Thursday 6AM Update: trails held on throught the warmth yesterday but in order to save our already thin snow, we are not grooming this morning as today is forecast to be warm again. That being said, the snow will be crusty first thing in the morning and should turn into nice skiing at both Sunset Hills and Highland Glen once the sun is up. Smoothing out Highland yesterday made a world of difference.

At 5AM today there was no new snow and the temperature is between freezing and 35F. Skiing yesterday evening at Sunset Hills and Highland Glen, once the sun disappeared the snow got crusty. Sunset Hills did get skied and churned enough by the BSF kids that it was quite a bit softer than Highland and Im sure the shadier aspect there helps. Anyway, anticipate the snow to be on the firm and fast side this morning but it should soften quickly with the forecast high near 40F again. There is a chance we may get a quick shot of snow somewhere in the morning hours but Ill believe it when I see it.

We will get a ginzu out on at least the Sunset Hills side this morning to smooth things out a bit. While our trails have improved with every little bit of snow, Highland is still so bumpy and uneven overall that efficiently working the snow there is very hard (the ginzu knives are rarely in full contact with the snow and we are constantly raising and lowering them so we dont scalp the bumps and spread dirt and grass everywhere).

For now, Sunset Hills will be our focus. Looking to the weekend, it looks like snow on the way and we can start grooming Sourdough as of Sunday. We will likely be out packing and clearing trees there Saturday afternoon. Hyalite's grooming season starts on Sunday as well, we will likely coordinate with the Forest Service for the initial packing and tree clearing work. One of their machines is in the shop right now though.

Bridger Creek is currently too thin for us to do anything without damaging the golf course (and the ground was still very soft) so we are waiting for snow to do more there.

We also plan to get the Sacajawea Middle School loop marked out and packed within the next week or so.

Think snow!