Nordic Pulse

Mornin Mt Spokane, not sure how to advise ya, could be an ok ski day, may not be. We ran the gauntlet with weather this evening, it started with rain, then freezing fog, then dippin-dots, then snow and then freezing rain. Temps were actually climbing for a bit as the night went on, however the weather service is still calling for snow into the morning so hopefully that comes to fruition and not more rain. We’ve been dancing around the 30-34 degree temps at night for about a week now.  When the temps are slightly above freezing, and there’s a lot of moisture/precipitation, that combo is the achillies heel of our 350 groomer. It causes the dreaded tiller rut and tonight was no exception to that. In case you’re new to these reports, certain conditions cause ice to form in the middle of the tiller, that’s the rear part of the groomer that grinds the snow up and makes those sweet cords. When the ice forms, it leaves a rut down the middle of the trail and there’s no preventing this. It’s a known flaw in the design of the tiller. So with that said the only really bad section was on wild moose, but there’s evidence of that pesky rut everywhere. Typically I avoid grooming in these conditions because of that rut, however I heard about a number of trees down that needed cut, also I thought that compressing the wet top layer would help solidify the snow and make a better base for when we do get good snow. Also, I figured that if we did get the snow they’re calling for, there would be enough fresh snow on top that rut that it wouldn’t matter or impact folks. If the snow doesn’t come, conditions will be fine for classic but skating may be challenging. My two cents, for those of you who come to enjoy the mountain, come, you'll find plenty to enjoy, regardless of how things groom out.