Tuesday, March 20, 2012 at 8:33AM SOURDOUGH CANYON: Ginzu groomed this morning from the trailhead to the bridge for classic and skate. Excellent classic tracks but the skate lane will be soft. Lots of work ahead to get the upper portions ready for skiing.
HYALITE:Not groomed. Lots of logistical challenges and warm afternoons to overcome before any grooming can occur. The Hyalite road closes at the end of the month.
Monday, March 19, 2012 at 9:41AM SOURDOUGH CANYON: Lots of new, dense snow. We will begin to pack at least the lower portions of Sourdough Canyon by mid-morning. This will be a process to get enough compaction for skating. Snow is to end, or at least slow up, around noon today. Warm temperatures are back in the forecast beginning Wednesday, so good skiing might not last long.
MONDAY AFTERNOON UP-DATE: Luke packed Sourdough to the Mystic/Moser junction but temperatures got too warm and the snow became too sticky to work further. We'll try to install classic tracks for tomorrow morning and Ginzu the skate lane. Lots of new snow...up to 17" above the bridge.
Saturday, March 17, 2012 at 9:50PM Warm weather is rapidly deteriorating our existing snowpack....even at the higher elevations.
SOURDOUGH CANYON: Recent wind events have again deposited significant tree debris on portions of the route. Many trees were blown across the ski trail in the first four miles. They have pretty much been cleared. The first 3/4 mile now has numerous bare spots and the rest is either ice or slush, depending on the temperature. Above the first one or two miles, there is still reasonable skate skiing if you hit the snow conditions between ice and slush. This morning, we drug the Ginzu groomer to Moser and Wild Horse Junction. Conditions were very soft but skiable. Firm pole plants tend to penetrate into the base. No classic tracks. The grooming resulted in only marginal improvements in the ski conditions.
HYALITE:The Forest Service reports that as of last weekend, the trails were in very poor condition. Soft snow and lots of holes from walkers and dogs. The Lick Creek Snotel site shows that temperatures have remained above freezing for the past three days with no new snow accumulation. This jives with what I encountered at Moser Divide and Wild Horse Junction.....the ski base is turning isothermic, beginning to lose its cohesion and there was no evidence of new snow accumulation, just lots of tree debris on the ski trail.
Friday, March 9, 2012 at 6:36PM SOURDOUGH CANYON: For you diehard skiers out there, we will Ginzu groom from the Sourdough trailhead to at least the bridge tonight before snow sets up too hard. 11:30 PM UP-DATE: The entire lower portion of Sourdough is a solid, saturated mass of slush rapidly turning to ice. I could make no progress improving conditions, nor can I imagine skiing here in the morning. All further grooming efforts will cease until/unless we get additional snow.
HYALITE: I do not believe there was any grooming in the Hyalite area for this weekend. It was too warm today for any daytime grooming efforts.
Thursday, March 8, 2012 at 10:24AM SOURDOUGH CANYON: Ginzu grooming Thursday morning to Moser Divide and down the shared route to the Hyalite road. From the Wild Horse/Moser Junction to Wild Horse Junction, the route has only been rolled. Good conditions will only deteriorate with warm days that are forecast for the next week. Better get it while the skiing is good!FOR FRIDAY THERE WILL BE NO ADDITIONAL GROOMING.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at 4:03PM SOURDOUGH CANYON: This morning, Luke rolled/packed from the trailhead to Wild Horse Junction, Moser Divide and down to the Hyalite Road. He then Ginzu groomed for classic and skate from the trailhead to Moser Divide.
Bob Seibert
SOURDOUGH CANYON: Ginzu grooming Thursday morning to Moser Divide, classic and skate throughout. From the WIld Horse/Moser Junction to Wild Horse Junction, the route has only been rolled. Good conditions will only deteriorate with warm days that are forecast for the next week. Better get it while the skiing is good!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012 at 9:20PM SOURDOUGH CANYON: Packing will begin EARLY tomorrow morning. There is enough new snow that it will be a process to get back to a solid skate platform.
LINDLEY: Done for the season. The forecast shows multiple days ahead where daily high temperatures will reach or exceed 50 degrees. There is no reason to waste resources when there is little hope for successful skiing at this venue.
Monday, March 5, 2012 at 9:54PM We have a winter weather advisory for tonight and tomorrow which includes accumulating snow. We'll delay any grooming efforts until this system moves through the area. The remainder of the week appears to be shaping up as a challenge for what snow might fall. Very mild temperatures are forecast later in the week.
Monday, March 5, 2012 at 7:43AM We are beginning to step back from the almost daily grooming efforts we've been investing in Sourdough Canyon. Unless we get fresh snow, we will try to groom at least the trailhead to the bridge for Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday skiing. So, no grooming today. Yesterday's and today's high temperatures and sunny skies will rapidly deteriorate conditions at the lower elevations. Hard icy morning conditions wreak havoc with our grooming equipment.
Note: A blue ipod nano was lost up Sourdough Saturday afternoon. Leave a message below if you can help the fellow out.
SOURDOUGH CANYON: Last groomed Sunday morning to the bridge.
HYALITE: Last groomed Saturday.
Saturday, March 3, 2012 at 7:50AM HYALITE: The Forest Service groomed all of the regularly groomed Hyalite trails for classic skiing today. Will said the conditions were perfect for grooming with about 4' of new snow sine the last grooming effort. We are getting wind tonight, but skiing should still be good tomorrow especially if we do not get new snow tonight. Temperatures are to warm tomorrow so earlier might be better than later.
