City info for the Holidays

Teton Lakes Winter Park Hours (for rentals) 

December 23-January 4th: 9am-5pm

Christmas Eve: closed

Christmas Day: closed

New Year’s Eve: closed

New Year’s Day: closed

Regular hours resume January 6th

 Hi all - please check the web version of the blog for all future grooming information. We are now using Nordic Pulse to provide automatic updates on grooming. However, it doesn’t show up in the mobile version. Sorry! You should be able to scroll down on your phone and see the option for web version. Happy trails!

December 21 Grooming Info

 Hi all - please check the web version of the blog for all future grooming information. We are now using Nordic Pulse to provide automatic updates on grooming. However, it doesn’t show up in the mobile version. Sorry! You should be able to scroll down on your phone and see the option for web version. Happy trails!

November 20

 Winter is here! We’re not quite ready for skiing yet, but Doug worked on creating the foundation for a track. Here’s his report:

I rolled the course earlier today, trying to establish a base and get the snow to stick to the ground if the wind blows. If we have a couple more inch’s we will be skating . Conventional will take another four.

March 14

 We’re basically out of snow at the golf course. There was enough to do a tiny bit of crust cruising yesterday but it’s not worth it. Time to head north or east for some groomed trails.

March 11, Monday

 The skate track has been tuned up and is skiing beautifully. If you can ski during the colder hours of the day, you will avoid slushy snow (plus that helps avoid making permanent ruts). There are several grassy spots on south facing hills, so just watch your speed if you’re in the downhill. Have fun!

March 8, 3:30PM

Just back from grooming.  All trails (including the Cow Pasture) are now groomed with a few modifications to avoid problem spots.  The Classic tracks are still set and look pretty good with a few spots of bare grass.  With the help of Doug's RZR I was able to widen the skate track and make another pass down the middle.  The snow is soft and was drifted in places so be on the lookout for some ruts as well as bare spots on the south facing slopes.  Should be great skiing if it stays cold through the weekend!

March 6 midday

 Doug had time for one pass around the perimeter to put in some classic tracks before he had to go. I’ll update if we can find help laying down a skate deck.

March 3, 8am

 I’m really happy to have something to report! Here’s Doug’s text from his work last night:

Just to let you know we are back skiing with the best snow conditions of the winter.  The bridges are back and all hills are covered.  The tracks both skate and conventional are as good as they have been all winter.  There may be some wind damage because the wind was still blowing at 11:30 PM when I finished. I will touch it up Monday.  As the weather forecast looks, we may get to ski for a couple of weeks.  Probably too much too late. It was a fun day, just too bad it wasn’t in December.

February 17 early morning

 Doug worked late into the night last night, sending this report at 2am. Many thanks for his dedicated work!

Just a late update. The snow we received late this morning and cooler weather changed the snow and allowed replacing the conventional tracks.  They turned out amazing for the amount of snow we have.  Only a handful of hills showing grass.  I made one pass over the skate track after the snow and it is really looking good.  Should be great skiing for the weekend with the cold weather.

Feb 16 morning grooming

 Thanks to Doug for his work! Here’s his morning report:

I just finished tuning up the skate track. It looks very good and I think it’ll be as good skiing as we’ve had all winter.  I tried to tune up the conventional track, but there was not enough snow and the snow packed under the tracks of the groomer leaving no snow for tracks so I stopped.  I will wait and see if I get more snow to make tracks. Get out and ski while we still have snow.

February 13 morning

 Here’s the latest from Doug:

We’ve lost the snow on two of the bridges - the one over the river and the one coming back over the canal by the shelter on the north end. The bridge on hole # 9  north of the club house is sketchy.  The perimeter track is in pretty good shape.  Conventional track was placed Saturday morning and is in amazing shape for what it has been through, grass showing through on the edge of just a few hills.  The skate track is very good also, just a couple of south facing slope with marginal snow.  It was tuned up Saturday.  If I get time and the temperature stays down I will tune up the clover leaf and perimeter track this evening.  There is no way to get to the cow pasture.

Feb 6, Tuesday morning

 Thanks to Jeff for working on the course last night. Here’s his report:

I rolled all the skate trails twice and also groomed two classic tracks. The skate deck could probably benefit from a couple passes with the Ginzu groomer, but should be skiable as is. There will definitely be some thin and bare patches. 

