Grooming Reports for 2006-2007
Subscribe to GMNC mail list to receive these reports via email
Trail grooming for Skyway and County Line is done after snowfall of 2" or more, with touch - up grooming as needed between storms.
Our standard grooming is 14' wide with skate lane and classic track on all trails.
Help us keep the trails in good condition! PLEASE follow the standard X-C etiquette rules and signs posted at the trailheads. And kindly educate others of the intended proper use of our cross country ski trails. Report to the GMNC any unusual activity, such as snowmobiles on the ski trails or obstacles like fallen trees.
Send your questions and comments to the GMNC in care of Kenton Shaw at kshaw4062 at msn.com
04-14-07 Skyway/County Line: Still plenty of snow to ski on, 5 1/2' in the shade. Jon and I groomed about 15k Saturday while removing You Are Here Signs and Trail Markers for the Season. The crust was a little soft, but should be good Sunday. Kenton
03-31-07 Skyway/County Line: All trails at both areas were freshly groomed today for skate and classic skiing (31k). There is however a tree down on Winslow Trail. Skiing should be great for a couple of days until the crust starts forming again. Kenton
03-29-07 Skyway/County Line: There will be no grooming today as planned due to the continued chance of new snow. We will be grooming first thing on Saturday morning. Kenton
03-25-07 Skyway/County Line: 1" of new snow on 5' base. Lo temp. 19*F. High temp. in the 30's. Al trails were freshly groomed Sunday morning. Still excellent skiing on the trails and fairly good crust skiing as well. Next grooming will be either Wednesday or Thursday. Kenton
03-23-07 Skyway/County Line: 2-3" of new snow on 5' base. High temp. 38*F. Groomed all trails for skate and classic skiing this afternoon. Skiing was excellent on the trails and crust skiing was pretty good too. Next grooming will be Sunday morning. Kenton
03-22-07 Skyway/County Line: I plan to groom trails at skyway and county line tomorrow afternoon. (3-23). Kenton
03-16-07 Skyway/County Line: 27K of trail groomed today at Skyway and County Line for both skate and classic. However, Kenton reports that off trail skiing is also excellent. The crust has set up (still a little soft on North facing steeper areas) and should provide great fun skiing through the weekend and beyond. Temperatures are still moderate enough that Kenton reports fast crust skiing between noon and 2PM without encountering too much softening. Get it while you can! By proxy, Tom
03-15-07 Ward Creek Trails: Went skiing yesterday at Ward in the P.M. It was great. The snow is going fast it has decreased about 6" this past week. Ward Campground has 36" and Reservoir has about 17". The temperature was around 48, no wind to speak of, just great skiing.
Thanks to Rae Meagher we were able to get 5 signs on Ward Trail. We will leave the Trailhead signs up until later. Ruth03-11-07 Skyway/County Line: Jon Canty reported that he groomed the following trails with the snowcat late this afternoon. He groomed for skating and set track. Sunset, Winslow, Vista Loop Kannah Crossing, Dog Trail, Dog Loop and Loop 3. Fred
03-09-07 Skyway/County Line: 4-8" of new snow on 64" base. All trails at both areas have been freshly groomed for skate and classic skiing. Skiing is great on medium packed powder with some light wind drifting in the open areas. Grooming will be done the next two days as needed. Kenton
03-09-07 Ward Creek Trails: About 2" of new snow making a 40" base at the campground. Jon Canty plans to go up late this afternoon to groom and set track. Fred
03-07-07 Skyway/County Line: No new snow on 5' base. Groomed a few trails and cut overhanging limbs. Skiing is good to excellent on firm packed powder with moderate spring conditions on the south facing areas. Next grooming will be Friday afternoon. Kenton
03-03-07 Skyway/County Line: 5" of new snow on 5 1/2 foot base. Lo temp. -10*F. High temp. was probably in the 20's. All trails have been groomed for skate and classic, with the exception of Scales Lake Rd. that didn't get classic track set. Trails are soft in places. More grooming will be done tomorrow to firm up the skating lanes. Kenton
