Hi all, the trails got about a foot of snow from Saturday night to Sunday morning! As you know our grooming crew worked on Saturday. Tod had planned to run the Ginzu on Sunday so he took the VK up to the trail (that’s the  sled pulls the Ginzu). But there was too much snow! So he ran the VK down Hwy 819 and around Kay’s loop several times to open up those trails again. Because the VK is prone to getting stuck in deep snow and he was alone, he wasn’t able to pack Eric’s loop. A few skiers broke trail on Eric’s loop on Sunday, but it hasn’t been machine packed yet. We’re working on finding someone to get a powder sled up there sometime this week.

Finally some snow and more on the way!!

It snowed all day as Bruce Kime, Todd Kupka and Tod Tibbetts snowmobile packed Hwy 819, Kay’s loop and Eric’s loop.  The ginzugroomer was run on  Hwy 819 and Kay’s loop.  By the time the groomers left, 3 to 4 more inches of snow had fallen.  There will be fresh powder on a nicely packed trail tomorrow.

No more bare spots and hard pack snow on the trail, just powder and packed powder.

Enjoy the fresh snow.

Not much fresh snow, but the trail still has a good white cover.

Last week there was less than 4″ of new snow on the trail.  The snow mobiles were run to pack down what was there.  Except for a couple of sunny areas, the trail has a good base.  While the trail narrows in the southern facing sunny areas, the packed snow has not melted.  The trail is in great shape and the sunny weather makes for a fine outing.

I can add to Kay’s snow report, as I skied 819, Kay’s Loop to Eric’s Loop, then Eric’s. The new snow really helped to freshen up the conditions. The trails I skied were good for the most part, but there are still a few rough spots that skiers need to be aware of. Mainly they are at the bottom of hills with curves/bends, so skiers should try to check their speed. Some of these corners have “run outs” if you miss the turn. Otherwise the skiing was great. On my waxable skis, starting about 10:30 am, and I used blue with a short kicker of blue extra, and I had excellent grip.

One other thing that would be helpful to users on skis is for folks on snowshoes to walk to the side of one set of ski tracks on the trail whenever possible. Snowshoe tracks to the side of ski tracks are helpful to skiers on downhill sections, as the extra trail width makes snow-plowing to check speed easier. Just a thought.

From Peggy –

Bruce is right. In these conditions, snowshoers can actually help pack the trail but we need that packing on the trail edges. Also, brush up on Snowshoe Etiquette on Groomed Trails

In other news, driving on groomed trails is getting to be a problem this season:  Forest Service warns against winter trail abuse

If you have trail photos you would like to share on this blog, send them to me at:   wemuc@siltnet.net

Yippee!! It’s snowing!

Because of the very thin snowpack and poor trail conditions on the ridges and in the gullies, we need to let the snow fall and then settle. Therefore our next grooming operations are scheduled for Saturday, January 14.

**This just in:  Kay Robinson reported about 5 inches of snow fell up on West Elk today.

Today it was in the low 20′s and windy on the trail.  It has been cold all week, so the snow cover on the trail is holding up well.  The grooming crew covered most of the bare spots and shoveled as much snow as we could find at Dorthoy’s View so there is still a good single track in that sunny spot.  All the parties out on the trail today were smiling behind their cold weather atire.

Thanks to Art Dahl, the Collins famliy – Bruce, Betty, Ben and Jackie – for shoveling, putting up stakes and enjoying a sunny day on the trail.  With the excellent work done today, the trail will hold up to the forecast of no snow for another week.  Bruce Kime and Mellisa DeHaan went around James’ loop today.  They reported lots of wildlife activity with the thin snowpack. 

Because of the hard snow on the trail, all the hills are fast.  I would recommend going counter-clockwise around Eric’s loop for the most control.  If you like the speed, I’d suggest you go clockwise, the hills are a bit rough, but if you have metal edges, the surface gives lots of control and the steeper hills are a thrill.

Happy New Years to all.

