Ski Conditions

2023-2024

Post and view conditions reports here: https://tinyurl.com/y2ryyro6

2022-2023

Post and view conditions reports here: https://tinyurl.com/y2ryyro6

2021-2022

Post and view conditions reports at this google doc: https://tinyurl.com/y2ryyro6

2020-2021

Feb 24, 2021 Cherry Hill Late afternoon skate skiing after a day of warm temps to soften up the ice, skating was nice although the groomed lanes are getting thin (exposed grass in some places) and a little slushy. Just keep your eyes out for rocks and roots. Enjoy the sun!

Feb 23,2021 Northfield Mtn.  Classic skiing up Reservoir Road trail to the top.  No grooming, but plenty of snow and good skiing.

Feb 21, 2021  Cadwell Memorial Forest main trails are a bit thin/packed down hard but still great skiing. There is a really fun downhill, with only a couple of serious steeps, on the back side of the radio tower. Note that this is NOT “Skid Row,” but a beautiful snowmobile trail that is unmarked on this map. It takes you to King St, but not Middle Row, as you might expect. If you reach King St, the rest of this note will be very important! HEADS UP: a landowner has blocked access to half of King Street on its way to meet Middle Row and Cowles Ln. It is possible to take a mostly flat bushwack back to the trails. While facing the 900 signs, back up until the creek is in front of you, and look for the postholes up the plow pile on the left. Go that way, keeping the creek to your right, until the skiable tracks pick up. Head west until you can cross the creek, and then keep heading north until you hit snowmobile tracks, then you’re back on the trail system. 

Feb 20, 2021 – cherry hill back woods trails good for experienced skiers. A little difficult at some spots due to ice under new snow. Beautiful morn. 

Feb 20, 2021: Got out yesterday to do a little grooming and groomed again this morning. Temps were perfect for grooming. The course is in pretty good shape but the base in some places is ice so take it easy on some of the downhills, especially the one coming down from the 4th into the woods. Have fun!

Feb 18,2021: mostly classic at Mohawk High School in Charlemont. The groomed areas here are roughly the same amount as at Cherry Hill. Skating is very slick but doable. Classic tracks are mostly excellent other than some icy areas in the woods. This was before the storm so unsure how it will be with a layer of snow

Feb 18, 2021: Skate skiing at Cherry Hill.  Some reasonably nice crust skiing off the trail to be had on the upper areas, any groomed trails to get there ranged from mildly to quite treacherous. Adding this report in case anyone heads out with today’s new snowfall (2/19) – be aware of ice sheets underneath the powder!

Feb 13, 2021: Skate skiing at Andrews Greenhouse on South East Street in Amherst! There are miles of wide tracks through the fields & into the woods. A bit narrow in some places, but nothing you can’t work with. Park near the greenhouses. Conditions were great today!

Feb 13, 2021: Beautiful ski at Hickory Ridge on Feb 11th. Not groomed.. some ski tracks, some snow mobile tracks and plenty of space to break trail.

Feb 12, 2021: Cherry Hill freshly groomed at 10:00 PM, It’ll be nice and fast tomorrow!

Feb 11, 2021: Cherry Hill freshly groomed at 7:30 PM! 

Feb 11, 2021: Cherry Hill is freshly groomed at 7 AM!

Feb 10, 2021: Beautiful at 1:30 pm today too! Tracks and flats both in great condition. Thanks for the great grooming job!

Feb 10: 2021: Cherry Hill was lovely at 8 am today, grooming was great!

Feb 9, 2021: Cherry Hill. New snow (~3)  packed and tracks set at about 6:45 PM with the hope they freeze up over night. Lots and lots of tracks. Forgive your groomer for any oddities, all grooming done in darkness

Feb 9, 2021: Cherry Hill was great at 7 am today. Loving this snow (brian yellen).

Feb 7, 2021: Cherry Hill. New snow (2-3”)  packed and tracks set at about 6:30 PM with the hope they freeze up over night. Forgive your groomer for any oddities, most of grooming done in darkness.

