December 2022

HAPPY EVE OF THE NEW YEAR! The last day of 2022. Come enjoy it in Essex!

9:00am: Final Report of the Day:

GROOMED: Starlight, Cabin and Caboose Lanes, All of Essex Road, Kendi’s Crossing, Up Side of Highline Loop, Down Side of Essex Creek Loop, Down Side of Towering Pines, Down Side Pileated (pretty chunky), Boy Scout Crossover

7:15am – GROOMED so far: Essex Road, Kendi’s Crossing, Up Side of Highline Loop, Down Side of Essex Creek Loop, Boy Scout Crossover

6:30am – The really good news: We received 3 inches of snow in the last 24 hours! The not as good of news: It is currently 31 degrees and it did not cool down much below 30 during the night. HOWEVER, the groomer is reporting mixed results. Thus far, trails that are less woodsy and more open are coming out pretty darn good. Trails in the denser woods, especially by the creeks, are coming out inconsistent and somewhat chunky. The grooming plans for day have changed. We will update as we get more info.

We are forecasted for a high of 35 degrees with a 40% chance of snow. It looks like we will be getting back to cooler temperatures as the week goes on.

By the way, how do mountains stay warm?

 

They put on their snowcaps!

11:30am- Final Grooming Report of the Day:  Starlight, Caboose and Cabin Lanes, Essex Road, Kendi’s Crossing, Highline, Pileated, Essex Creek, Towering Pines, Junction Circle, Spring Hill, Upper Dickey Loop, appoximately 1.5 miles of Dickey Road.

It is currently 28 degrees and snowing! Let’s hope those temps stay low and the snow keeps coming!

8:00am – Groomed this morning….so far….more to come: Starlight, Essex Road Up to Kendi’s, Kendi’s Crossing, Up side of Highline and Essex Creek, Spring Hill, Caboose and Cabin Lanes

6:00 am – It’s a beautiful morning! It is currently 26 degrees and we sure are thankful the temperatures have remained on the cooler side. It is ever so lightly snowing. The groomer is out and plans to begin on Spring Hill then head up into the Complex (Up Essex Road to Kendi’s). We have not had cold enough temps to refreeze our base so continue to be aware that curves with be a little on the rougher side. We had many enthusiastic reports and big smiles from beginner and experienced skiers yesterday that the trails were fabulous and fun despite the softer conditions.  We will update as we hear how things are going out there.

We have a few rooms left for those looking for last minute New Years Eve Plans! The package includes Dinner, Live Music, Champagne Toast, Fireworks and Brunch. Go to the Specials and Events Tab for more details or call the Front Desk.

FUN FACT: On average, snowflakes fall at a speed of 3-4 miles per hour.

 

11AM UPDATE: GROOMED: Starlight, Caboose and Cabin Lanes, All of Essex Road, Pileated, Highline Down, Essex Creek Down, Towering Pines Down

The trails are quite soft, as expected, but the grooming turned out pretty darn good! Be cautious on sharper turns and corners, they came out rough due to the soft base. As temperatures drop, beware of the rough chunks potentially freezing into solid chunder balls on curves.  Ski in control!

 

7:30am UPDATE: It’s going pretty alright! The groomer reports that places with straightaways and gentle curves with be the go to.  Anything with sharp corners is coming out rough due to the base being so mushy from the rain and warm temps. The base has not had a chance to refreeze.

GROOMED (so far, will update as more is completed): Essex Road to Kendi’s, Pileated, currently heading to Highline Down and Essex Creek Down

 

Good Morning! It is 6:30am.

The snow yesterday was such a welcome sight! All of that rain over the last few days dropped our settled base down to 32 inches.

It is currently 29 degrees. Our temps are still a bit warm but the groomer is going to try it out this morning and see how it goes. FINGERS CROSSED that it goes well.

The National Weather Service is calling for a high of 32 degrees and a mostly cloudy day. We will update as we hear from the groomer. Stay tuned!

 

10:00AM UPDATE: It is turning into a gorgeous day. The skies are partly cloudy and the temperature is awesome for being outside. Not so awesome for grooming. We are currently unable to groom. The trails that were groomed yesterday got a few inches of snow on them and then freezing rain which has created a surface crust.  We have hopes that as the temperatures warm the surface crust will soften. If this happens, we will try again with the snowmobile. We are hoping to have our big groomer up and running in the next few days.

6AM: Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Hope Santa was good to you all.

Wow, what a change in temperature! We are having a heat wave. We got as much groomed as we could yesterday but had to cut it short due to a mechanical issue. There was rain throughout the night and there is currently a frozen surface crust. It is 34 degrees.  The forecast is for a high of 37 with a 60% chance of snow, freezing rain and/or rain throughout the day. We are going to try to groom the 14km we got to yesterday with the snowmobile. With these warm temps, it could be challenging.  We will update as our day progresses.

Groomed 12/24/22:  Essex Road, Starlight, Towering Pines, Pileated, Spring Hill

UPDATE: 8am We are trying to catch up after the storms that dumped 2 plus feet over the past week. So far this morning the groomer has gotten to Starlight, Essex Road Up (towards Kendi’s crossing), Towering Pines and Pileated.

