March 30, Friday 9:45am

Doug just sent this report (thank you, Doug!)

New experience today as I had to groom with my RZR,  the Maverick was no place to be found.  They have cut several trees down and they have fallen on the trail so beware.  There was heavy fog early making it difficult  to know where you were, but that being said it was a good trail until the golf guys decided to pull a trailer with snow blowers down the trail so I don’t know how much damage that will do.  Get out early and enjoy the places where they have not driven on.  I will see if we can make it work tomorrow.

March 29 Wednesday Track Report

Morning: The track is pretty good (actually, pretty great for this time of year). If you ski in the mornings, it will be hard and a little icy. By late morning the track will soften up, and by mid afternoon it may be a little soggy in parts. Everything is still covered, but the track is beginning to get a little thin in places. There is a detour by the pump house (below the Club House) and a little deviation alongside the freeway, but other than that everything is the same. We still have ~10km so groomed skating and classic tracks. I skied this morning and had the whole course to myself, except for some guys working on the trees. Come ski!

NOTE: Just got this mid-day report from Brian:

Just skied out at the golf course. Timed it just right, the course was smooth and fast. Heads up if you go out or to anyone going, they are trimming trees and working on the greens in the clover leaf area, tree limbs and a bit of mud on the track in places. Otherwise it is incredible skiing for the end of March!

Pictures from this morning:

March 27 Monday 10am

 Many thanks to Doug for his continued volunteer grooming that makes it possible for us to have so much fun! 

Here’s his morning report:

 Trail was tuned up this morning. It is amazing for March 27 but the snow was light and fluffy. Skating should be ok. The classic track will not hold up. I will redo it this evening.

Saturday, March 25th 11 AM

Doug is now out after spelling me off. I’d hoped that by starting early I could see the remnants of the last track with the headlights. My master plan would have worked out perfectly if it had stopped snowing at 8 AM as forecast. 

As it was the snow just kept coming - even heavier almost totally covering the initial classic track I laid down and filling in the skate lane as soon as I made a pass. 

In the end made four passes on both the Clover Leaf and the Cow Pasture trails, and two passes on the Perimeter trail before making another pass to lay down a new set of classic tracks. Doug’s finishing the last leg of that and will likely make a pass or two on the Perimeter skate lanes. 

It’s still snowing, but just a touch now and hopefully will stay clear and cold to let this setup.

March 25, Sat 8am

 Jeff is grooming (he’s been out for a couple of hours already). It’s still snowing, so there will likely be a skiff of fresh snow over the groomed trails by the time he finishes.

March 23, Thursday night

 Just heard from Doug:

I tuned it up tonight and it should be free of tractors now (the golf course grass-prep is hopefully on hold now, so the tractors won’t be pushing snow off the greens nor ruining the ski track). Any even the classic track looks good.  Will be fast and icy in the morning. Don’t speed through the gullies. I think we can stretch it out a couple of weeks, have fun!

March 22, Wednesday 9:30pm

 Jeff spent the last couple of hours working on the track. Here’s his report:

Had to pick up the groomer down by the golf shed. Ended up able to clean up. The skate track pretty well. Little sloppy in parts and going over the tracks from the tractor in the Cloverleaf is particularly tricky. People will have to keep a lookout when they go skating. If it snows again, tomorrow probably we will need to go out and clean things up once again. However, pretty great skating for this late in the season!

March 22, Wednesday noon

 From Doug:

Randy tuned up the skate track and I made a conventional track from the parking lot around to the bridge at my house and back to the parking lot. About a half Loop.  The track has been run on with tractors and skid-steer which is very abusive.  It took several hours just to get it to the point I felt it was safe to ski on.  Keep your eyes and mind alert for problems on the track.  You will encounter the most problems near the greens where they are blowing snow.   I just looked out to observe the tractor driving over the newly groomed trail.   Be careful because conditions are changing as I write.

I think the best strategy is to wait until all greens are clear & exposed, and then go back in and piece the track back together for a week or so. As I look at the daily temperature we have a couple of weeks of snow left.  It will not be golf weather until the snow is gone.  Their concern now is to get the snow off the greens so grass is not killed with snow mold.  

March 22 morning

Randy negotiated our use of the City-owned Maverick to pull the groomer in the evenings (the City is using it during the day to prep the golf course). But heads up, the golf course people will likely use the track as their access, so there might be tire ruts. I don’t know if Doug went out last night.