Feb 4, 2021: If you’ve never seen a xc race before, they are a lot of fun to watch.  You can watch some really excellent ski technique on the hills.  While the golf course will be open for skiing, the best etiquette is to ski on those trails that are not part of the race course, since it makes it that much tougher for the racers to have to navigate around other people.  The racers will appreciate that!     BA 

Feb 4, 2021: Skied CH at 9:30AM and wanted to add my two cents. Upper loop is still in great shape, fast but not icy. Some other areas, most notably parts of the downhill back to directly beneath the clubhouse are a combination of rough and starting to develop ice. If you are classic skiing, it’s easy to avoid.

Feb 4, 2021: Cherry Hill is groomed and in awesome shape, the temps and snow were just right this morning. Glad to see folks out skiing with headlamps in the early hours:)

Feb 2, 2021, Cherry Hill is groomed and ready to go, have fun! Also over 10” up in the Pelham Hills, I am sure that Cadwell is awesome as well.

Jan. 31, 2021      For those who have been quarantining in line with out of state requirements, the conditions at Brattleboro Country Club have been as good as I have ever seen, with excellent grooming.  And they are predicted to get another 10” or thereabouts.  Prospect is a winter wonderland.    BA

January 28, 2021 Cherry Hill and surrounding: surprisingly skiable in that “ski what you’ve got and be glad for it”. Best for classical, although a few have been skating. A little boney in the woods. Better conditions today than Tuesday, as snow has dried out. Just go have fun. JF

Snow Roller update: I’m hoping to have the roller ready for the upcoming storm — it’s nearly complete. Thanks to Nat and Satchel for high-quality help – good times! JF 

January 28, 2021 Notchview: XC conditions for both classic and skating could not be any better at Notchview this morning. The groomed skating trails had set up nicely overnight from the 6+ inches of snow they got on top of their 15 inch base yesterday. Backcountry and tracks are fantastic. 

January 27, 2020 Cherry Hill: “Grooming Attempted”….Not enough snow to use the drag or set tracks. Definitely enough snow for a leisurely ski, but keep an eye out for bare spots. 

December 21, 2020 Cherry Hill: Conditions yesterday were good but a bit slow if you didn’t have the right wax. It is a little too warm for grooming this morning. It does look like it will be cold tonight, we will try to get out tomorrow for one last grooming before the rain:(

December 20, 2020 (afternoon) Stump Sprouts (Hawley, MA) Beautiful setting and excellent groomed trails. Many trails at different ability levels; we stuck to Easier and had a great time. The 1-mile sanded gravel access road was hard for us on the way down in accumulating snow without snow tires in a FWD car but no problem for 4/AWD.  M. Ash & K. Harper.

December 20, 2020 (morning)  Cherry Hill      Very nicely groomed.  Snow was a little soft but perhaps firmer on the upper loop.  The tracks were in very nice shape, and for the *most* part the classic skiers were not skiing out in the skate lanes.  Temps were perfect in the morning. ~ Thank you groomers!   B. Auskern

December 20, 2020 Poverty Mountain – Did a loop around Poverty Mountain (Amh, Pel, Shutes corner). Excellent on the east side of Poverty Mountain where the terrain is flatter, but pretty rocky on RFT on the west side of Poverty Mtn. 

Anybody have information about trails at Wendell Forest? How many miles of trails and are they groomed? Thanks!

December 19 Wendell State Forest – fairly good conditions for skiing.  Coverage is a bit thin, so some trails where snowmobile traffic is heavy, they have kicked up some rocks leaving those sections a bit boney.  Other sections with less snowmobile traffic are in good shape.  Lots of trail options.

December 19 Mount Toby nice skiing conditions for classic.  Tracks are well established, but a little lumpy due to snow shoe traffic. The snow is a nice enough packed powder that you can still get some glide going in spite of the lumps  

December 19, 2020 Notchview. Agreed with other reports, skating was on the slow side but despite evidence of massive traffic (ski, foot and snowshoe) by the time I arrived at 2PM, the light snow meant no getting hung up on rough patches. All in all a great day to ski!  ED P.