SOURDOUGH CANYON: Fresh Ginzu grooming for Sunday morning! We received a little new snow last night. Enough to freshen everything, even the first mile or so. Not nearly enough for classic tracks though. Tonight's wind will probably add some new tree debris to the route.
Friday, March 2, 2012 at 8:49AM SOURDOUGH CANYON: Everything was Ginzu groomed yesterday morning. No grooming this morning. It will be Ginzu groomed tonight for Saturday skiing.
HYALITE: Brian and Adam from the Forest Service are headed up today to groom for classic skiing. I suspect they will enter their own report on Beta-Scout.com when they return.
Thursday, March 1, 2012 at 9:46AM SOURDOUGH CANYON: Ginzu grooming in progress. I have not heard of details yet and will modify this post as soon as I do. Only a small amount of new snow to freshen the first icy mile. Nothing like the nearly 2 feet of new snow that fell at West Yellowstone. Doug Edgerton is hard at work trying to get the Rendezvous system ready for this weekend's annual Rendezvous Ski race.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at 12:19PM SOURDOUGH CANYON: Ginzu groomed to both Mystic Lake and Moser Divide this morning. Classic and skate throughout except for the first couple miles where classic tracks are not possible. We're hoping for some fresh snow from the system predicted to arrive this afternoon and run through this evening.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012 at 9:51PM SOURDOUGH CANYON: To be Ginzu groomed in the morning. More details on yesterday's report.
Monday, February 27, 2012 at 10:05PM Just returned from Sourdough Canyon. Ginzu groomed to Wild Horse Junction. Made multiple passes between the trailhead and the bridge. The first 1.5 miles are too icy for the Ginzu to make much improvement. New classic tracks are impossible to set up to about mile 2. The skate lane is reasonable beyond mile 2 and very good beyond mile 2.5. New classic tracks start around mile 2 and are fair for about 1/2 mile then are good above that. Good skiing above the outhouse to both Wild Horse Junction and Moser Divide.
Monday, February 27, 2012 at 8:28AM Cold overnight temps will preserve the conditions we had yesterday at Sourdough. Beyond the first mile, Sourdough is skiing well. We can't do much to improve the first mile without new snow, especially in these low temperatures. Yesterday, I carried my skis and walked the first half mile before putting the skis on. For today, there will be no grooming. See yesterday's report for conditions that should carry through today.
Sunday, February 26, 2012 at 7:32AM Once again we seem to have missed most of the snow that was forecast for our area. Rats! We did get enough snow to freshen both Sourdough and Hyalite and I suspect Bohart Ranch is in great ski condition for today's Making Tracks for Trails event. This is a fun and worthwhile event!
SOURDOUGH CANYON: Ginzu grooming this morning to Moser Divide and enough snow to help cover most of the tree debris from the last wind event. Classic tracks are a challenge with the firm base in the first couple miles. The first mile received little new snow and is still littered with tree debris and is icy. Things rapidly improve above the first mile.
HYALITE: Last groomed on Friday by the Forest Service staff. Lick Creek Snotel site shows a couple new inches of snow so classic skiing and touring should remain good. Remember that what snow fell, did so with plenty of wind. Don't expect crisp classic tracks.
LINDLEY: No relief for bare grass and hockey rink quality ice. Waiting for snow or summer, I'm not sure which.
BRIDGER CREEK GOLF COURSE: Waiting for snow or the first round of spring golf. Groomed skiing here is looking less likely this season with each passing day.
Friday, February 24, 2012 at 6:53PM High wind and winter weather advisory for today and tonight. The cold front is to move through Bozeman between 9 and 10 AM Saturday morning. We are going to postpone Sourdough Canyon grooming until we have some fresh snow.
HYALITE: The Forest Service guys (Will and Adam) cleared multiple trees and set classic tracks on all the normally groomed trails Friday. It was a long day. Thank them the next time you see them!
SOURDOUGH CANYON: Luke Ginzu groomed Friday to Mystic Lake. It will be groomed again tomorrow but the timing of the grooming will be dependent upon how the predicted snowfall plays out. The route is pretty firm in the first couple miles.
LINDLEY: DOA until we get a significant snowfall.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 7:06PM SOURDOUGH CANYON: Groomed Thursday morning to Moser Divide. The winds scattered lots of tree debre on the trail, especially in the first half-mile. We'll need new snow to cover it. Classic tracks in the lower portion proved difficult to install. Skating is good except for the debre and improves as you move away from the trailhead.
HYALITE: Reports from citizen skiers from Thursday indicated 6-8" new snow and a number of trees blown across the Cresent Lake trail and probably other trails as well. The good news is that the Forest Service guys ( Will and Adam) are headed up there today to groom and clear trails. It looks as though they will have a very full day!
LINDLEY: We got one good ski day before Wednesday's warmth and wind melted us back down to slush, running water and bare ground. Freezing temperatures have set up our hockey rink ice again. We will re-evaluate grooming here if we get a significant addition of snow.
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 5:02PM GENERAL: A daunting forecast today - Snow changing to rain below 5500' and lots of strong gusty winds.
HYALITE: Groomed Monday by the Forest Service staff. Classic tracks on all the normally groomed trails with the exception of Lick Creek and part of the Wild Horse Loop which was not groomed.
SOURDOUGH CANYON: Expect fresh grooming for tomorrow morning. Luke hit it early Tuesday morningand Ginzu groomed for classic and skate to Moser Divide.
LINDLEY: Bombardier grooming Monday night on the abbreviated Sprint Course and stadium. Some classic tracks. Use caution for a very thin snowpack. The snow is bonding to the underlying ice. Skate skiing was very good this morning on a very thin base. It will not take much warm weather or rain to return to the underlying ice layer.