Friday - The Last Chance.....

The BSF team practice for Saturday morning is a skate ski from the Moser Parking Lot on the Hyalite Road to the Sourdough Parking Lot. Tonight, Quint is going to Ginzu groom the entire route. Grooming will be a challenge in these temperatures but there could be good skate skiing for most of the route tomorrow morning. No classic tracks will be set. Caution for bare spots in the last mile before the Sourdough Trailhead.

This will probably be the last grooming effort for this ski season. The Hyalite Road will close to motorized vehicle traffic on April 1st. We've had a great ski season and were able to ski at the in-town venues through early March! Thanks to everyone who supported the grooming program by purchasing a Community Nordic Trails Pass. If you have been meaning to get one but just haven't gotten around to it, there is still time to contribute. Remember the pass is a donation and it is tax deductible. All proceeds go directly to maintaining and improving our Nordic Ski Trails!

Monday Evening

SOURDOUGH CANYON: Ginzu groomed tonight for Tuesday skiing. Quint groomed from the trailhead to Wild Horse Junction. Classic tracks from the bridge to WIld Horse Junction. Skate lane throughout.

Friday Morning

No grooming this morning. We plan to Ginzu groom the SOURDOUGH system this evening for weekend skiing. Conditions should be good for both classic and skate, but expect soft packed powder in the skate lane. Also, caution in both the tracks and skate lane in the first 1/4 mile for occasional rocks and bare/thin spots. It looks as though a significant warming trend will affect our area next week, so if you are still interested in getting some skiing in at Sourdough, this weekend might be best.

Thursday Morning

SOURDOUGH: Significant overnight snowfall last night and it is still snowing this morning up the drainage. We'll begin packing operations this morning and work toward Wild Horse Junction. Expect very soft skating today. We should have classic tracks from the trailhead. We should have good skiing at least to the bridge before noon.

Wednesday Morning

SOURDOUGH CANYON: Ginzu groomed this morning from the trailhead to Moser Divide for classic and skate. No classic tracks in the first mile.

Tuesday Morning

We picked up another inch or so of new snow last night. We'll Ginzu groom Sourdough from the trailhead to either Wild Horse or Moser Divide, or both depending on conditions, later this morning. Grooming will not begin until about 8:30 AM. Should be done for lunch time skiing.

UPDATE: Ginzu groomed Sourdough from the trailhead to Wild Horse Junction. Classic tracks from mile one. Expect soft skating above the bridge.

Sunday Evening

Snow has tappered off but winds are still gusty. Tonight Quint and I plan to Pisten Bully groom Sourdough from the trailhead to the bridge. I'll update this report to let you know how it turned out.

UPDATE: 10 PM - The Pisten Bully worked its magic and Sourdough should be good skiing in the morning to the bridge. Classic tracks after the first mile. Watch for several thin spots under the large trees....you know where they are.

Saturday Morning

Temperatures dropped to just freezing overnight but are to reach back into the 50s again today. Rain showers are a remote possibility today changing to more definative snow showers tonight and continuing through Sunday and possibly Monday. If you are still interested in Nordic skiing, your best bet today locally will be Bohart Ranch or early morning crust crusing anywhere snow remains. We plan to work on SOURDOUGH CANYON as soon as there is enough new snow to freshen the old remaining snowpack. Grooming at LINDLEY, HIGHLAND and BRIDGER CREEK GOLF COURSE venues has ended due to this past week's melt down.

Thursday Morning

Ginzu groomed the skate lane at SOURDOUGH CANYON from the trailhead to the junction above the bridge. Classic tracks are not possible with the Ginzu. Conditions in the first 1.5 miles are hard and icy but improve above that point. At no point would I call it great skiing. It was 37 degrees at 6 AM at the trailhead. It looks like another deadly warm day ahead. We will use the Pisten Bully here once the temperatures drop to more seasonal levels.

Conditions at other venues:

BRIDGER CREEK GOLF COURSE: Unless conditions drastically change, we are done grooming here for the season.

LINDLEY/HIGHLAND: These venues could see life again if we get additional snow. Presently, there are numerous bare spots and many very thin spots. Most of the classic tracks have melted down to field stubble. Currently, there are too many thin/bare spots to continue grooming efforts.

Friday Morning; Up-Dated Early Saturday

Looks like very tough weather early next week for the ski venues. We will not survive many 50+ degree days, especially if they come with sunshine. Scattered showers possible today and a nice weekend ahead. No grooming this morning but for tomorrow (Saturday):

SOURDOUGH: Ginzu groomed for weekend skiing. Quint plans to grooming the entire "Y". He will install classic tracks where he can and refresh the skate lane. Up-date: Expect icy conditions in the first two miles and good skiing after that. Skate lane done between the trailhead and the bridge, classic and skate from the bridge to Mystic, skate lane from the bridge to Moser and the snowmobile route from Moser to the Hyalite Road was smoothed out for skate skiing access to Moser Divide.

LINDLEY/HOSPITAL: Both venues Pisten Bully groomed for classic and skate. Should be very good,  fast skiing. Caution for thin spots on the Highland/Hospital system.

BRIDGER CREEK: New classic tracks are not possible unless we get additional snow. Further grooming here is doubtful without new snow.

Wednesday Evening - NEWS FLASH, Plus Thursday Morning Up-Date

Special ski opportunity: Tomorrow morning, Thursday, Quint will Ginzu groom from the Sourdough Trailhead to Moser Divide and then down to the Moser Parking Lot off the Hyalite Road. The BSF team will practice there tomorrow afternoon with a skate ski from the Hyalite Road to Moser Divide and a fun downhill ski to the Sourdough Trailhead. The climb from the Hyalite Road to Moser Divide is a shared snowmobile route that is rarely groomed so please use caution and be alert for motorized traffic. If you can work out the transportation shuttle, this is a very fun ski!

