Tuesday April 1

Monday March 24th

Skiers,

Surprisingly, I had a great ski this morning.    A mountain chickadee sang as I carried my skis past a patch of ice, and I took that as a good omen.  That ice, on the track leading from the parking lot to the upper east side trails, was the only patch I encountered.  The snow was firm, not crusty or slushy, and though the track had melted out in places it was lovely to ski in.  Beginning clockwise on the Antione, I found that the glide was nice, if a little slow.  But for some patches of the deepest blue, the sky threatened rain and the surface I moved over reflected the grey.  Under my skis the snow was laced with thin threads of Bryoria lichen, and tiny spruce, fir and larch needles revealed themselves in the slow melt.  From somewhere, a woodpecker drummed.  

I made my way to Aava’s Draw and marveled at the expanse of clean, white snow in the meadows.  The sky absorbed any sparkle, but the expanse was lovely in the shadowy light.  When I came over the top I continued clockwise on Antoine as far as the corner where the serious  climb begins just to stand a moment with the leafless aspen, then made my way back.  I stopped to admire the Mill Creek pond where the small pool of dark, open water had grown into a narrow channel.  As I watched I could see concentric ripples emanating from the edges and realized that the overhanging snow was dripping into the water.  There were smaller circles in the middle of the channel, and it took seeing spots on my sunglasses to admit that it was lightly raining.  

Who knows what tomorrow will be like, but Highlands Nordic was great today.

Come ski!

Skiers,

Happy Spring!  The full parking lot at Highlands Nordic this morning attests to how much fun people are having as they honor winter on the spring equinox.  Now we have ever lengthening days to ski through.

The sky peeked blue through layers of cloud, misty white to grey cumulus, while I greeted groups of people finishing their excursions as I started late in the morning.  They all warned that things were getting a little sticky in the sun.  I had just waxed my skate skis and hoped the sun wouldn’t matter much as I started the Antoine Loop counter-clockwise.  There was a half inch of lovely new snow over Tuesday’s grooming.  Things started out promising, but on the exposed hill, while I didn’t stick, the snow resisted my glide and my skis sang to me in protest.  As the sky cleared to bright blue I let a drumming woodpecker lead me between grueling bright spots and somewhat easier patches of shade.  Once the hill leveled out however I was fine, and by the time I passed the junction with Hello Kitty, the snow was properly engaging with my new wax.  I decided to not go over the top though, thinking that those wonderful flat spots in the sun on the lower part of the Loop might not be so fun in today’s conditions.  I retraced my steps and had a marvelous descent. 

Meanwhile, Todd had been grooming the west side.  My neighbor came from that direction as I was getting ready to leave.  He said the set track was impeccable and the skate platform looked perfect.  Who would have thought?

Come ski!

Skiers,

There is still so much snow on our ski trails.  Yesterday I started up the Q tail on the Antoine Loop.  There had been no grooming since the last snowfall, but there was also no slush or crust and my skis found the set track easily.  At the beginning of the Loop proper, I met a friend who was just finishing her ski.  We stood in the sunshine and chatted.  She told me that she had clumped a little on Aava’s Draw, but the rest of the ski had been great.

We parted and I went clockwise to the sound of a drumming woodpecker.  The clear blue sky that had greeted the morning was slowly being veiled by fine, white cover and I saw big cumulous clouds building over Bonaparte.  Even so, the snow sparkled.  After the cattleguard past the Mill Creek Pond there was lots of bare ground on the side of the trail where the sun was warming the soil under the trees, but nothing had melted on the track itself.  I expected my skis to get sticky in that section, but they were fine.  However, as soon as I started up Aava’s Draw they began to pick up snow.  Interestingly, the problem was more pronounced in the shade.  In the sun, it seemed that the very top layer of snow was changing phase and the glide was good.  Going through the meadow between the two sections of the climb was great, and I clumped again when I got back into the trees.  Towards the top though, the snow changed once more.  Bigger crystals lay on the surface and that top-of-the-world section of the trail was really fun, especially when I got to the set track, which had not been skied on.  Starting down I went faster than I wanted to, and was congratulating myself for managing to find a controlled snow plow when at the last turn before the junction my ski caught on something and I splatted down on my face.  Oh well, I shook the snow off of my sunglasses, got on my feet and had a marvelous ski back to the parking lot.  

In this variable spring, who knows what today will bring.  All that is certain is there is lots of snow.

The entire upper east side has newly groomed skate platforms with a new track set around the Antoine Loop.  Todd will be back Thursday and Saturday.  Conditions are fabulous! 

Come ski!