Feb 5 midday info

 Doug reports:

Grooming depends on predicted rain this afternoon.  I rolled early this morning.  There a few ponds that have almost a foot of water in them and others just enough to make the snow wet.  Both are a problem because they make the roll wet and then the snow sticks to it.  The deep area over by Hole 8-9 is like a lake.  Moved the track up around the perimeter and worked around it .  I am not sure we are ever going to ski much this winter.  If we don’t get rain I think we can make it work, but rain will just make the ponds worse.  

Evening temperatures will determine the next step.

February 5 morning

 Wow - we’re getting dumped on! No news from Doug on any grooming, but it’s supposed to keep snowing all day so it makes sense to wait. Jeff has plans to groom tonight after work if Doug needs the help.

After a couple of weeks of spring-like weather, the new snow is a welcome change. With permission from Lee Warnick, here’s his January Rexburg Weather recap, posted last Thursday:

	Rexburg Weather Group / January 2024 Summary

	Temperature High temperatures: 30.7 / 2.8 degrees above normal Low temperatures: 15.7 / 4.7 degrees above normal Highest wind gust: 50 mph on the 12th Number of windy days: 4     Normal: 3.5 Highest temperature: 47 on the 31st Lowest temperature: -17 on the 13th Daily temp records set: High  7    Low  2       • About two-thirds of January was El Niño-classic mild and dry, while the other one-third was good ol’ Rexburg winter cold and snowy. As far as temps, this ratio meant above-normal but not record-breaking averages for the month. We did bask in one of January’s four warmest-ever days with our 47-degree high yesterday (Jan. 31). It was our mildest January day in 21 years.    • As is often the case, an ultra-mild day ushers in a dramatic change in our weather pattern, but instead of cold and wet, this next spell will stay mild through the storminess, with high temps remaining above freezing.    • We often struggle to rise above freezing in winter, but four times between the 22nd and 28th our low temperature was 32 degrees! Not surprisingly, all of these were daily records for the warmest low temp. Precipitation Precipitation: 0.93 / 90 percent of average Snowfall: 16.8 / 116 percent of average 2023-24 water year precipitation (4 of 12 months): 3.69 / 89 percent of average 2023-24 season snowfall: 28.4  / 71 percent of normal Thunderstorm days: 0     Fog days: 23 Daily precip records set: Precip  1    Snow  1        • More than half of the snow we’ve received so far this season fell over just two weeks — Jan. 4-17 — about 16 inches.  Other than this very snowy spell, January’s precip came as rain or in a wet rain-snow mix.    • Going into January, we still were in contention for one of our least snowy seasons on record. Now it looks like we’re bound for a solidly below average total instead of a Top 5 or Top 10 least snowy kind of winter.    • If the sun of the past few days has seemed unusual, you’re right. January had 18 cloudy days, the most in the three years I’ve been tracking average daily cloud cover.       • Our 71 percent of normal snowfall so far this season is quite close to the high country snowpack totals, which currently average in the lows 70s in our corner of the state. The only exceptions are Birch/Medicine Lodge/Beaver/Camas (53%) and Willow/Blackfoot/Portneuf (112%).  This next week should bump those snowpack percentages upward.

Jan. 22 morning report

Heads up: The track is icy and hard packed with ruts from the weekend skiers. It is also starting to show some grass on south facing hills. The snow will soften later today, but it won’t be great skiing. I don’t know if we will risk tuning it up just yet.

Hopefully our overnight temperatures will hold up the track until we get new snow and cooler daytime temperatures.

Jan. 19, 11pm

Just back from making a couple of passes on the skate deck with the Ginzu groomer.  Looks like Doug had set the classic track earlier in the day and it's still in good shape.

It'll be warm tomorrow so get out early if you can - it's also Winterfest so lots of activities going on throughout the day at Teton Lakes.

For Rexburg’s Winterfest 2024 info, check out  https://www.rexburg.org/rec/page/winterfest-2024

 

January 18, Thursday 10:30pm

Jeff just finished tuning up the track. Thank you, Jeff! Here’s his report:

With an excellent base and warmer temperatures, the skate deck has groomed up beautifully. Should be in great shape tomorrow. The classic tracks were still well set. Should be a wonderful weekend for skiing in mild temperatures.

January 17, 3pm

 Ryan just finished grooming and says everything looks good. Thank you to both Ryan and Doug for their work today!

Now for the annual reminder (which is actually more like a weekly reminder). I’m not trying to sound harsh, just trying to educate and remind people:

No bikes, no walking, no dogs, no snowshoes (you can snowshoe on ungroomed areas of the Winter Park), and please keep to the appropriate track - skate or classic.