Thursday Morning: Quint finished the above mentioned route. Skate only from the Hyalite road to Moser Divide, classic and skate from there down to the last mile before the trailhead and skate lane in that last mile.

LINDLEY: Pisten Bully groomed for classic and skate.

Monday Morning - Updated Tuesday Evening

LINDLEY/HiGHLAND: Pisten Bully groomed Monday for classic and skate. All things considered, very good ski conditions.

HYALITE: USFS staff reports grooming all the normally groomed routes Monday with good results.

SOURDOUGH: Ginzu groomed Monday to Mystic and Moser for classic and skate.

BRIDGER CREEK GOLF COURSE: Ginzu groomed Tuesday for skate only. Too thin and hard for classic tracks.

Thursday Evening - UPDATED FRIDAY MORNING

It looks like a tough weather forecast for our ski venues this weekend. Friday is to get warm and Saturday even warmer. Sunday may bring rain changing to snow at some point. Our goal will be to survive the weekend and come out next week to get the venues back into skiing condition. If temperatures get as warm as they are predicting, we will discontinue grooming operations in order to preserve the existing snowpack.

UPDATE FRIDAY MORNING: It appears the warm temperatures we are worried about have arrived. The weather station at MSU shows 40 degrees at 6:30 AM. All grooming at Lindley, Highland and Bridger Creek will be suspended until temperatures and conditions become more conducive to productive results. Quint was planning to Ginzu groom SOURDOUGH this morning and may continue with those plans if local conditions allow.

UPDATE: SOURDOUGH Ginzu groomed to Mystic for classic and skate. Quint had to turn around enroute to Moser due to soft warm sticky snow conditions. No further grooming is planned until winter conditions return.

Wednesday Evening

LINDLEY:  Skate lane was refreshed this evening.

Tuesday Evening

It looks as though we will have reasonably stable weather through tomorrow that should maintain the excellent skiing we experienced today. SOURDOUGH, BRIDGER CREEK and the LINDLEY/HOSPITAL TRAILS were all groomed this morning for classic and skate. Very warm temperatures are forecast for this weekend so we better enjoy the great skiing while we have it!

Tuesday Morning

LINDLEY/HIGHLAND:To be Pisten Bully groomed for classic and skate this morning

SOURDOUGH:To be Ginzu groomed for classic and skate this morning

HIGHLAND:To be Ginzu groomed for classic and skate if needed this morning

HYALITE:Groomed yesterday by the USFS staff

Sunday Evening and Updated Monday Morning

What a great day to be outside! Excellent skiing! The coming week sounds interesting. New snow in the near term (possibly as early as tomorrow afternoon/evening and extending into Tuesday) and scary warm temperatures later in the week. Here is where we stand at this moment:

HYALITE: The Gallatin National Forest staff reported they groomed the Hyalite trails for classic skiing today. Lots of new snow for the second time this week. It is looking like winter up there.

SOURDOUGH: Ginzu groomed this evening to Mystic and Moser for classic and skate.

BRIDGER CREEK: Ginzu groomed during yesterday's snow event but received a couple inches of snow after grooming efforts ended. We'll try to groom this venue tomorrow. GINZU GROOMED FOR CLASSIC AND SKATE MONDAY MORNING.

LINDLEY/HIGHLAND: Excellent skiing today on Pisten Bully groomed packed powder. Cool ambient air temps off-set today's warm sunshine and the venues were still skiing well in the late afternoon. We do not anticipate additional grooming tonight or tomorrow morning at his venue. PISTEN BULLY REFRESHED THE SKATE LANE AT LINDLEY MONDAY MORNING.

Saturday Evening

In preparation for tomorrow's MAKE TRACKS FOR TRAILS event, Lindley and the Highland/Hospital trails were Pisten Bully groomed following today's snow. Lindley was groomed again tonight and the Hospital Trails will get hit in the morning. Flurries were starting this evening so I called it quits after Lindley. We hope to see you tomorrow. Sign up at the Lindley Center from 9 AM on and support the Gallatin Valley Land Trust's trails program.

Report of about 6"+ of new snow up Hyalite which should make for excellent touring on top of the recently groomed ski routes.

Quint rolled the Sourdough system and Ginzu groomed from the trailhead to the bridge for classic and skate.

Friday Evening

As of Friday evening, all venues have been groomed within the past two days. Weekend plans: Snow is likely tonight and extending into tomorrow so we will wait for the morning to plan grooming operations. If reasonable, we plan to groom parts of Bridger Creek Golf Course and the Pavilon at Lindley before 10 AM for scheduled ski instruction. Sunday is the GVLT's Make Tracks for Trails that begins at the Lindley Center at 9 AM and continues throughout the day. We plan to have both the Lindley and Highland/Hospital Trails buffed out with Pisten Bully grooming for both classic and skate skiing for this event. Please come and enjoy the fun, good company and refreshments in this fund raising event to suport area trails and the Gallatin Valley Land Trust. We hope to see you there!!

Thursday Evening

Please see this morning's report. In addition, this evening:

BRIDGER CREEK GOLF COURSE: Ginzu groomed for classic and skate. Classic tracks went in quite well and skating should be good in the morning.

LINDLEY: Pisten Bully groomed for double classic tracks and skate lane. Tomorrow the skate lane should be much firmer than it was today. It should be excellent skiing tomorrow.