03-03-07 Ward Creek Trails: Jon Canty ran the grader and set track on 7k of Ward Trail. Beautiful day for skiing and tomorrow should even be better. Parks Reservoir stated it was 16.9 at 3 PM. Fred
03-01-07 Ward Creek Trails: Jon Canty groomed with roller and did not set track. The snow was drifted and grooming was difficult. The Campground had 44". Report says that there could be 2" more tonight. Fred
03-01-07 Skyway/County Line: Highway will be closed tomorrow morning for avalanche clearing. 16" of new snow on 5 1/2' base. High temp 12*F. Groomed 9 km at Skyway this afternoon. Will groom tomorrow afternoon. Kenton
02-24-07 Skyway/County Line: 16" of new snow on 5 1/2' base. Lo temp. 0*F. High temp. about 14*F. Groomed all trails at both areas, 31k, for skate and classic skiing. Kenton
02-24-07 Ward Creek Trails: Jon groomed this afternoon. He said that there was about 4" new snow but drifts of 10". He also set track on 7k of Ward Trail. He may groom again tomorrow afternoon. Fred
02-21-07 Skyway/County Line: Groomed all trails at both areas yesterday morning. There was about 6" of new snow on 4 1/2' base. Lo temp. 13*F. High temp. 33*F. Skiing was great. Kenton
02-21-07 Ward Creek Trails: Between 4" & 6" of new snow, making a total of 38" at the Campground and 24" at Ward Creek Reservoir. Jon groomed 7k of the Ward Trail and set track. All the other trails have been tracked out by skiers and snowshoers. Skiing is excellent. Fred
02-20-07 Ward Creek Trails: Jon was unable to go up today but plans to go Wed. afternoon. Fred
02-18-07 Skyway/County Line: Just got word from CDOT, that Highway 65 will be closed tomorrow morning for avalanche control. Ward trails will still be accessible though. I may try to groom the Skyway and County Line trails in the afternoon tomorrow or first thing Wednesday. Kenton
02-17-07 Skyway/County Line: 1"-2" of new snow on 51" base. Lo temp. 6*F. High temp. near 30*F. Groomed all trails at both areas for skate and classic skiing. Next grooming will be Tuesday. Kenton
02-15-07 Skyway/County Line: 4" of new snow on 52" base. Lo temp. 4*F. High temp. 20*F. 31 kilometers groomed for skate and classic skiing. Soft packed powder conditions with some wind drifting in the usual places. Next grooming will be Saturday morning. Kenton
02-14-07 Ward Creek Trails: Skied Ward Trail today there was about an inch of new snow on what Jon had groomed yesterday afternoon. Although there was some drifting 90% of the set track was intact. Ward Campground has 36" and Ward Reservoir 26". Fred
02-14-07 Skyway/County Line: 8" of new snow on 4' base. Lo temp. 6*F. All trails have been groomed but snow showers in the afternoon had left about 1" by 2:00 PM. Will groom again tomorrow. Kenton
02-13-07 Ward Creek Trails: Jon reported that there was 10-12" of new snow. He groomed with roller and grader & set track on 7k of Ward Trail. More snow is expected tonight. Fred
02-12-07 Skyway/County Line: 6-8" of new snow on 4' base. Groomed all trails today for skate and classic skiing (31k). Will groom again Wednesday. Kenton
02-11-07 Skyway/County Line: 2" of new snow overnight on 3 1/2' base. Lo temp. 24*F. High temp. 29*F. Groomed all trails for skate and classic skiing. Will groom again tomorrow. Kenton
02-07-07 Skyway/County Line: No new snow on 3 1/2 base. Groomed all trails with the snowcat for skate and classic skiing (31k). Next grooming will be Saturday if needed. Kenton
02-04-07 Skyway/County Line: No new snow on 45" base. All trails are groomed for skate and classic skiing (31k). Skiing is good to excellent on medium packed powder with some wind drifting in the open areas. Next grooming will probably be Wednesday. Kenton
02-02-07 Skyway/County Line: 1" of new snow on 45" base. Lo temp. -14*F. High temp. 11*F. Groomed the remaining trails today, some with snowcat and some with snowmobile. So all trails are skiable for skate and classic skiing (31k), with 1" of new snow on some trails. Next grooming will be on Sunday. Kenton
02-02-07 Ward Creek Trails: About 4" of new snow at Ward Campground making a base of 28". Ward Creek Reservoir has about 18". Temperature was quite cool but nice sunny sky today. Jon went up this afternoon and groomed 7k of Ward Trail, pulling the track
setter behind the grader. Fred02-01-07 Skyway/County Line: 6" of new snow on 46" base. Lo temp. -15*F. High temp. 8*F. Snowcat groomed 20k for skate and classic skiing. Will groom again tomorrow. Kenton
