Christmas Ski - Summit Prairie - FR 16 12/25/17

fr 16 & 1651 jct looking west; tire tracks with 1-2" powder

Location: Co. 62 rd from prairie city south to FR 16 jct.

Road & Trail Conditions: packed snow & ice. not plowed to summit.  4-8"

Snow Conditions: 1-3" base; 4-12" fresh powder on top

Skis on & temperature: 11am 26 degrees

Skis off & temperature: 2pm 32 degrees; occasional wind dropped 15 degrees

Distance: 7 miles

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 10

Comments:

beautiful day, blue skies, sunny. lots of fresh powder.

started out down 16 S., got too deep breaking trail 8-12". backtracked & headed west on 16.

no grooming, a few tire tracks. two snomos passed me heading west as i was returning east on 16.  looks like they started at huddleston, came down 153, a ways down 16 S & then back to 16 west to logan valley.  there are some older & newer tracks to follow.

outside the tracks, it is 8-12" of breaking trail.

kona in the deep stuff

 i don't mind skiing in tracks.

16 west is flat for about 3 miles (jct 1651) then 3 miles of rolling hills into logan valley, returning to flat.

 

Windfall Creek Loop - Starr Ridge - FR 333-465-353 - 12/24/17

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Location: Hwy 395 to Starr Ridge Sno Park

Road & Trail Conditions: snow & ice pack with gravel on curves

Snow Conditions: 2" base with 4-6" fresh powder on top

Skis on & temperature: 10 am  20 degrees

Skis off & temperature: 2pm  22 degrees

Distance: 8 miles

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 10

Comments:

lovely day to ski. fr 333 has recent tire tracks with powder.  465 & 351 have deeper powder & more breaking trail

tire tracks on fr 333 - easy to ski

breaking trail thru 6" on fr 353

still no signs of snowmos, possibly not deep enough yet.

kona ~ snow dog

Winter Solstice - 1st Ski of Season - Starr Ridge FR 4920 12/21/17

Location: Hwy 395 at Starr Ridge Summit, FR 4920 to Vance Creek Fr 3920

Road & Trail Conditions: going out at 10am 395 from canyon city to co. 65 was treacherous. lost control once on a straightway doing a giant slalom s curve across both lanes.  was ready to turn back when the road improved.  de-icer applied before return trip.  much better.

snow over cattle guard is thin.

Snow Conditions: 1-2 inches packed base, 1-2" fresh powder

Skis on & temperature:10:45a 22  degrees

Skis off & temperature: 12:45p 28 degrees

Distance: +/- 6 miles

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 10+

Comments:

almost didn't go today. 5" on starr ridge snotel seems thin.  turned out to be excellent.

not deep enough for snomos.  tire tracks packed a base.  fresh powder on top.  no need to break trail. has to be best conditions  ever for first ski of the season.

all the roads around starr ridge should be similar:  333 & all connecting up to 4920

huddleston snotel shows 8".  am guessing those roads 101 etc, and summit prairie should be good as well.

should stay that way for the weekend with forecast, cold, maybe a little more snow on top.

took a buddy on the trip, kona toy-cueno.  didn't have the right size ski boot, so she trotted along.

Windy Skylline Ridge FR 101 - 3/30/17

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Location: Co. 62 to Summit 101-125-skyline ridge

Road & Trail Conditions: 62 icy going up, clear going down

Snow Conditions: 3-4" new overnite over 3' solid base

Skis on & temperature: 12:30pm  27°    (JD 36° )

Skis off & temperature: 5:30 pm 30°  (JD 42° )

Distance: 12+ miles, 1600' elevation

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 8 for wind & ice on ridge

Comments: windchill was intense for whole trip, 20mph consistent, regular gusts 30-35, peak gusts at 50. kept temps. at 10-15 at lowest, 20 consistent.  headwind forced kick on downhill.  tailwind pushed me uphill, double poling. kind of crazy.

lots of tree debris blow down.  rock ski season.

first time i considered returning home.  in 4 winters, haven't seen this kind of wind up there.

where wind swept new powder away was pretty icy.  some of the descent on 125 was difficult.

101 had some sweet powder.  125 started getting crusty.  ridgeline alternated powder with firm ice.  tough to move thru.  in a rare wise moment, decided to skip going down east slope & backtrack.

still looking for a loop to jump off ridge & come in on 101 before skyline trailhead.  getting thru the trees is the challenge.

