Kolapore had a fair amount of rain Friday night, but little or none yesterday or so far today. We received a dusting of wet snow through the day yesterday and overnight.  There is still a reasonable base of snow, although rocks are sticking out in some locations.  The temperature is hovering around 0, so the wax of the day is "non wax skis".    I don't think that this is the right day for less experienced skiers to come out (and that will be true until we get some new snow). 

Kolapore received a fair amount of rain overnight.  At 8:30 AM the temperature is 0, and it has just started to snow.  The trails are probably slightly wet snow at the moment, and will turn to ice when the temperature falls.  I would recommend staying off the trails until we get a decent amount of new snow.  I will post an update later today.

Kolapore Trail Guide 

The snow that fell on the weekend has substantially improved trail conditions.  However, the ice and snow is still bending many trees down.  Some trails are likely to be difficult to follow.  Yesterday I skied the Paradise Highway - Kolapore Church loop, doing trail clearing, and the snow and track conditions were excellent.  There are still a few rocks and wet spots.  While skiing I was very disappointed by the laziness of skiers who had been through before us.  In one spot in particular, skiers had skied over or around branches that could be easily removed.   Don't be one of those skiers who seem to expect someone else to do all the work.

Kolapore Trail Guide     

Everything that was said in yesterday's post is still true.  Lots of bent over trees and fallen branches.  Please help with the cleanup.  I will add that as of 12:30 today, the snow gauge is at 23cm/9".  This is still relatively thin snow cover for many of the trails, so rock skis are strongly recommended.  There are occasional wet spots on the trail - be alert.  And after those cautions, I'll add that it's a winter wonderland in the forest.

Kolapore Trail Guide    

The ice from last Saturday's ice storm is still on the trees, and last night's fresh 10cm of powder is sticking to it. The trees are heavy and hanging down everywhere. Absolutely beautiful, but it's adventurous in the forest right now, and can be slow-going. 

Please help by clearing branches and in some cases freeing the trees from their snow burdens. Consider packing a small saw if you have one to help clear small branches on the trail.

The forecast is calling for 10-20cm tomorrow (Saturday), so the snow conditions will be improving still--but the tree conditions may get worse. 

I skied the main loop from the 10th line this morning, great skiing! The main challenge is skiing under the really low branches hanging from the ice storm. Shaking them helps but taking pruners would be really useful to cut the most challenging ones. A few wet spots between 16&24 in the rock garden, but easy to go around. Definitely still a few rocks, but easy to avoid them. Didn't have rock skis and was totally fine. With all the snow coming in the next days, it's only gonna get better.

Yesterday I skied in County Forest and did a short loop north, and conditions were better than expected.  The snow gauge is at 15 cm, and there is a firm base covered by fresh snow.  HOWEVER, it will still be very thin on the rocky trails (e.g., the trails accessed from the Kolapore parking lot) - on these trails be prepared to dodge rocks and put lots of scratches on your skis.   The ice is bending branches down, so be prepared to do a lot of ducking.  PLEASE help us to pick up the numerous fallen branches   There is the occasional wet spot.  We are aware of one large tree top down blocking the trail at the bottom of the run heading south from 13 on John's Portage.

Yesterday was interesting weatherwise.  Heavy rain in the morning washed away most of the remaining snow.  Midafternoon it switched to freezing rain.  About 9 PM it changed to snow.  Kolapore received 10+ cm of snow.  The bottom half is "cement" snow (very dense) and the top is powder.   There may be just enough snow to permit skiing on old lanes (e.g., the County Forest).  There could be some wet holes on the trails.  The sideroads at the south end are plowed, so there is a safe place to park.  I wouldn't try to get into the Kolapore parking lot until it is plowed.  Based on what I observed in my driveway, there are likely to be lots of branches down.  Please help with the pickup.  

As of 9 AM, we've received about 5 cm of snow in the past 36 hours.  In areas where some base survived (most trails, but not necessarily open areas),  there will be this snow on top of a thin crust.  This will likely be marginally OK for skiing on old lanes, but not enough for pleasant skiing on the rockier trails.  We desperately need more snow.  Our chainsaw  crew took advantage of the low snow last week, and cleared about a dozen recently fallen trees.  We are sure there are more as a result of recent storms.  If you can't remove deadfall yourself, send an e-mail to info@kolaporetrails.org about any problem areas you encounter.  

I skied County Forest yesterday morning, and conditions were fair to poor to very poor.  (The very poor conditions were between 4 and 5).  The poor conditions weren't surprising, given that the snow gauge was reading 7 cm, and there was 3 to 0 cm of snow in the track.  Lots of rocks showing.  Snow conditions will have deteriorated further with the warm weather.  I would recommend staying off the trails until we get a significant amount of new snow.

Kolapore Trail Guide