December 19, 2020 Cherry Hill “Backwoods”. Conditions in the fields and woods beyond the Golf Course and Solar Farm are truly excellent. We laid in good track following the storm. Track has remained relatively intact as of Sat AM, despite walkers, who appear to be respecting the track :-). The epitome of kicking and gliding through the woods. BTW, Lyons Witten brushogged a good bit of the trails through open areas this fall – thanks, Lyons!   JF 

December 19, 2020 Notchview.  Tracks still seemed soft and slow to me.  Fine for me since it was the first time back on my skinny skis.  Beautiful morning and very busy by noon.  Good conditions for back-country in Shutesbury.  New Boston had truck tracks you can ski in – well packed!!  I put in tracks up Freeman – tons of fun skiing back down! Dan

December 19, 2020 Cherry Hill: Cherry Hill is groomed and awesome. Goal is to groom every morning until X-mas, enjoy! NW

(Spectacular job grooming, Gratitude JF)

December 19, 2020, Cadwell Forest: Great skiing here as well. Mostly covered but there is no base, I did go through in one spot and take a pretty good gouge out of my ski. Be grateful if you are wearing your good skis. NW

December 18, 2020 Notchview. Tracks are laid on all the main trails and classic skiing is decent, albeit a bit slow due to the fresh tracks in fluffy snow. With the sun coming out, it was beautiful with as much depth as we had all of last year. Apparently, the trails are a bit too slow for skating, as evidenced by the fact I didn’t see a single skater despite the main trails like Shaws Road and Bates Road groomed. However, they say that the trails will be okay for skating by tomorrow. Of course, the lodge is closed and interestingly, many of the trails are now one way only, presumably to maintain social distancing.

December 18, 2020  Northfield Mountain.   The most snow Northfield has gotten in years.  Sadly, they are not grooming at all.  So plenty of snow, but no tracks or skating lanes.

December 17, Brookfield Farm & Elf Meadow: Tracks established around the fields, through the woods. Was fantastic on Thursday. Elf Meadow area will likely get a lot of foot traffic, but the ski tracks behind Brookfield & out to S.East St. should remain in good shape.

December 17, 2020, Cherry Hill

10+ inches at Cherry Hill have been packed with tracks set. Recommend getting out to ski Friday. Beautiful day to be alive.

December 6, 2020, Cadwell Forest: not the best skiing conditions, but way better than not skiing!  Definitely some rocks and sticks peeking out and a few bare spots, and a pretty hard surface, but it was not too icy, nor too slushy.  Jeremy Barker Plot-kin

December 6, 2020:  I measured 6″ on my patio yesterday afternoon.  We got more after that and we probably have around 8″ on the top of the Shutesbury hill.  Plenty for me to ski the 1K of trails on my property.  Dan

Dec. 5, 2020: Dan Lass reports accumulating snow in Shutesbury.  We’ll see what comes of it.

2019-2020

February 29, 2020: Notchview very nice and ARPS state meet results

If you are thinking of skiing on Sunday and are hesitating, don’t.  Hesitate, that is.

As usual, Notchview has undersold its conditions.  Skate skiing was very good and classic skiing good to very good.  The bit of  powder they got made a huge difference and the surface is firm and very very skiable.  Most of the main trails groomed and classic track on about 1/2 to 2/3 of the main trails.

Barry Auskern has been sending reports of very nice skiing at Prospect and Tracy Zafian sends some links to the performance of the ARPS team at the state meet, including a 5th place finish overall by 7th grader Micah Bruner.

Daily Hampshire Gazette article here: https://www.gazettenet.com/HS-nordic-Micah-Bruner-fifth-Erika-Looman-eighth-at-state-championship-32929802

MassLive photos from the championships here: https://www.masslive.com/galleries/3LDDKJ3SCJCS3N4PXCP7BEAVHA/

February 29, 2020: Weekend outlook

Another weekend of driving to snow or exploring the local trails on foot or bike.

Notchview continues, somehow, to hold on to their snow.  They did, apparently, get 1 in of snow on the back end of the rain.  Likely to be fast frozen granular with the temps staying low all weekend.

Things get better the farther north into VT you go, including Prospect, which reports 3 inches of snow on Thursday.

February 21, 2020: Weekend outlook and racing opportunity

Good skiing at Notchview, Stump Sprouts and Brattleboro and excellent skiing the farther north into VT you go.

If you’re staying at home this weekend the pond ice is good. Be careful and stay away from inlets and outlets.

Berkshire Trails will host races at 400PM on Wednesdays at Notchview as long as the snow holds.  Contact Carl Cignoni for information (carlvc1974@gmail.com)

February 16, 2020: Conditions update + Biathlon Worlds

We won’t bury the lede.  Susan Dunklee (Vermont/Craftsbury) has won a silver medal at biathlon worlds in Italy.  Amazing.  Go Susan!

