rd entry point. The deep footprints leaving on trails from the main visitor center before things froze up made things tough to ride on, but doable. Riding in from Bay rd side, and taking Bob's trail then heading out towards the back of the park will lead you to the trails less travelled, and thus nice wide open, fast snow covered trail...course if things stay frozen enough, you can pretty much ride anywhere, which is cool!

[bullitfreerider]

Nam crust was hard as a rock. Saw tracks from a few riders.
With studes it must have been awesome.....I had on showshoes. :^(

[splat]

Otis was awesome , little bit of snow here and there , ground was hard as a rock , Pics to follow

[Jisch]

Yeah Snip was good. The downhills were insane. If you went too fast you'd fly out into the soft stuff. I had a great time.

When I got back the wife and I went out on the snowshoes for an hour and a half. Another great time. I'm not much of a runner, but running down the hills was pretty fun.

John

[Plywood]

im guess u guys were on studs right?

i wish i could have rode today... o well

[Jisch]

In CT studs were not necessary, though we were riding in packed powder, not ice like the guys up in MA.

John

[05stumpy]

try http://www.windblownxc.com for XC skiing (classic, skate and backcountry),they groom so this was good storm, the crust will not be a factor. Great terrain, some fun climbs and descents.

http://www.windblownxc.com/GeneratedItems/WindblownMap.gif



Weston Ski track is decent right now as well although they will shut down as soon as the latest snow melts.
Dunno how Great Brook is looking, or if they have given up on skiing for the season or not.

[kgoldswo]

I had a great ride at Borderland this morning. A mixed bag for trail conditions. The trails with no foot prints were fantastic. However, things started to get soft by 10:30AM due to the warm sun. Glad I got an early start. A couple of pictures...

[wannabee]

Wompatuck didn't look too good this morning when I drove thru. Many trails are still snow covered, with icy sections, 2 - 3 inches. Wherever it was slush and someone rode thru it, it is now encased in ice. Saw several places where someone had ridden thru and had actually broken thru the crust.
Don't know what the paved trails look like. They were not plowed, including the road to south field, and the campground. Lots of snow mobile tracks.
Note: campground opens April 13, so the 'yellow gate' will be open afterhours.

[Scott O]

Anyone know of any decent xc ski conditions? Don't have my bike with me tonight so I figure I'll try the Weston ski track, but would prefer ungroomed tracks. I figure anything not groomed is way too crunchy though.

[off piste]

Anyone know of any decent xc ski conditions? Don't have my bike with me tonight so I figure I'll try the Weston ski track, but would prefer ungroomed tracks. I figure anything not groomed is way too crunchy though.

I went up to Windblown XC today. Very good conditions, but a little hard and "fast" this morning. I brought heavy backcountry gear because I went specifically to play on the mountain, but if I was to do it over I'd bring the waxable classic skis instead. The only problem was I went too early, so I was having problems with having the right kick wax on the skis as things warmed up. Really good shape there, but probably won't last the weekend.

[05stumpy]

I went up to Windblown XC today. Very good conditions, but a little hard and "fast" this morning. I brought heavy backcountry gear because I went specifically to play on the mountain, but if I was to do it over I'd bring the waxable classic skis instead. The only problem was I went too early, so I was having problems with having the right kick wax on the skis as things warmed up. Really good shape there, but probably won't last the weekend.

Good to hear, I hope to hit them up one more time this weekend, just got some new boots and bindings that I want to try out (changed from NNN-touring binding/Alpina Boot to a NNN-BC with Rossignol BC-X3 boot on a Fischer BC-Country Crown Ski) hope to get some more control/steering on the descents.

[off piste]

Sounds like a good setup, and it should give you good control since the temps are going to make things very soft.. There's enough of a base that it should last at least through Saturday I think. Yesterday I was having a hell of a time descending, because the mountain trails were re-frozen old snow, packed down firmly. I was on Outtabounds skis with 3 pin bindings and plastic Excursion boots, and I couldn't make turns -- tele or alpine, to save myself - way too much camber in the ski.

[Jisch]

I love BC skiing, but here in CT the opportunities are few and far between. I've got some old (6-7 years old maybe) waxless Karhu Catamounts with 3 pin/cable bindings and a pair of Merrell plastic/leather boots with buckles on the top. I've got skins and televators as well.

I've had them out twice this year in the woods and a few times last year lift served - and yeah I looked like an idiot with that setup lift served.

In the old days we'd go up to the Adirondacks and ski for a couple days, camping out in between. Dang I miss that - too bad my brother got fat and became unwilling to earn the turns.

John

[TheHare]

A knuckle dragger and myself (on pins) were out earning and making turns last night at a local closed ski area/bump. Very surprised to find 2-4 inches of light powder on the North East facing half of the trails. Runs were 20% zipper-crust, 20% ice-sheen, and the other 60% powder made it worth while. :D Got some good exercise in. Gonna have to drive much further in the next week or so...

[GW]

Plenty of snow...1400' to 1600'elevation. Snowmobile trails are great, and some of our singletrack is certainly worth skiing. Check it out this weekend.
Back country set up suggested.