01-26-07 Skyway/County Line: No new snow on 45" base. High temp. was 32*F. Regroomed all trails at County Line for skate and classic skiing in the late afternoon. Trails at Skyway are still in excellent shape. We've had some great skiing this week, you need to get up there! Kenton
01-21-07 Skyway/County Line: 3"-7' of new snow on 47" base. Lo temp. -2*F. High temp. 11*F. All trails are groomed for skate and classic skiing. Conditions are soft packed powder. Kenton
01-21-07 Ward Creek Trails: Jon Canty groomed 7k of Ward Trail. He said that there was about 2" of new snow. Parks Reservoir quoted at noon a temperature of 17.2 and a low of 6.6 at 7 AM. Fred
01-17-07 Skyway/County Line: No new snow on 42" base. Lo Temp. -6*F. High Temp. 11*F. Did touch-up grooming on Sunset, Winslow, Scales Lake Rd and Kannah Crossing. All trails are in good to excellent shape. 31k groomed for skate and classic. Kenton
01-14-07 Ward Creek Trails: There was 2-4" of new snow making 27"at Ward Campground and 18" at Reservoir. Jon pulled the grader down and back finishing at 11:00 AM. It was a very good day for skiing no wind. Fred
01-14-07 Skyway/County Line: 1-2" of new snow on 43" base. Lo Temp. -11*F. High Temp. 3*F. Between yesterday and today, all trails have been snowcat groomed for skate and classic skiing. Kenton
01-13-07 Skyway/County Line: 4-6" of new snow on 44" base. Lo temp. 1*F. High temp. 7*F. High winds made grooming and skiing difficult today, especially in the morning. Groomed mainly trails in the trees at both areas. Will groom again tomorrow. Kenton
01-07-07 Skyway/County Line: Trace of new snow on 42" base. All trails are groomed for skate and classic skiing. Some minor wind drifting, but skiing is generally great on soft packed powder. Kenton
01-06-07 Ward Creek Trails: 4-5" of new snow at the campground. Jon groomed 7k of Ward Trail with the grader and ran the snowmobile over East Ward Trail. Fred
01-06-07 Skyway/County Line: 6 to 9 inches new snow on 36 inch base. Groomed all of County Line with Snowcat and about half of Skyway. Some of Skyway groomed with snowmobile. Will be up there tomorrow to finish grooming. Kenton
01-04-07: Skyway/County Line: Just wanted to let you all know that there will be no grooming Friday due to the 13"-21" of new snow predicted for tonight and tomorrow. I will groom first thing Saturday though. Kenton
12-31-06 Skyway/County Line: No new snow on 3' base. Lo temp. 13*F. Hi temp. in the upper 20's. 31k groomed for skate and classic skiing. Touch up groomed Skyway trails today. Will touch up County Line trails tomorrow. Skiing is excellent on firm packed powder. Kenton
12-30-06 Skyway/County Line: No new snow on 3' base. Lo temp. 14*F. Regroomed all trails at County Line and some at Skyway. Skiing is good to excellent on medium- firm packed powder. Light north winds were enough today to fill in the classic tracks in places. Kenton
12-29-06 Ward Creek Trails: Jon Canty groomed Ward Trail with the grader. Only 3-4 inches of new snow. This makes about 24-26" at the Campground and 16-18" at the Reservoir. According to the reading at Parks Reservoir the high temperature was in the low 30's. Fred
12-29-06 Skyway/County Line: About 1" of new snow overnight. Jon groomed remaining trails at Skyway and County Line today, some with snowmobile and some with snowcat. So all trails are groomed for skate and classic skiing (31k). Skiing is good on soft-medium packed powder. Will do more touch-up grooming tomorrow. Kenton
12-28-06 Skyway/County Line: Jon reported 4" of new snow overnight and about 2" during the day. He groomed several trails for skate and classic at both areas (about 17k). Grooming will resume tomorrow. Kenton
12-27-06 Skyway/County Line: Jon Canty called and said he will be going to Skyway and County Line and maybe Ward (if time) to groom tomorrow, Thursday. How much and with what depends on weather and condition. Fred
12-22-06 Ward Creek Trails: The Ward Campground has a 24" base. The Ward Cr. Reservoir has 16" base. I skied the lower Ward Trail and there are only 2-3 rocks exposed across from Ward Creek Reservoir. Jon did a really good job of grooming with only a few inches of new snow. Fred