 Patti

Skiers,

The first thing I noticed as I left the car at the Corral Lot was the productive looking snow cloud enveloping Bonaparte.  I had decided to check out Ida’s Ford, thinking it might be the last time the meadows are skiable.  To my surprise there was still good coverage.   The snow had melted out of the trail by the big fir tree after the first curve, but I didn’t see any other bare spots.  The surface was predictably crusty, but also quite smooth and I could carefully snowplow down to the creek.   However, I sidestepped down the first hill after crossing the culvert because there were a lot of ponderosa pine cones in my way.  Things got better once I got onto Bobcat, at least until I got into the trees.  The trail was smooth, and I could even step into the track now and again.  And my twin skins caught the surface well, in spite of such a persistent crust.  Over me, out of the slate colored sky, a bald eagle soared then disappeared.  

I started up Goshawk, but turned back before I got to the steepest part of the hill.  I knew it would take me longer to go timidly down than it would to go joyfully up.  Passing over Bobcat again, I noticed a deer hoof I had missed the first time right in the middle of the trail, a melted out remnant of some earlier wildlife drama so ubiquitous at Highlands Nordic.  

That cloud over Bonaparte did descend late this afternoon, leaving the tiniest skiff of new snow.  It will make skiing better tomorrow.  

It’s spring.  Come ski!

Skiers,

The highlight of the Sno Park today was that there were so many kids excited to be on skis.  Okanogan Highlands Alliance (OHA) hosted students from Tonasket School District’s Outreach program to enjoy a full day of sun and snow.  The school outfitted the kids with skis, boots and poles, and sent them up on the school bus.  Volunteers, coordinated by Jen Weddle of OHA, met the kids, got them clipped into bindings, pointed them in the right direction and helped them up when they fell.  Todd and Jack had groomed the skate lane to smooth perfection and all the kids made it to the hut, then clamored to ski some more.  It was heartwarming to watch them having so much fun.  The day couldn’t have been more perfect, with a new dusting of snow, a clear, sun filled sky and temperatures around 30 degrees.  The children skied, picked up Easter eggs, looked at snow, needles, bark and each other through magnifying glasses, and had bowels of hot soup and hot chocolate that Jen had made and warmed on the fire in the hut.  They ranged from kindergarten to high school, and there was not a whine, tear or frustrated word among them, just smiles, chatter and laughter!  And I can’t say enough about the dedication and helpfulness of the volunteers, all great skiers, and all sharing their passion with young people who will keep our Sno Park alive.  

The skate platform on the west side of the park is newly groomed and it is lovely. Though there are no newly set tracks, the old one works well enough, and the new snow has defeated the crust, at least for today.  The trees are holding powdery snow in their needles and the views of Sitzmark from Whitetail are beautiful.  The eastside of the park is also partially groomed, though Todd ran into trouble with the snow machine and had to leave it somewhere around Aava’s Draw.  I didn’t go that way today and don’t know how much he was able to do before getting grounded. Still, everything is skiable.  You can see that for yourself.

Come ski!

Patti

PS  In anticipation of the school bus journey, the county plowed the road.  It is unbelievably good: smooth, wide, and sanded.  

Skiers,

After days of thaw it was wonderful to be back at Highlands today.  The early morning sunshine had given way to a grey, watery sky by the time I got to the upper parking lot, but I was happy to be there anyway.   As I left my car, a raven cawed at me, whether in welcome or warning I wasn’t sure.  When I reached the end of the Q tail on the Antoine Loop, it cawed again, landing on a big fir branch and making it bounce.  I decided I was welcome.

Skating was lovely,  like gliding on a layer of snow cone over a solid base.  Whatever had fallen from the sky in the past few days covered all the old skate tracks and ski marks, and once I was on the Loop itself, the surface was surprisingly smooth.  I started going clockwise and began climbing Aava’s Draw, enjoying the colorless landscape and the opaque snow.  By the time I came to the opening, the cloud above was beginning to thin and there were glimpses of blue sky.  I made the steepest part of the climb after the junction with Short Cut and stopped to switch my mittens for gloves.  I was standing in the middle of the trail, my poles on the ground digging in my fanny pack when four of the most beautiful, competent young women who have ever put boot to binding came around the corner downhill towards me.  I scrambled to move myself and stuff to the side, but they were in total control and stopped easily.  As we chatted, the sun came out in full force and the snow sparkled back, mirroring my delight at the encounter.

They continued down and I continued up, enjoying the rest of the climb and then the gentle snow plow down to the Antoine.  It was so much fun I decided to continue clockwise and crossed the creek.  At the last turn before the hill begins in earnest, I stopped for a moment.  There was no snow in the trees, and the twiggy larch held fiercely onto  their tiny cones, while the lodgepole lifted their needles as if warming them in the sun.  I warmed my face in the same way, then went on up the hill for a ways.  