Some conditions reports have drifted in and are pasted below, but the short version is: CH still skiable, groomed centers in excellent shape, pond skating very good. If tomorrow is a holiday for you, go ski.

Stump Sprouts conditions report from yesterday afternoon:
We were at Stump Sprouts yesterday & it was great for classic in the woods skiing. They plan to be open during school vacation week through Wed at least, weather & conditions permitting (the web site has the latest updates).   There was good snow coverage and they did great grooming with tracks set on many of the trails. A few less traveled trails were pretty icy, and the downhills were fast.    (I was glad to have backcountry skis with edges for those).
Happy weekend, happy skiing!

Hi, just want to report that as of Sunday  afternoon, Skiing and ice skating at Cherry Hill is surprisingly viable. Skiing both techniques. Hardly ideal, but a nice excuse to get outside.
Ice skating on the little pump house pond is also quite good.
Warm temps Monday will likely mean similar conditions to today, although perhaps for not much longer if there is significantly accompanying melt during the day. JF

February 14, 2020: Good skate skiing + weekend outlook

Skate skiing at CH is pretty good.  Probably not great for beginners, but the ground is white and the sky is blue.

There is also a nice classic track that is fully iced to luge-run conditions.  Blue klister? Or if you have a big race coming up and need an alternative to ski erging a double pole workout could be done.

Weekend looks very good to great for skiing at all the groomed centers.

February 9, 2020: Snow up high + ski jumping

Believe it or not, it snowed 3 inches at Notchview today with another 1-3 on the way tonight.  Similar weather at Prospect and South Central VT areas like Wild Wings and Viking.  The skiing is good up high and farther north.

If mid-week driving to ski is your thing this would be a good week to do it.

Next weekend is the annual ski jumping competition at Harris Hill in Brattleboro.  Highly recommended.

https://harrishillskijump.com

February 7, 2020: Learn to ski at Notchview and weekend outlook

Notchview intends to host its Winter Trails Day tomorrow, Saturday, with half price trail passes, free rentals and free lessons.  A drive over the Berkshire Crest / Massachusetts Divide (is that a thing?) from Troy to Amherst today indicates that snow did, in fact, fall in the Berkshires.  But one would be wise to check the Notchview report or call ahead before making the drive.  They _always_ make the best of what they have. Details on Winter Trails Day at the bottom of the message.

Obviously these storms were a bust in Amherst and the valley, but the forecast and radar indicates meaningful snow at Prospect, Wild Wings, and points north, and possibly at Stump Sprouts as well.  Farther afield the Adirondacks made out like bandits. Check online reports or call ahead would be our advice. Prospect will be hosting HS racing, so beware of crowds if you decide to head there.

Notchview Winter Trails Day

Also on Saturday:  Notchview Trail Day: Bring some friends and enjoy a day outdoors!

Schedule of Events:
All Day:

January 30, 2020: Weekend outlook

Notchview is somehow keeping it together.  Prospect, Wild Wings etc received small amounts of snow earlier in the week and report good conditions.  Slight chance of some higher altitude snow this weekend.

It ain’t great, but it is what it is.

Pond ice is good to very good if you want an alternate activity.

Thanks to all who came to the potluck last night.  A thoroughly enjoyable evening with more than 40 people in attendance and a range of wonderful food.

January 23, 2020: Weekend outlook

The weather forecast is not great.  Heavy rain Saturday night here in the Valley with ice and mixed precip higher up and farther north extending into Sunday.

The skiing is still good here in Amherst at CH and up at Cadwell Forest as well as at Notchview.  Northfield has not posted their status for today yet.

It’s a tricky weather system, but it might be wise to try to ski today or Saturday if you can.

January 21, 2020: Very nice skiing + race opportunity

Carl Cignoni out at Notchview has offered to shift a weekday race next week (Tues or Thurs) to the evening to accommodate those of us who would like to race but have to make it from Amherst after work.  Please reply to this email if you would be interested.  We don’t want Carl to go to the trouble if a group from down in the valleyr won’t show up.  Conditions should be great at NV next week after more cold snow forecast for this weekend.

Around here:

You don’t need much snow when the ground is frozen and the air stays cold.  Skiing is really good out there. Cadwell, for instance, is in great shape.  There are a few rocks poking through, but the entire network has a firm packed powder base and a very nice skied-in track.

January 21, 2020: Cold and skiable + NV Race Thursday

Welcome to a real winter morning.

Some events:

1. Notchview classic race Thursday 330PM $5 or free for HS and younger.

2. Amherst Nordic potluck Jan 30 430 PM and on at PV CoHousing

Reports have come in that CH is perfectly skiable for classic and skate (if you lift your feet a little extra on the recovery).

Cadwell also reported to be very nice on the forest roads, thinnish on the single track hiking trails.

We should hang on a for a while with cold nights this week, but, ski it while you can.

January 20, 2020: Low snow event

As everyone knows the snow came out on the low end of the forecast range.  Unfortunately that means there is not enough depth to groom at CH.

But skiing should still be possible.  Go for it.

Notchview and Prospect are back in action as are the Southern VT areas.  Northfield will even be open on MLK day today. Farther north is into mid-winter for the first time this season.

January 18, 2020: Weekend outlook

Snow came to the high country on Wednesday night and has allowed Notchview, Prospect, Wild Wings etc to reopen.   Saturday afternoon and evening will bring more snow, including to Amherst.

The current forecast is for 4-7 inches in Amherst by Sunday morning.  This will get us back in action for local skiing by Sunday.    Bill McKibben recently recorded a short video intro for a xc ski race at Weston which was overall a somber reflection on the current state of winter, but contained the exhortation to ‘treasure’ every snowfall we get.  Let’s take that message to heart.

Regarding grooming:

Short version: Ski as much as you can Sunday, but don’t expect grooming until Monday morning.

Long version: Sunday’s temperatures are supposed to climb above freezing by 800AM and get up to about 40.  This means it will be wise for John to stay off the snow until it gets back below freezing Sunday night.  The ability to groom will also depend on how much snow actually falls.  We will do our best to update.

January 16, 2020: Too thin down low

Well, it was a surprise to wake up to a white lawn this morning, but it’s really too thin and wet to ski on down here in Amherst.  If anyone knows whether enough snow fell to ski up high in Shutesbury or Pelham let us know and we will get the word out.

It is looking good for skiing to return to Amherst Saturday night.  Updates to come.

Reminder, January 30th Amherst Nordic potluck and ski. Mark your calendars.

January 10, 2020: A bright spot?
You can all assess whether this counts as a bright spot, but the forecast for Southern VT and Western MA now has the rain holding off until mid-afternoon Saturday.

What this means is that places like Notchview and Prospect probably will have OK skiing Saturday morning if you need a fix.  There is a HS race at NV Saturday morning, meaning it will be busy.  Check ski area websites before heading out in case they decide to close to preserve their base.

Skiers ski.

January 7, 2020: NV racing and interesting XC ski article
Skiing apparently continues to be quite good at Notchview and Carl Cignoni and the Berkshire Trails crew will host a 5k skate/freestyle race at Notchview at 330PM on Thursday. $5 entry fee. Free for HS and younger.

Caroline Hanna forwards this article on the health and psychological benefits of XC skiing. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is authored by a PhD candidate at Lund University in Sweden.

https://theconversation.com/january-blues-cross-country-skiers-hold-clues-to-beating-it-128810

January 6, 2020: Potluck and ski update
Mark your calendars for the annual Amherst Nordic potluck and ski outing.  January 30, 400 PM and onward at Pioneer Valley CoHousing.

Area groomed centers (Notchview, Prospect, Brattleboro) remain open due to elevation and the efforts of the groomers. Reportedly the skiing is pretty decent at those places.  If you have the ability and desire you might go now rather than waiting for the weekend, when rain and warmth is forecast.

Locally, flat,high altitude, well graded woods trails such as Cadwell are very marginally skiable with the 1 in of snow from today but, frankly, not really recommended.

December 31, 2019: You gotta believe
Cadwell Forest is most definitely skiable. 2-3 inches of sleet and frozen rain was soft and skiable by this afternoon. Tomorrow, after it warms up from the overnight freeze, a person could almost certainly have a very pleasant ski under sunny skis.

Farther afield, Notchview received a few inches of sleet and is back in action on about 5km though without classic tracks. Prospect remains open and Wild Wings has reopened. Craftsbury and Lake placid received around 5 inches allowing them to open substantially more terrain. The White Mountains hit the jackpot with a foot falling in Conway / Jackson.

