Creekside was groomed yesterday. it was also re-routed somewhat around the contrived parts or dirty spots. it is the best skiing right now. the race course is set with double classic tracks. the sakte in the middle is a little chunky but passable. the upper west areas are in less than ideal shape. should get groomed after we get a skiff of fresh snow to mix in. the skiing is still good and the road is super dry. the a-frame will be staffed every day this week and weekend. please check in your season pass so we can get a good head count. thanks.

An estimated 6 inches fell last night and today.
The pisten bully is up and running. I will go up and pack and groom tonight. the are should then be ready to ski everywhere and touch up will be possible by the club machine, once it is working again.

summary: go ski wednesday morning

Let It Snow

The nordic center got hammered last noght and today. the pisten bully has a flat tire which requires quite a bit to fix. it should be up wed night. Ho Ho Ho.

The snowmobiles were out all day today packing and rolling trails. the race course is in decent shape and had classic track at 5pm. the wind will wipe awa most of the day's work but that only adds to the trail depth and snow quality. anytime it is blowing we try to have a guy out riding to 'catch' more snow in the tracks. it was very effective last year.

most of the trail were ridden about 6 times, which is what it took today to get them ready for the roller. then it takes 2 passes with the roller and 2 or more passes with the ginzu. It is quite a preocess.

Jerry D put in a full volunteer day today and we altenated getting each other unstuck for hours and hours. it was fun.

No pictures today but here's a good gauge. Snow was coming up over the snowmobile winshield so heavily that if you poked your head up to see through it your face was pummeled and mouth was packed full.

Average depth is now about lower thigh. it is kee deep or more virtually everywhere and some drifts are reaching epic proportions.

Do: racecourse, upper canyon.

don't: didaction, mule deer and creekside connector

Maybe: everything else

Opening Of Nordic Center!

The A Frame rental center will open Friday, December 19th. It will be open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10am-5pm the rest of the season as snow conditions permit. Season and Day trail passes can be purchased during open hours. Use the fee box located at the parking lot for skiing 24/7. Prices for day trail passes are $3 for kids, $6 for adults, $5 for seniors. Rental fees for ski packages are $8 for classic and $12 for skate ski package. Hope to see you up there soon, and keep the positive thoughts of snow coming, even if you have to bet someone.

TK

Skiing open

the ski area now has about 6 inches of snow and Andy has groomed enough that the gate is open now. park in the lot and enjoy. the 5k loop and canyon are best. the creekside area and connector is worst.

No pictures today, just news. Andy has put in about 40 hours in the last 2 days compacting and smoothing the trails. there is 4-6 inches of snow and some folks are skiing. It is still snowing and we may "open" mid week. At this point it is not good enough to "open" but people are welcome to go in and ski and make a donation to the ski club for their effort. www.pokyxc.org . Park at the creek crossing gate (but don't block it) and walk in. If you see Andy, Randy, or Steve just slip them some cash to cover the fuel and upkeep on the snowmobile.

Saturday Storm

Andy gearing up for a few laps on the snowmobile.


The base area buildings are starting to look festive.

Does anyone know how a hedge fund works? A manager buys a stock or asset at market price, hoping it will go up. Then they buy insurance that will pay them if it goes down. They hope that any movement in the market still makes them money. I hedged my snow bets. A staff member that shall remain nameless bet me $10 that he would have 3 inches of snow in his front yard in town by Monday morning. I figure if it snows then I win, because we got a lot of snow. if it stays dry I at least get a nice lunch on Monday.

The area got about 3 inches overnight in most places. A few places got a little scoured, a few places got some drifting. Andy rolled some of the trails to encourage drifting and prevent scouring further. The area is NOT OPEN yet, but the lead draw gate is unlocked. If you are willing to walk up from the creek gate then go for it. the trails are rough, use a lot of caution and take old skis.

I will head up tomorrow if we get any substantial snow overnight.

LET IT SNOW

This stellar crystal would lead to nice fluffy powder. it is in great shape with no melting, low wind and no real damage. Perfect



It is snowing again today in Pocatello. This can only mean one thing. Premature enthusiasm. Every year about this time we get a few flakes and skiers go crazy. Sure targhee and west yellowstone nordic are open but really..... mink creek is christmas to spring break. the only exception was the 2007-2008 year. But that being said the mechanincs spent last week tuning the snowmobiles and groomer just in case. If things get crazy we're ready.




HERE ARE SOME IMAGES FROM SnowCrystals.com. Here's a fun exercise. Say you dig a hole in your ski/snowmobile slope and find a 2 inch snow layer that is different from the top foot. which type of crystal would you least like to see, what is the best?

Stellar

And the answer: Who knows, there are too many unknows. But the needle or cloumn structures can act like tiny ball bearings and set off giant slides. I'd rather ski crystals anyhow.


And finally here's a crazy movie of a snowmobiler who is deninitely giving it all the gas he can. he should have studied snow crystal structre more.

bridge work

The ski club put up a nice post about our last volunteer work day. The staff had a work day on Sunday. things went well the bridge is 95% complete. We just need to work on the transition on and off and we are there. Sind\ce I plan to just plow snow up to make it transition it is looking good. the bridge is 12 feet wide and 25-28 feet long. 5 pine trees span the water each has a base diameter of about 16 inches. I'm not an engineer but it feels really solid. I was almost an engineer once but after taking all of the math and starting into engineering classes I thought to myself "I could not do this every day for 30+ years" and promptly became an outdoor ed student (and business management just in case).

In case you are looking closely the tripod is a temporary means to raise the logs and notch each one out the level things at each end. the 2x4's and other dimensional lumber level things in the middle when the logs bow or turn, like giant shims.

If you looke even closer you can see Jerry Sepich, Terrence, Wren, James and Travis all working away.

Andy and Steve also headed up high to do some fencing and get daley's disaction squared away. They were up there until after dark so I can't wait to see the sceme they have cooked up to solve the scouring issues that plague some places on those otherwise fun trails.

future kitesurfer

I almost bought a new small kitesurfing rig for my wife Mindy. Then I realized that is the last thing in the world she wants. She hates all things kite and surfing. Kaya, however, wants one for Christmas (future use, I'm sure). Here she is asking for one. How could I say no? If anyone else is interested in trying out kitesurfing kites for fun let me know. Since only 2 other people in SE Idaho even know what I'm talking about I can always use more accomplices.