12-21-06 Skyway/County Line: What a great day to be on the hill, the trees are frosted, trails are packed, the wind was barely noticeable and the sun was out. 2" of new snow overnight, plus about 7" the day before on 3 1/2' base. Lo temp. 8*F. I didn't get the high temp. , but it was probably in the lo 20's. All trails are groomed for skate and classic skiing (31k). Groomed Sunset - Winslow with the snowcat for the first time today, so now all trails have enough snow for snowcat grooming with the exception of Wills Hill at Skyway and Loops 2 & 3 at County Line. And Loop 4 is designated for backcountry skiing. Will groom through the holidays as needed. Kenton
12-21-06 Ward Creek Trails: Jon reported about 4-5 inches of new snow at Ward. He used the grader and widened the 7k of Ward Trail. No tracks set. The other trails are good for back country skiing. Fred
12-20-06 Ward Creek Trails: Jon Canty will be grooming in the late afternoon tomorrow Thursday. Fred
12-18-06 Skyway/County Line: There will be no grooming tomorrow (12-19) mainly due to change in the weather forecast I might try to groom Wednesday afternoon and for sure on Thursday. Kenton
12-17-06 Skyway/County Line: No new snow overnight on 34" base. 2" of new snow during the day plus high winds. Jon and I groomed a few trails but it became pointless especially in the open areas. It was a good day to ski in the trees. Next grooming will be on Tuesday. Kenton
12-16-06 Skyway/County Line: No new snow on 34" base. Lo temp. 20*F at 6:30. Hi temp. 27* at 1:30. Jon groomed Lions, Vista and Scales Lake Rd with the snowcat. Moderate winds created some drifting and track is blown in. We will both be on the hill again tomorrow and groom as needed. Kenton
12-15-06 Ward Creek Trails: Snow depths are Ward Campground 24", Ward Reservoir 12". Skiing was good with snow remaining cold, at 2 PM. I Skijored 7k of Ward Trail in one hour. If you want a short experience in back country skiing follow Ruth's ski tracks on the old Ward Trail, across from the Visitor's Center, follow the diamonds 1.6k to the Ward campground parking area. Fred
12-14-06 Skyway/County Line: John reported no new snow, warm somewhat sticky and soft snow conditions. He groomed skate lanes on Sunset, Winslow, Loop 2 and Loop 3. Other trails were groomed with snowcat on Tuesday. Next grooming will be Saturday. Kenton
12-14-06 Ward Creek Trails: Jon Canty used the grader down and back on the 7k of the Ward Trail. The high temperature on the Mesa according to Park Reservoir at 1 PM was 36.5. Fred
12-12-06 Skyway/County Line: 12" of new snow on 40" base. Groomed most trails for skate and classic skiing, about 24k at both areas. Loops 2 & 3 are groomed, but didn't get classic track set for another 6k. Conditions are soft packed powder. Next grooming will be either Thursday or Friday. Kenton
12-12-06 Ward Creek Trails: The Campground has about 7" of new snow making it 27" and 18" at the Reservoir. I groomed down and back with the skandic. Jon will groom on Thursday morning using either the roller or grader. Thanks to Bob Remmerde for taking out a hazardous tree on Sunday. Fred
12-7-06 Ward Creek Trails: Jon took the Skandik and pulled the Yellowstone grader down to the Ward Creek Reservoir Dam. This groomed portion of the trail is widened to eight feet in places. The eighteen inches of snow at the campground remained cold enough for good skiing at 1:30 PM. The parking lot at the upper trailhead will now hold about six vehicles. Fred
12-6-06 Skyway/County Line: No new snow on 32" base. Lo temp. -2*F. High temp. 31* F. No grooming today as the trails are still in good shape. Skiing is excellent on Dog Loop - Dog Trail at County Line and Lions - Scales Lake Rd at Skyway. The snow is mostly hard packed powder. Next grooming will be with the next snowstorm with a little touch -up as needed until then. Kenton
12-3-06 Ward Creek Trails: What a perfect day for skiing. Thanks to John & Grace Burgevin, Rae Meagher we were able to get all the "You Are Here Signs" put in place plus some more blue poles to mark the way, and maps at the two trail heads. John also fixed some broken poles. All the back country trails have been traced. Fred
12-1-06 Skyway/County Line: No new snow on 33" base. Lo temp. 12*F. All trails are groomed for skate and classic skiing (30k).