The last storm only left a a couple inches of snow behind.  We ran snowmobiles around the trails to pack down what was there.  While there are still a few bare spots where the trail gets full sun, over all, the trail has a good firm base and is fast skiing and good snowshoeing.  Eric’s loop has been packed almost to the full width. 

Have a Merry Christmas.

Tod Tibbetts will be the head groomer this season. Bruce Kime and Art Dahl have volunteered to run snowmobiles. Eric & Donna Boley moved to Eagle. Anthony Benham is unavailable this season. We appreciate Eric and Anthony’s years of work and dedication to the West Elk trails and we miss them. We are still looking for volunteers to help with the grooming program.

This will be our third season with the Ginzugroomer, and we have learned a few things along the trail. Before we can run the Ginzugroomer, we need a snow depth of at least 24 inches, preferably 30, to cover all the rocks, shrubs, and stumps. Once the hazards have been buried, the trail has to be packed with snowmobiles several times over to make it wide enough for the groomer to pass.

After the trail has been packed sufficiently some shoveling is necessary. The section called Dorothy’s View on Kay’s Loop is sloped. In order for the groomer to pass safely through there without sliding sideways, the trail has to be leveled with shovels for a couple hundred feet. We always need volunteers to help with shoveling.

Because of the labor intensity of the grooming process, we have decided this season Tod will run the Ginzu on Hwy 819 and Kay’s Loop, and Anthony’s Maze, once the shrubs are covered. Eric’s Loop will be snowmobile packed and the trail will be widened as snowfall permits. We will not run the Ginzugroomer on Eric’s Loop. We implemented that plan last March and it worked out well.

VOLUNTARY MEMBERSHIP FEE INCREASED

As of November 3, the voluntary membership fee has been increased to $25/person.

Currently the club has a $4,000 annual budget — $3,000 GarCo grant and about $1,000 in voluntary member donations. However the club has not been able to meet rising fuel expenses. That means we not only ask volunteers to donate their time, but have expected them to pay for their fuel expenses. Raising the fee is the way to do that.

The GarCo grant money the club receives does not come from taxpayer funds. It comes from monies received by Garfield County from Colorado lottery proceeds.

As always, the fee is voluntary. Some people are unable to pay. Others might feel they don’t use the trails enough to justify a donation. We welcome contributions of time and money from those who can help out. We are so fortunate to have access to such a beautiful trail system!

All things considered,
the trail is in great shape.

With only a coupe inches of fresh snow this week, I did not run any equipment on the trail.  Hwy 819 it a bit rough, and has a couple of bare spots.  Kay’s loop is packed wide and has one narrow section at Dorothy’s view.  Eric’s loop has been packed, but is narrow and has some hazards along the way.  James’ loop has not been tracked yet and there are reports of some downed trees.  If anyone hikes James’ loop, let me know the condition and if we need to do any tree clearing.  When we get appropriate snow depth, we’ll take a trip around James’ loop to clear and mark it.

With the firm base and the light dusting of snow, the skiing was great today.  I made fresh tracks almost all the way around Eric’s loop ’til I met a couple coming the other way.  The widllife have been enjoying the packed trail and it seemed like all the forest critters had been out for a walk on the trail in the last few days.  I won’t be running any equipment on the trial until we get at least 6″ of snow.  The trail will hold up well until new snow comes.  Enjoy the sunshine and blue skys.

The trail is in good early shape in spite of the lack of snow.  Kay’s loop has been packed and is a good ski with a few thin spots and small hazards.  Eric’s loop has been tracked with a snowmobile twice, so it’s skiiable, but the hills are fast and there are a few hazards.

Unfortunately a truck with chains on the tires decided to drive down Hwy 819 all the way to Kay’s loop and tore the trail up in a number spots.  There are also some bare spots and rough areas.  We will need a big snow dump to fill the ruts in the worst spots.  As always with early conditons, ski with caution.

There is a great base on the trail, but we won’t be doing any more grooming until there is more snow.  Thanks to Bruce Kime for helping with the trail work today.  It’s people pitching in that improves the conditions on the trail.  If you are able to help on any weekend, please let Tod know by e-mailing todt@siltnet.net or calling 970-876-2196.