This is it! This is what we work for during summer trail maintenance, and wait for as we watch the weather forecasts in November and December. The weather changed in late November, colder temps finally arrived and the very wet trails began freezing as we began grooming in early December. We started skiing December 10th after grooming some of the trails closest to the warming house. By mid December, cold weather allowed more grooming and we've enjoyed surprisingly good skiing for this early in the season.The weekend of December 23-26 (and the following week) became a groomer's challenge. We were all set to groom late the evening of December 23rd. That evening the Hills received 2" of very sticky snow, and the forecast called for lots of rain on December 25th. By group consensus, we decided to avoid grooming the December 23rd snowfall, let it sit and hope it would absorb the forecast rain. Mild temps all that weekend culminated in 0.7" rain the evening of Christmas Day, followed by falling temps and A MAJOR WINDSTORM on December 26th. We're glad we allowed the December 23rd snowfall to rest without grooming. It magically absorbed the December 25th rainfall. After the December 26th windstorm, temps fell the week of December 26th, and our groomers spent loads of hours clearing tree-falls and branches. And skiers helped by flicking and flicking and flicking the sticks. As the New Years weekend approached the trails were in good shape, and skiers from near and far marveled at the quality of the skiing in the Hills.

It's cold outside, there's lots of snow on the ground, now's a good time to get psyched for skiing. Check out the following slide show video showing ten years of fun on the Blue Hills Trail. Get your skis waxed, come ski the Hills!‍

Grab a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, adjust your volume control, then sit back and follow the fun. See anyone you know?

Two things to report

1. Thanks to John Kann (Rice Lake) for his enthusiasm and hard work laying out and clearing a snowshoe trail as part of the Blue Hills Trail system. The trail starts just behind the warming house, and heads north through the tall pines. It then loops to the east before returning to the warming house via a different route. The trail is well marked. Once you've used this trail, feedback is welcome.
2. It looks like a brown Christmas in Ladysmith. However, despite the warm weather and rain during the past week, there is still enough snow in the Hills to provide a semblance of cross country skiing. 1/2" of granular snow sits on top of the base; the base is thin but adequate; and where groomed on December 5th, the base is quite solid. Skate skiing was OK on the grassy trails today, and actually quite good on the gravel road (1-22-33-21-29). Based on my experience today, I think most of the trail system can be skied if you use rock skis, and exercise extra care on downhills. I'd avoid the back loops on the Eastside until we have more snow. If in doubt on downhills, remove your skis and walk down the side of the trail. Check out the photos to get a better idea of current conditions.