Windblown Cross Country Skiing

Windblown Winter Weekly

Volume 11, Number 11

February 17, 2011

Dear Skiers and Snowshoers,

 

Winter in New England has been unique this year.  For a month and a half we have enjoyed all powder conditions because the temperatures have stayed cold. That changed this week with the warmth and refreezing of snow crystals. The conditions would be frozen granular if it weren't for snowcats with tillers churning up a loose granular surface. Here at Windblown we are able to go one essential step further thanks to our front-end renovator. It's a contraption with a heavy metal cutting blade that scoops up the top frozen layer and "pre-chews" it before it gets tilled. It's the best solution for providing a refined machine groomed loose granular - a sweet surface.    

Pisten Bully with Renovator

Here you can see the renovator in action this morning. Just behind those two orange floats is the cutter blade  - the crust doesn't stand a chance. Then in the back you can see the tiller spinning the crust into a fine loose granular before it is combed and tracks are set (except on hills like this).  

Fresh Machine Groomed Loose Granular

This photo was taken this morning on the Main Trail. Thanks to the renovator we started the day with smooth crisp tracks and a soft corrugated surface for the skaters even before the temperature rose above freezing.

The brief preview of spring that visited us today will be ending on Friday night. Saturday is expected to be partly cloudy and windy, with highs in the uppers 20's. Sunday's forecast is for mostly sunny and again in the upper 20's. This means the

skiing surface will need to be softened by machine each morning since the air temperatures will stay below freezing. A lot of folks love the speed with control that comes with machine groomed loose granular. A few beginners may find the speed a little intimidating. The steep trails on Barrett Mountain will not be groomed because their steepness adds extra challenges. This is the weekend to break out the snowshoes and head to the Mountain Top Shelter, bring a thermos of cocoa, sit in the chairs and appreciate the serenity of our surroundings. 

 

If you missed the moonlight skiing last weekend it's not too late to catch this month's full moon. The Lodge and the trails will be open on Friday night from 6:30pm to 10pm. It looks like the full moon will shine brightly through partly cloudy skies once it rises at 6:13 pm.   

 

Winter is still going strong and so is our deep base. Hope to see you on the trails,

 

Al and Irene Jenks 

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