Dixie Butte - Spring Ski 3/26/17

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Location: Hwy 26 east to dixie summit sno park

Road & Trail Conditions: 26 clear, snopark mushy. FR 2610 all the way

Snow Conditions: declining base with 1-4" new sno

Skis on & temperature: 9:30am  33°

Skis off & temperature:  2:30 pm  36°

Distance: 10 miles, 2000' elevation climb

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 10 on the spring ski scale

Comments: some new sno at elevation, still pretty warm - dubious. snopark was very patchy & ice.  beginning of 2610 was questionable.  a few bare spots along 2610, one required skis off. almost turned around.

very glad didn't.  about 1/3 ascent sno got powder & deeper, some of the best of the season.  first 1/3 crusty on ascent, mushy on descent.  after that pretty darn good.

did first hot wax a few weeks ago which probably kept sticky sno off.  worth learning how to do it.  without, imagine would have used 1-2 applications of maxiglide on trail with marginal results.

1/2 mile from top a snosquall blew in, happened every trip up dixie this season. waited an hour huddled behind a skinny tree.  clouds socked in, visibility 20 yds.

planning to summit & practice turns down east slopes.  wind has swept slopes pretty bare. base has dropped considerably, lots of ground exposure.  low visibility & many exposed shrubs & rocks changed my mind.  with clear visibility could probably find a line.

stiff wind dropped windchill in 20's higher, disappeared lower; glad packed googles & winter layers.  even when snopark seems balmy, take winter gear!

last ski was 3/5 at anthony lakes practicing downhill turns.  paid off for today.  great downhill even along 2610, in some ways better than anthony.  powder!

last thurs. kayaked monument to spray, north fork, 60 sunny, blu skies, 26 miles, 3+ hrs. ski dixie today, back to winter.

~  i love this place ~

FR 2645 east of Austion Jct Hwy 26 - 3/13/17

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Hi Kyle, Travis and I did a Krust Kruze this morning on the 2645 (Squaw Creek) on skate skis. On the snow 10 a.m. temp then 34 off the snow 11:50 temp 46.  We did well, a few soft spots.  If we could have been there an hour earlier it would have been pretty firm and fast everywhere.  Really hard to guess with this weather system, needs to get pretty cool at night for best conditions.  Was going to send it to your blog but wasn't sure how to attach the map.  We bushwhacked a couple hundred yards in the sw corner, but other than that good forest roads and older slightly grown over roads, quite skiable though.  Nearly 10 miles.  Lots of elk tracks, also coyote, bobcat and cougar.  Used Swix LF 7 for a glide wax, it was fast in all but the warmest snow.  Glen

Sheep Mtn. - off trail - 3/2/17

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Location: Co. 62 to huddelston snopark

Road & Trail Conditions: 62 mostly clear, patchy ice in shade. 1665 groomed 1/4 mile, then 6" powder over 4' firm base. some crust on top = breaking trail

Snow Conditions: several thaw & refreezes makes a little crusty depending on elevation, sun exposure & time of day.

Skis on & temperature: 9am  31°

Skis off & temperature: 6 pm  36°

Distance: 14 miles +/-

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 8 (-2 for crusty sno)

Comments: another offtrail adventure.  sno was marginal.  got up to explore new area for future trips.
from ridgeline saw 4 snomos take off south on fr 14. didn't see or hear them rest of day.

met sean at the snopark, an rn at burns hospital, his wife is the d.o. family doc there. skied together & learned a lot about telemarking.  the gear he had is what i've been lusting after. great connection, even if the sno wasn't premium. you may see him around here.

Winter Returns - Huddleston 101 - 2/26/17

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Location: Co 62 to huddleston snopark

Road & Trail Conditions: FR 169-101-125-1649

Snow Conditions: fabulous; fresh groomed, 2" powder going out; 6" powder coming back.  oh, my!

Skis on & temperature: 9am  22°

Skis off & temperature: 5pm 28°

Distance: 13 miles

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 10+

Comments: it doesn't get much better than this. started out 30mins. behind groomer, with consistent mild to moderate sno thruout day. great runs thru lots of powder.  125 & 1649 were perfect for practicing downhill turns.  have had some rough previous runs on these on icy.

getting off trail was too deep for my skis.  keeping on roads was terrific.

met emily, biologist for the tribes from prairie. avid skier. you'll probably see her out there.

skis moving downhill thru 6" powder

Grooming Report - