February 2023

Happy Tuesday!

It’s 34* as of 7:30am in Essex this morning with overcast skies.

No grooming today; we are recovering from a busy weekend and looking forward to another fantastic one ahead! We’ve got snow, sun, and cool-ish overnight temps in the forecast so we are feeling hopeful for some beautiful corduroy in our future!

You can always head up our way for some quality exercise and to see what kind of critters you might spot; the elusive Vulpes Vulpes (red fox) can often be spotted by those with a little luck and a quick eye.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

 

 

10:15 Update:

GROOMED: Starlight, Cabin and Caboose Lanes, Spring Hill, All of Essex Rd, Kendi’s Crossing, Pileated, Towering Pines, Highline, Essex Creek, Lower Dickey Loop, River Trail, River Loop

8:15 Update:

GROOMED: Starlight, Cabin and Caboose Lanes, Spring Hill, Essex Rd to Kendi’s, Kendi’s Crossing, Pileated, Towering Pines, Highline, Essex Creek, Lower Dickey Loop

6:15am – I finally got to hoot at the Snow Moon this morning! It is mostly clear at this early hour and the moon is shining bright. The temperature is currently 24 degrees. The groomer is reporting excellent results thus far and plans to groomgroomgroom. We are forcast for a high of 39 degrees and 60% chance of precipitation. We did reach our highs yesterday (42 is what I saw) and magically the trails remained in fabulously fun skiing condition.

GROOMED: Starlight, Cabin and Caboose Lanes, Spring Hill

UP NEXT: The Complex (the loops along Essex Creek) followed by the River

Did you know that river otters are active in the winter? They don’t hibernate. Spring to Fall, they are a generally nocturnal creatures but in the winter they become active during the day. They tend to be in very small groups or solitary during the winter due to it being harder to get food. They stay warm because of their guard hairs. The guard hairs are hollow and have scales (similar to snake scales) and these guard hairs keep the densely packed, finer underfur dry. Maybe you will peep an otter in Essex Creek?

7:30am GROOMED: Starlight, Cabin and Caboose Lanes, Spring Hill Down, Upper Dickey Loop, Dickey Road from end of Dickey Loop to Essex Road, Essex Road from Starlight to Dickey

The Groomer is reporting inconsistent results due to the conditions and temperatures. We have decided to leave the rest of the trails alone for today.

No chance of seeing the Snow Moon this morning. It is 6am and currently, there is graupel falling from the sky. Graupel is also known as soft hail, hominy snow, snow pellets or informally as falling Dipping Dots. Hail is hard ice pellets while graupel is ice pellets that are squishy or soft to the touch.

It is currently 34 degrees. We are forecast a high of 38 degrees and 60% chance of precipitation. Grooming is in progress. The groomer is trying to decide if the temps/conditions will allow him to continue. It’s a fine line between making it better and making a mess. The trails were in prime condition yesterday and a little bit of graupel isn’t going to ruin their smooth awesomeness but we do love to create beautiful corduroy. Go play with some graupel while you wait to find out more info…….I did!

 

10am Update: Temps are back on the rise.  We are at 15 degrees.

GROOMED: All of Essex Road, Spring Hill, Lower Dickey Loop, Starlight, Caboose and Cabin Lanes, Pileated, Towering Pines, Highline, Essex Creek

8am Update: It’s 11 degrees, temps have decreased since the wee hours! Conditions are excellent. The corduroy is prime!

GROOMED: Starlight, Caboose and Cabin Lanes, Essex Road to Kendi’s, Pileated, Towering Pines, Highline, Essex Creek

One more update when grooming is complete.

Good Morning! It is 6am and Punxsutawney Phil says we get 6 more weeks of winter! YipYip.

It is currently 16 degrees. We are forecast a high of 41 degrees and mostly sunny. Oh glorious sun! We have not been reaching the predicted highs and hopefully that will be the case today! If winter is sticking around, we want the snow to stick around with it.

Grooming is underway. We are hoping to get about 20 km freshly groomed today. Will update as to what trails are completed when I get the info.

FUN FACT: The Snow Moon will arrive this weekend. It is at it’s fullest on Sunday, around 4:30pm. According to NASA, the moon will appear full for 3 days, from early Saturday morning to early Tuesday morning. It is dubbed the Snow Moon due to the heavy snows that fall during this cycle. It is also known as the Storm Moon or the Hunger Moon (due to challenging hunting because of the snow/storms).

9am – GROOMED: Starlight, Cabin and Caboose Lanes, Essex Road, Towering Pines, Pileated, Highline Downside, Essex Creek Downside, Upper Dickey Loop, River Trail, River Loop
6:30 am – Good Morning!

Will there be six more weeks of winter or will spring arrive early? Only the groundhog can tell us. It’s too early for Punxsutawney Phil to be up and about but I know I sure hope no shadows are seen and winter goes on!!!! Happy Groundhog Day.

It is currently 16 degrees and partly cloudy. Our forecast is calling for a high of 37 and partly sunny. We didn’t see our high yesterday and are hoping we don’t today as well. Grooming is underway, there will be an update once we hear details. We got a extra inch yesterday which brings us up to about 8 inches this week. The trails are refreshed and skiing great.

FUN FACT:

Has Punxsutawney Phil ever lost a tooth?
Yes. His dentist examined it and saw that it had a cavity. This was due to his favorite treat of honey and oat granola bars that have sugar in them. Groundhogs teeth continuous grow. That is why they constantly are chewing and gnawing on things. Phil’s tooth grew back in no time at all! His handlers lessened his intake of granola bars so he wouldn’t get in trouble by the dentist.

This fact was copied from www.groundhog.org. See their website and FAQ page for more interesting facts about Phil.

Happy February! We got snow! Around 6 inches since Sunday. WooooooooHoooooo! It is currently 19 degrees, forecast for a high of 31 degrees. The trails are fabulous. It’s going to be a beautiful day is Essex!

GROOMED: Starlight, Cabin and Caboose Lanes, Essex Road, Pileated, Highline Upside, Essex Creek Upside