Lions Loop, Arroyo, Vista Loop, Scales Lake Rd, Dog Trail and Dog Loop were groomed by snowcat. Kenton11-30-06: I guess about 20" at Campground and maybe 12" at reservoir. John Canty and I snowmobile groomed the Ward Trail, (the red line on the map). The machines used were the 1991 Alpine II (which has a 28" width with two tracks) and the Arctic bearcat (with a 20" track). Some areas are wind blown with some rock. There is a downed aspen below the slide rock near Ward Creek Reservoir which is now packed with snow. The campground parking lot will accommodate three vehicles. Ward still needs more snow to make the grooming and skiing better. We will try and get the "You Are Here Signs" up soon. Fred
11-29-06: 14-18" of new snow on 3' base. Temp. at 7:00 am was 10*F. Temp. at 2:30 pm was -2*F. John and I packed out most of the Skyway Trails with classic track set on Sunset-Winslow Trail. Next grooming will be Friday. Kenton
11-26-06: 3" of new snow Saturday night on 28" base. John and I freshly groomed 30k for skate and classic skiing. Next grooming will be Wednesday. Kenton
11-25-06: 2" of new snow on 25" base. John and I went over most trails setting new track and skate lanes. 30k open for skate and classic. The 2" of snow was great for softening the snow surface, but moderate winds were enough to fill in the tracks in the open. Watch for two small bare spots. One at the top of the hill on Lions loop just north of the Arroyo - Vista intersection. The other one is just east of the overlook on Loop 3. Kenton
11-23-06: No new snow on 24" base. All trails are groomed for skate and classic skiing (30k). Conditions are variable with a few rocks showing on south facing slopes and tree debris on some of the narrower trails. But there is also some good to excellent skiing on trails such as Vista, Dog Loop and Scales Lake Rd. Kenton
11-21-06: No new snow on 26" base. After yesterdays initiation with the new snowcat and practicing back and forth in the Arroyo this morning, I finally took it for a ride out to the tower and back. Scales Lake Rd is double tracked with a wide skate lane and still plenty of room for a snowshoe or two. Texture is firm but still soft enough on top to give you good tracking and edging. Try it out and give me some feedback. Other trails are getting a little worn but still great November skiing. Will groom again on Thursday. Kenton
11-18-06: No new snow on a base of 28" in the shade. All trails are groomed for skate and classic skiing (30k) with the exception of Loop 4 and Will's Hill. Skiing is great on most trails. On a few south facing slopes coverage is slim with some rocks showing. Kenton
11-17-06: No new snow on 28" base. warm temp. overnight and today made the snow a little punchy, but overall skiing is pretty good. Winslow Robertson and Bill Hill volunteered their time today to help cut and clear freshly fallen downed trees. We also managed to groom about 21k for skate and classic skiing. Kenton
11-15-06: 4"- 6" of new snow on 28" base. Joe Ramey and I spent our day putting up some "You Are Here Signs" , Trailhead signs and grooming trails today. Groomed about 20k at both areas 12' wide. However there are more trees down on Sunset, Winslow and Loop 3. Will try to groom and cut trees on Friday. Kenton
11-15-06: About 18" at Campground and 6" at Reservoir. Snowmobile tracked Ward Trail from Campgound to the High Trail intersection south of Deep Slough. Snow was cold and fluffy in shaded areas. The Ward Creek Campground parking lot is not plowed. Fred
11-13-06: 12-16" of new snow from this last storm. Packed out most of the County Line Trails 12-14' wide. Also cut deadfalls. The creek coming out of Scales Lake #1 is still flowing so you may have traverse across the dam at the Dog Trail - Loop 3 Intersection. Groomed Scales Lake Rd, Kannah Crossing and the East side of Vista Loop for Skate and Classic from the Skyway Parking lot.
11-12-06: Sunday, 8:00 AM. Kenton phoned from Skyway to report 10 to 12 inches new snow. Snowing hard. He and John are grooming this morning. Drive up was at 10 mph due to poor visibility from blowing snow. Jerry Nolan
11-4-06: 11-4-06 Skyway- County Line Grooming 1" of new snow overnight on an average snow depth of 18". Groomed 5k for both skate and classic skiing from the Skyway parking lot to the microwave tower on Scales lake Rd. The snow is holding up very well and skiing is good on this section with no rocks. All other trails are to rough for grooming but have been skied in. Kenton
10-28-06: Up to 2' of snow in places. Groomed about 5k for skate and classic skiing from Skyway parking lot to the Microwave Tower. Kenton
10-28-06: Even though we haven't officially started, at Ward. Jon Canty and I went skiing today and it was pretty good. At Ward Campground there was 18" and about 8" at Ward Cr Res. The water isn't frozen in some places, the condition was more like Spring skiing. The Lilly Pond on Skinned Horse was not frozen and our tracks can be found on the ridge above. Fred