Alternatively, conditions look favorable for crust cruising if you get out before the sun softens the snow midday. You’re not bound to a trail so it’s a lot of fun to explore the golf course. 

March 21 morning

 We have plenty of snow, that’s for sure. I just came in from an hour of snow blowing (is it really March 21!?). However, we’re not sure about the grooming. This is from Doug:

Our problem is the golf course took the Maverick to snow blow the greens and I do not know if they want us off  or what our status is at this point.  I will be in touch.

March 18, noon

The classic track is holding up. Doug groomed for skating yesterday. Jeff went out again this morning to tune it up. It should be great skiing if you can get out before it turns soft - probably go out in the next two hours or so, and again later when it cools down. Try to avoid skiing when it’s super soft if you can - it leaves big ruts when it freezes again. However, it’s understandable that sometimes you just have to go when you have the time.

Enjoy the sunshine!

Grooming Report March 16th Evening

With help from the Rexburg City Rec crew Doug was able to get the Ginzu groomer unstuck earlier today.

Just now back from tuning things up as best as possible.  For the most part the skate track should be in good shape with newly tilled transformed snow.  We had to make some detours, but with Ryan and Bo's help as trailblazers, we found our way around the slushy patches and ponds.   

You'll notice that the golf course grounds crew was out with a tractor to uncover the greens and left quite a few ruts and snow piles in their wake.  There is a major detour cutting off the southwest corner of the perimeter loop, but everything else is still accessible, including the Cow Pasture loop.

The skate deck looks to be in great shape, the classic tracks are a little more sketchy, but skiable.  Watch out for soft spots, particularly on the new detours and south facing slopes.  So long as it keeps cold at night we should be skiing for a while yet!

March 16 Thursday afternoon

We survived the warm snap & rain these past few days. Although it’s still skiable, the track isn’t great right now. Doug started grooming this morning, but the groomer got stuck. Currently only some of the track is groomed for skate, and none for classic. The City helped pull out the groomer this afternoon. Jeff and Ryan are going to work on the track this evening. Hopefully, we will have a good track for tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the spring golf course prep has begun. I skied today with a big old tractor on my right - it was plowing snow off putting greens. If you go out now, you’ll see deep tire tracks from the tractor, bare grass in a few spots, a partially groomed trail before the groomer got stuck, and a big puddle near the parking lot at the end of the ski loop.

If you don’t mind a few obstacles, it is still skiable and possible that it’ll be great after tonight’s grooming. We’re looking at crust cruising any day now

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March 14 Tuesday morning

 The track is pretty soft right now. I’d suggest not trying to ski today. We will see how much damage we get from today’s predicted rain. Hopefully we can get it groomed again once temperatures cool again (maybe tomorrow?) 🤞🏻

Friday, March 10 Grooming Report

With Ryan's invaluable help running the roller right ahead of me in the Ginzu groomer we were able to set a decent skate track.  The classic tracks however are not nearly as nice.  The sticky snow didn't lend itself well to setting those tracks, but hopefully we'll have things freeze down nicely overnight and it won't be too icy tomorrow.

March 9, Thursday midday

Teton Lakes has been beautifully groomed this morning. There’s fresh corduroy for skate, and the classic tracks are looking good. Thanks, Doug!

March 6, Monday 6pm

 Just heard that the Temple track was groomed. Thanks for the update, Scott!

March 6, Monday morning

 Doug has been hard at work all morning. He just sent this report:

Just finished Re-building the track,  It is soft and will need tuning this evening, but  for today should ski Ok.  Enjoy

March 4, Saturday noon

 Sorry for the late update. Randy told me yesterday afternoon that he planned to groom last night. We’re away for a race, so I’m not sure how the grooming went or how it looks. I’m sure it’s great! Looks like we have more snow coming. Enjoy these bonus days of winter skiing. 

March 1, Wednesday 9pm

 Jeff is out right now, grooming the skate track and setting classic tracks. Should be good skiing tomorrow. Thanks, Jeff!

March 1, 3pm

 Everything except the Cow Pasture has been groomed with one pass. The skate track isn't wide, but it's pleasant. There are a few punchy places that are pretty obvious. Because the snow is still soft, the skiing is slow and gentle. 

No classic tracks have been set so you will  need to kick your own trail or stay far to the side of the skate track.

Many thanks to Doug for all the hours he has spent grooming.