As you can see, it takes a LOT of work and time to make the skate and classic tracks both skiable. It’s really important that skate skiers have a good skate deck and classic skiers have their own separate tracks. Please stay in your appropriate lane as much as possible so you don’t mess up the other skiers. 

Regarding the Skate deck (the wide, flat, corduroy groomed lane) - Classic skiers, snowshoes, fat bikes, and people walking can leave deep tracks that trip up skate skiers. It’s painful to be skating fast and then take a spill because your ski catches on ruts or bootprints.

Regarding the Classic (Conventional) tracks - Skate skiers, snowshoes, fat bikes and people walking can quickly ruin the walls of the parallel tracks that help Classic skiers have a good ski.

Again, trails are groomed for skiing. Please don’t walk, snowshoe, or bike (seriously, no fat bikes!) and don’t bring dogs on the groomed areas. The trails are not meant to be sidewalks. Thank you!

January 17, Noontime

 Doug rolled the track (packing down the new snow) and set classic tracks this morning. He ran out of time, so Ryan is heading out around noon to finish grooming the skate track. Doug reports that the snow is great. Enjoy!

January 15 noon report

Just heard from Doug. As always, a huge thanks for his hard work. 

Here’s his report: Just a quick update. There was an inch of new snow on the trail this morning. I touched up the skate track all over. The classic track still looked usable and I didn’t have enough snow to make new classic tracks. It looks good and there are a few skiers out this morning

Jan 14th PM

Ryan was finally able to get the Groomer started - it’s been a little temperamental lately, and wouldn’t start in the cold yesterday - even with a battery assist. 

He was able to groom everything….classic and skate.

Thanks Ryan!  Hopefully the wind stays calm for the next few days. 

January 12, 1pm

 Jeff’s done grooming. Thank you, Jeff!

He reports:

Just finished making several passes around the track at Teton Lakes. Did the classic tracks first. There have been many skiers out, maintaining the trail. Hopefully that will hold up. The skate deck was groomed and re-groomed as snow continued to fall. Hopefully there will be assemblance of a track after the remainder of the snow today. We may need to tune it again tonight or tomorrow morning.  

It’s still very soft. Be careful of exposed patches. Hopefully no gravel showing at this point but be on the lookout.

Enjoy the snow

January 12 morning

 Snow has blown over much of the track. Jeff is heading out to clean it up (9am). It usually takes a couple of hours to go over everything. If you can wait to ski until later today, it’ll be a much better experience and it will give the track some time to settle.

This link shows traffic webcams around the area so you can preview the roads before deciding to drive. Be safe!

https://www.eastidahonews.com/webcams/

January 11 early morning

 With help from Doug, Jeff, Ryan and Sam, the track is all set and ready for a good ski day. It’s been a huge effort to stay on top of things. Many thanks for their late night and early morning work. Ryan and Sam were out last midnight last night. They groomed it as wide and smooth as possible for skating, and set tracks for classic. Thank you!

We have a blizzard warning this afternoon through tomorrow (and a wind chill watch tomorrow through Saturday). Enjoy the skiing while you can, and stay safe!

January 10 early morning

Doug sent this report (he must have been grooming since 4 or 5am!).

I only had time to groom the perimeter trail.  It worked up nicely in spite of places the wind had blown most of the snow off.  The rolling and then grooming paid off,  the base stuck and there was enough snow to drag back over it with the groomer to give us a great skiing surface. 

January 8 Evening update

 Just heard from Doug. He held off on reporting so that we could give the track time to set up before it was skied on. Here’s his report: 

 The snow was good enough to cover most everything but very light.  It needed time to set without being disturbed.  The skate track is great and all the hills and south facing slopes are covered and ready for skiing.  Late this afternoon a couple of skiers tried it out.  It held well. The conventional track was my biggest concern.  It has had all day to set and there were several skiers out this evening.  The track is set up and ready.   Most of the grass is covered in the bottom of the tracks.   The forecast is for snow and wind tomorrow.  It will require a redo tomorrow but in the AM it should be good and with new snow and our present base we should be off for the season.  Sure different from last year.   We have made a few changes which I hope improves.  Come try it out.

January 8 Report

FYI: Check out https://www.rexburg.org/rec/page/teton-lakes-winter-park for the City’s Winter Park info (like when they will start renting skis and ice skates).

I haven’t heard from Doug but I stopped by the course just to look. It has been groomed but looks very soft. The parking lot snowplowing is a little different this year. There’s a big pile of snow where we used to have the track, and the plowing extends deeper into what used to be the start of the ski track. Doug has managed to go around the obstacles. Many thanks to him for this work!