By the time I turned around, there was a noticeable difference between the sun and the shade.  My skis navigated the changes in speed while I swayed and bobbled over them, managing to keep my balance.  And between the two junctions with Aava’s Draw, I noticed the snow had melted around a perfect alder leaf in the middle of the trail.  

Come ski!

Patti

PS.  The road is not plowed, and had been quite a slushy mess earlier in the week.  I made it up by letting my car find the frozen ruts and following them.  Once past the meadow where Straight Edge and Ida’s Ford run, it was easier.  Even though it was warmer by the time I came down, I had no issues with slipping.  

Skiers,

What a crew we have.  I could see as I drove in this morning that yesterday’s new snow was already being tamed.  And as I clipped into  my skis, the sun was pushing away the clouds and revealing blue sky.  I started up the Q of the Antoine Loop in a beautifully set track.  I had worried that the warm temperatures might make the snow clump,  but the twin skins glided well, if a little slowly, sticking only a tiny bit in a couple of sun spots.  I wanted to go counter-clockwise and, lucky for me, the track continued up, though the skating lane was still ungroomed.  

The trees held snow as if offering it to the brilliant blue sky, and on the ground, the snow next to my skis was glittering.  As I absorbed the landscape, a raven circled over my head, cawing greetings before returning to where ever it had come from.  At some point in the climb, Todd was coming down on his machine, making the next pass to widen the skate platform.  In fact, he lapped me two more times as I went round the loop, leaving a wonderful surface in his wake.  He had also groomed Goshawk and Rangers Run, and tomorrow will work on Aavas Draw, Hello Kitty, and the west side.   

I skied through sun and shadow, enjoying the warmth on my face even as I was obliged to shed my jacket.  Going over the top was great.  Mt Baldy fed me glimpses of its portrait, its flank in fog and its summit enveloped in a secondary cloud.  As the trail turned down, Bonaparte was in front of me, standing against brilliant blue, it’s top free from any mist.  

The descent was wonderful on the surprisingly firm new grooming.  The spring-that-never- freezes held little puddles of water surrounded by pure white, and at the last corner, Sitzmark was shining so brightly that it drew my attention and I almost missed the turn.  Completing the flatter part of the Loop is always fun.  Predictably, the section between the junction with Ranger’s Run and the next cattle guard was a little slow, but still perfectly skiable.  The ice on the mill creek pond remains totally covered in snow, and from the Q to the parking lot was unmarred and perfect. 

Come ski!

Skiers,

What a snowfall we have had!  I parked at the Corral Lot this morning and walked to the beginning of Ida’s Ford with my skate skis.  I was excited to see grooming, until I realized the snow machine had just made a turn-around loop.  I kept on Ida’s Ford anyway, plowing through four  or five inches of new snow.  That was fine, especially on the downhill part.  By the time I got to the junction with Ranger’s Run though, I thought that if I was going to ski a sliding herringbone I might as well go uphill.  Admittedly, my stride was more herringbone than slide until I reached the loop section, and then I was able to skate through the snow a bit.  It was amazing up there.  The clouds were piled against smudges of blue sky, and the snow was piled against itself, outdoing the sky with its glitter.  In reaction, the sun, shining through a snow shower, made the very air sparkle.

I was hoping for some grooming on the Antoine Loop, and just as I reached it I saw Todd going by on his machine.  Suddenly I could move.  He went down Goshawk, which I made note of for my return trip, and I continued on with my five inches over a solid platform.  From somewhere though, Todd had groomed Aava’s Draw.  It was great, with a wide skate platform and a beautifully set track.  I could skate, and the hill made me realize that the day was warmer than we’ve had in a long time.  I shed my outer layer and pulled down the zippers of the other two, yet another excuse to stop and catch my breath.    

Shortcut was also groomed, but I stayed with Aava’s until the top.  Instead of going down to meet Antoine by the creek, I turned around and retraced my steps, wanting to stick with the grooming.  I had left deeper gouges in the warm snow than was ideal, and I bumped over them as I wedged my skis in the opposite direction to go down.  It was fun, and before I knew it I was back on the Loop.

When I reached Goshawk I followed the grooming down.  Todd was coming up, finishing his final pass and the snow was excellent.  I skated all the way back to the corrals, and while I wasn’t going very fast, it felt like flying compared to how I had started.

I remember President’s Day weekends when Bobcat was a sheet of ice.  Aren’t we lucky?

Come ski!

 Patti