Merry Eve of Christmas!!! Happy Above Zero Morning!!!

At 6:30am, it is currently 5 degrees and snowing. Looks like we are going the have a heat wave today. The National Weather Service is forecasting a high of a balmy 31 degrees with a 90% chance of snow continuing through the day. Pretty neat that we get to experience close to a 50 degree difference between yesterday and today!

The groomer is in his sleigh now and we will update as soon as we hear how things are going. The grooming plan: Starlight, Essex Road, Pileated, Towering Pines, Essex Creek and Highline. Have a beautiful day!

                                             

GROOMING UPDATE:

It has been determined that it is too cold for our groomers to be safe out there. It has warmed up to negative 17, so not much warmer. We were able to groom Starlight and Spring Hill. Fingers crossed that the forecast for tomorrow is accurate and we will get well above zero!

Good Morning!

It is 6:30am and negative 21 degrees. We are forecasted for a high of 3 degrees, however the wind is still a factor with a wind chill value as low as negative 25. There is a 90% chance of snow with 1-3 inches possible.

We are resuming grooming this morning.  We hope to get about 16km groomed but with the large amounts of snow we got this week and extremely cold temperatures, we will have to see what the groomers can get through. I will update this post as I hear from the groomer. He is heading out a little later than usual hoping for it to warm up a bit.

Be safe, cover your skin, lots of layers and come inside to warm up by the fire with a warm beverage!

Yesterdays Bluebird Skies Were Gorgeous!

 

BRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!! It is frigid out there. At 6:30am, it is negative 29 degrees. There are stars in the sky and a slight breeze.

We have a 47 inch settled base. We received about 16 inches of snow from the Tuesday storm. With all of the wind, it is hard to say for sure however. The temperatures continue to be extremely cold. We are forecasted for a high of negative 15 degrees with sunny skies. If the wind picks up, the National Weather Service is predicting a wind chill value as low as negative 52!

Yesterday, Wednesday, we groomed Essex Road from the lodging area to Dickey Road, Starlight and all of the trails around the cabooses and cabins. With the lodging loops, we have about 5 km of very cold, squeaky snow for your enjoyment today. We will not be grooming today. We plan to keep our staff close to the Inn due to these very extreme temperatures.

If you choose to recreate outdoors today, PLEASE dress warmly, go with a buddy and stick close by to the Inn and lodgings so you can get inside to warm up at regular intervals! We will have a fire going in the lobby and plenty of hot beverage options to warm you up.

Here’s some pictures of the last few days in Essex….

Tuesday Night on Parma Drive

Wednesday Morning

Wednesday Evening

Update: It is -12 and the winds have remained calm. The groomer did Starlight and Essex Road from the lodging area to Dickey.

WOW! It was another wild night in Essex.  It is hard to tell the amount of snow we have received due to strong winds but we have gotten over a foot of snow in the last 24 hours. The snow plows have not come off the highway thru the town of Essex since yesterday morning. They have been extremely busy keeping the highway open. We are very thankful for all of their hard work.

This is the National Weather Service forecast for the Essex area today:
“Widespread blowing snow, mainly before 8am. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny and cold, with a high near -16. Wind chill values as low as -55. Blustery, with a northeast wind 23 to 28 mph decreasing to 9 to 14 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 39 mph.”

Due to the excessive amount of snow and such extreme temperatures, we are focusing our efforts of snow removal. I will post an update if we are able to get any trail grooming done. We have groomed all of the areas around the cabooses, cabins and schoolhouse.

Good Morning!

THE RIVER TRAIL IS CURRENTLY CLOSED.  PLEASE RESPECT THIS CLOSURE.  THANK YOU!

It is a beautiful day in Essex!!! The groomer got out to knock down some of the 7 inches of snow we have gotten since yesterday morning. There is beautiful corduroy on Essex Road, Kendi’s Crossing, Towering Pines Up, Pileated Down, Starlight and around all of the lodgings in the trail system.  Get out there and enjoy the beautiful day. It is a balmy Zero degrees! The winds are low and the skies are clearing.

UPDATE:  It’s been snowing all day. It is 2:30 and 0 degrees. In addition to earlier mentioned groomed trails, Spring Hill down, the Upper Portion of Dickey Loop were groomed today.

It was a wild, windy night in Essex. Temps plummeted and we received 6 inches of snow. At 8am, the temperature is negative 2. It is currently snowing lightly and we have light wind. The forecast is for a high of 2 degrees with a wind chill value as low as negative 26 degrees.

Short loops, lots of layers and coming to the inn between laps to warm up by the fire or with a hot beverage in the Dining Room or Flag Stop Bar is highly recommended. Today we are grooming Essex Road, Starlight, Pileated, Towering Pines, Essex Creek Up and Highline Down. Yesterday we groomed the entire complex, Spring Hill and the Upper stretch of Dickey Loop. We will post an update if we are able to groom more today.  They are looking into the River Trail today, I will post an update about it’s condition as soon as I hear.