If one has the freedom and desire to head north Wednesday or Thursday one should probably go for it as a Friday-Sunday precip event looks mixed at best for Friday and Saturday even up north with rain certainly on the way even in the Berkshires.

Happy New Year!

December 26, 2019: Holiday ski outlook
Sometimes when we look out our windows here in Amherst and see brown grass there is still great skiing to be had not very far away.  This doesn’t appear to be one of those times.  It’s hard to recommend going skiing right now.

Notchview and Prospect remain open, but NV reports thin and bare spots and tough conditions.  Prospect had a typically laconic report yesterday of “Merry Skiing” so who knows what the conditions are up there, but it’s hard to imagine they’re great for anyone but a die-hard.

Craftsbury has 5k on machine-made snow and some other terrain open, but Jackson NH and Lake Placid are open but struggling.

Rain coming again on Friday with the next beneficial weather event a mixed-precip storm possible on Monday.

If you have traction devices for your boots/sneakers the hiking is excellent right now.  Try a walk along the icy rushing stream at Buffam Falls in Pelham.

No further updates until Monday’s weather picture becomes more clear.

December 20, 2019: Quick update
It’s actually gotten quite icy up at CH. It is still skiable. But probably only for advanced skiers. A solid double pole workout could be had on the upper fairways, but even skating on the crust has gotten pretty challenging.

Things could improve if it gets warm enough to soften up on Sunday. Can’t hurt to go check it out early afternoon Sunday.

December 19, 2019: Weekend outlook and ski sale
Conditions continue to be good at Cherry Hill. The snow is thin and icy and likely challenging for beginners, but there are some ok tracks skied in and the skating is generally good. Conditions should stay the same through the weekend with the Sunday-Monday warmup probably bringing and end to local skiing by Monday evening. The sledding should be wicked (borderline scary) fast.

Notchview and other areas (Prospect, Wild Wings, …) report good conditions and should also be good at least through the weekend.

There will be a ski sale and consignment at the Masonic Lodge in Amherst January 3-4. Details on the flyer attached.

Happy Holidays to everyone.

December 17, 2019: Snow, sleet, ice, ski
A bit of a dud of a storm and the final coat of freezing rain didn’t help. Too thin to drive the sled around CH and the classic skiing will likely be on the fun and fast, but slippery and challenging side.

But, skaters are having their day.  Fast, skate-anywhere conditions should prevail at CH tonight and tomorrow and potentially for a few days with the forecast cold.  Strong sun could cause bare spots wherever some dark grass or earth shows.

The truth is, this isn’t bad for mid-December in Amherst.

December 12, 2019: Still skiable
A report of nice skiing at DAR Forest in Goshen came in.  Apparently a couple inches fell up in the hills yesterday evening.

If one were a die-hard it looked like a decent skating or double-poling loop could be made on the upper fairways at CH.

Weekend looking pretty bad with a 50% chance of snow early next week the highlight of the long range forecast.

December 11, 2019: Conditions update and weekend outlook
The woods around Mt. Toby last night still had snow on much of the ground in the woods and at higher elevations.  But now that it is refreezing it’s hard to see how anything will be skiable.  If anyone has reports of skiable conditions anywhere send them in and we will get the word out.

Prospect and Notchview are open today, amazingly enough.  Classic only at Notchview until tomorrow.

Weekend looks warm and rainy again.  Not good.  Maybe we’ll get some decent pond skating in if temps drop after the weekend rain.

We hope everyone was able to get out last week and weekend. It was glorious.

December 7, 2019: Saturday evening grooming
Cherry Hill skate lanes were freshened up this evening (Saturday).  Sunday should be another amazing day of cold packed powder.

December 6, 2019: Youth skiing / CH Update / Weekend outlook
Registration for youth skiing (Bill Koch League) at Notchview closes December 15th (a hard deadline).  It’s a great program and in addition to lessons the whole family skis free for the season for about $150 (with one child, $75 more for each extra child)

Registration

Cherry Hill skate grooming should be freshened up this morning and tracks set.  Conditions will be about as good as they get, perhaps still a little soft for the skaters. Regrooming Saturday morning.  With cold temps over the weekend it should stay fantastic through Sunday.  We have better conditions that Craftsbury right now!

