The Kolapore snow gauge was at just over 30 cm yesterday afternoon, and Kolapore received about 2 cm of snow overnight.  Because most of the snow is light powder, and there isn't much base, if you ski anywhere other than the County Forest you should be prepared to get scratches or gouges on your skis.  You need to be careful on hills because you may encounter hidden rocks.  That being said, I had a great ski yesterday.

Kolapore Trail Guide

Kolapore has received a great Christmas present - 15 cm (6") of new snow overnight and this morning.  This adds to the existing 20 cm (unconsolidated) base.  With the forecast for more flurries or squalls today, the skiing could be quite good tomorrow.  If you are out first, be prepared to break trail.  Don't count on the Kolapore parking lot being plowed today or tomorrow morning - I'm hoping it will be plowed by the afternoon.  (3 PM update: the snow gauge is at 30 cm (12") and rising fast.  Rock skis are still strongly recommended.)

Kolapore Trail Guide

Thursday night Kolapore received about 5 cm of snow, on top of the 15 cm we already had.  This is still a thin base for most trails.  As noted in my preceding post, conditions will be generally OK in the County Forest.  On most other trails, the rocks will still eat your skis.

Kolapore Trail Guide

I skied County Forest this afternoon, and conditions were pleasant - decent tracks, but a few rocks and wet spots are showing as a result of the thaw.  The snow gauge is at 15 cm (6") - this means that you are skiing on about 5 cm of snow in the tracks.  This is OK on old lanes, but is not enough snow for most of the Kolapore Trails.  I think we need to get at least 10 - 15 cm of snow before skiing rockier trails, and even then rock skis will be strongly recommended.

Kolapore Trail Guide

We've had two days in a row of windy, above 0 temperatures.  The "rock skiing" conditions from the weekend have degraded.  Good news is that it's snowing out there right now. County Forest trails might be marginally skiiable Wednesday/Thursday this week, but i wouldn't recommend anything else until we get more snow.

Kolapore received about 5 cm of snow overnight and this morning.  The snow gauge is just over 25 cm (10").  I skied County Forest this morning, and only touched two rocks, so conditions are quite good in this area.  (Be careful of the perennial wet spot west of 4.)  In contrast, yesterday I did the Kingsway - Jackrabbit - John's Portage loop, and added many new scratches to my rock skis.  Fun skiing, but not for everyone.  That's probably true for the Kolapore Church - Paradise Highway loop as well.  I would strongly recommend staying off Quiet Pastures and the south end of Trail to the Summit - there are likely to be serious wet areas until we have more cold weather.

Kolapore Trail Guide 

10 inches at the snow gauge this morning. Still rock skiing for the time-being but fairly consistent flurries. South end County Forest is best. Pack a scraper just in case you hit a wet spot and ice up.

There is considerable variation in local snow cover - Scenic Caves/top of Blue Mountain had 18 inches of snow on the ground today.   

A foot -give or take- has come down. Ground is still not frozen so wet spots and rocky. (-20 tonight should firm things up.) South end is skiable for the hard core rock skiers. Still need more base for the main loops. Think about visiting our friends at http://www.highlandsnordic.ca or http://www.sceniccaves.com while we wait for a little more of a base. Stay tuned for weekend updates.

Snow is on the ground with more in the forecast this weekend. Thanks to the many volunteers who have pruned and brush cut 50km of trails. South End should be skiable soon. Please no walking, snowshoeing or fat biking on the trails now that ski season has arrived. Watch for condition updates. As soon as we are skiing we will let you know. Heavy winds over the last week may have brought down some branches and trees. When you get out skiing please move aside what you can and let us know if there is big stuff to be cleared.

It's a winter wonderland out there. Ground is still not frozen and we need a little more base but things are heading in the right direction. Wax up! We will let you know when there is skiing.