Doug just texted this unexpected report. Thank you, Doug!
If you want to ski March 23 at Teton Lakes Golf Coarse today is you chance. Don’t bring your best skis. The loop is a little funky. Starts at the parking lot going backwards.
It will be best with classic skis, the skate track is very soft. Have fun.
Doug again tuned up the course one last time. Looks like it’s time to pull out the rock skis today. Here’s his report:
“I tried to touch up the course last night. Much of it is good, but we lost two bridges yesterday and a couple of hill top to skiing on the grass. There are two places where cart paths are exposed most of the way. It will ski good this morning, but after today we are finished.”
Thank you to Doug for the many hours he volunteered. He made it an amazing season. See you again in November or December.
Jeff and I just finished skiing at Teton Lakes (10am Saturday). It’s a bonus day! Doug tuned up the skate track last night (thank you!), adding some alternative routes to avoid bare patches.
It was really fun and fast. The classic track looks mostly very good, although the south facing hills are melted out. The Cow Pasture is still skiable but it is fading fast. Please keep your eyes open for grass, ice and puddle patches, and there’s a little asphalt peeking out. I think we should get a few more days of skiing there.
In another week or two, we’re moving to higher ground for skiing and also transitioning to dry-land sports. Meanwhile, don’t forget the groomed Nordic skiing at Kelly Canyon, Teton Canyon, Alta, Targhee (if the thin air at that altitude doesn’t bother you), ski trails in Jackson Hole, Mink Creek (Pocatello), Harriman State Park, and - always a favorite- the Rendezvous Trails in West Yellowstone. (They had a good 12” of new snow earlier this week, by the way.)
Crust cruising on the dry farms can be so much fun, just be conscientious if there are no-trespassing signs. We love our farmers and respect their farmland.
Just finished a lap on the classic tracks. Sadly I think we’re at the end of the season. We may be ok to tune the skate track tomorrow if it doesn’t get too warm but probably not a good idea to try and tune up the classic tracks. If one of us does go out we’ll have to remember to not go out onto the Cow Pasture loop, the South facing slope on the East side by the river is all melted out.
Regardless of the warmth this has been a great year - thanks to Doug, Stephanie and Randy for all their hard work in our behalf!
Doug laid down a new set of classic tracks and Jeff made a single pass on the skate lane this evening. Watch for the right hand detour on the second loop of the Clover Leaf (ice wall is gone) and a couple of icy and narrow patches on bridges and south facing slopes. Coming out of the parking area there's also a bare patch but you can scoot around the trees to the east on the classic tracks and keep your skis on.
Hopefully the cold will keep things solid into the weekend...
The classic tracks have pretty much melted down, but you can definitely follow them or just scoot around on top of the crust. The skate track is icy and hard in the morning, but will likely soften in the afternoon. If you hit it just right, you’ll avoid it turning to slush.
Thankfully Doug tuned up the skate track so you have some purchase on the icy track. It was incredibly fast this morning.
There is a hazard you have to watch out for: the second downhill on the Clover Leaf (nearer the highway) has a new track just to the side of the original track. Please stop at the top of the hill and look ahead (unlike what I did...). There’s a big wall of ice and snow that crosses the track on the way down. It’s too icy to snowplow to a stop, so unless you go off track you are in for a painful crash. Yep, it hurt.
The icy mornings make the track a little challenging and technical, but still really fun. It’ll be easier and slower in the afternoon. There are hardly any thin patches as of this morning. The black stuff on the greens and all the tracks from the Maverick (from spreading the black stuff) are rather ugly, but it’s still so nice to be out. Enjoy - and be careful!
This is a picture from below the ice wall, looking back up the hill after I managed to stand back up. :) I tried to move the chunks of ice and clear a path for anyone else, but it was all frozen into one solid mass. Go around, or maybe scope out the old/original track. Just don’t try to ski over this.
Doug tuned up again! He has put in an enormous amount of time this season, for which we are all extremely grateful. Thank you so much, Doug. We’re also very thankful for Jeff and Randy’s contributions. Here’s Doug’s Tuesday morning report:
The skate track should be good until noon, just tuned it up. The golf guys took the Maverick to spread black stuff on the greens. I will touch up the skate track until snow is gone with the RZR.
Looks like Doug made one pass on the skate track. Thanks, Doug!
Enjoy this Spring Skiing while you can. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the last week of groomed skiing at Teton Lakes. It’s still amazes me that we lasted this long. Have fun!
I got this report from Randy just now (9:30pm Friday). He just finished tuning things up for Saturday skiing - thank you, Randy! He was able to groom one pass of the perimeter for skate skiing, and it should skate well tomorrow while the snow stays cold. The track tends to get a little slushy later on in the day when it warms up.
He also made three passes to get the classic track reset. He said it was a little challenging, considering the snow conditions, but it should be pretty good for this time of year. We’re all amazed that we have so much snow still. Enjoy!
Doug has been hard at work again. Thank you, Doug! Here’s his report:
Skate track was tuned again last night and I did my best to redo conventional tracks. Snow is so hard in places the tines will not penetrate enough for the track setter to do its work. Where I could find new snow, I set the track out on new territory. They are better than no tracks. Skating should be wonderful until the sun warms things to slush. It is spring skiing. Have a great day!
Doug just texted. Thanks, Doug!
The track was tuned this morning and skates very well. Tonight I will attempt to replace the conventional (classic) tracks.
Looks like Doug tuned up the skate track. The fresh corduroy is beautiful and should be great skiing. The classic tracks look sturdy and are holding up. Thanks, Doug!
