Just heard from Doug:
I tuned it up tonight and it should be free of tractors now. All the greens are as near as could count. Any even the conventional 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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