Reports are in that all area trails are skiing beautifully. Notchview and Northfield both open and groomed today and for the weekend.

Rain and warmth coming Monday-Tuesday so go get it now.

Likely no further updates until we assess the damage on Tuesday.

December 5, 2019: Cherry Hill update

John was able to get the skate lanes groomed by about 1000AM after 23 miles of driving the sled around.  It’s still pretty soft for skating, but silky smooth.  Classic tracks Friday morning.

December 5, 2019: Cherry Hill update

John reported at 545 this morning that the packing was harder work than expected and that today _may_ just be snowmobile packing along the trail network with skate and classic grooming coming tomorrow. It will depend on how long it takes to pack and how quickly the temperatures rise.

Many of you know a lot about grooming, but for those who don’t, here is a little background information:

Before even thinking about grooming the CH parking lot needs to get plowed and the barn and clubhouse shoveled out.  Then, if the snow is reasonably deep, several passes with the sled without the grooming drag to initially pack down the snow.  Without the sled passes the drag bogs down and the snow balls up and ruins the trail.  After sled packing then several passes with the skate drag.  Then another pass to set classic track.

This is all harder and takes more time when we get a big dump of snow this week since packing it takes more passes with the sled.

And this is all highly influenced by temperature.  Basically when the air and snow temp gets to near freezing grooming needs to stop.  Otherwise the now wet snow packs and then refreezes into ice.

December 4, 2019: Cherry Hill grooming Thursday 12/5
John got the sled going today and plans to groom Thursday morning.  Barring any mishaps, look for skate grooming by mid-morning Thursday and tracks set for classic skiing by Friday mid-morning.

It is very helpful to John if you don’t ski on the freshly groomed trails while he is out there.  This is true both for safety and to let the freshly packed snow set up a little.  There will still be plenty of places to ski at CH Thursday morning, but please stay off any fresh grooming until about 900.

December 3, 2019: More good news: Morning Update:
Some folks sent conditions reports in.  Obviously with the snow overnight the CH parking lot will need to be re-plowed and conditions will be even better everywhere.

-Cadwell Forest trails were fantastic.  Skied-in track all the way to the summit.  Go anywhere conditions.

-At Cherry Hill today. Snow was heavy but beautiful. There have been a lot of skiers there and tracks run all over the place

-Parking lot at Cherry Hill was plowed

-Excellent skiing in the woods and fields north of Cherry Hill. Access from the northeast corner of Cherry Hill. Passage through solar farm is permitted

A special note that thanks to hard advocacy work by John Fabel, Council rep Cathy Schoen and the permission of landowners Cinda Jones and Becky Reed, the trails north of Cherry Hill are again accessible by skiing through the middle road of the solar farm.  Those are great trails to ski and we are thankful to Cowls and Becky for allowing skiing.  Please treat their land with respect.

December 2, 2019: Go Ski!

Remember that it is hunting season and you should be aware and wear blaze orange when in the woods.

Conditions were excellent at Cadwell Forest today and must be excellent everywhere else as well, including Cherry Hill even though grooming has not started. Good dense snow that covers the rocks, and it never did rain at all.

Go ski, anywhere and everywhere.

If anyone has specific reports or recommendations (anyone seen the CH parking lot), feel free to reply and they will be compiled and sent out in a batch as well as posted to amherstnordic.org.

Finally, there will be a regular Tuesday evening Amherst Nordic group ski at 630 when there is snow on the ground.  All are welcome.  If you would like to receive information about this weekly event please reply to amherstnordic@gmail.com with your interest.

November 30, 2019: Storm Outlook

Well, it rained all the way up past the Canadian border today, though Craftsbury reports it has turned to light snow.  Craftsbury reports 3ish km of machine-made and stored-snow skiing with more still open on thinner and icier surfaces. Hard to tell how the other northern centers (Trapps, Jackson, Placid …) may or may not have survived. Given it is still before Thanksgiving it would be hard to complain, but you’d also have to be pretty die-hard to make a go of it.

Thanks to those who came to the LSSE strategic planning session.  It means a lot to show up for these kinds of things even though it is a pain to get to them on busy weeknights.  Of the 15 total people in attendance more than half spoke up enthusiastically and eloquently for xc skiing at CH. Quote (paraphrase) of the night, from an inexperienced and enthusiastic skier “Grooming at CH has transformed my relationship to winter”.

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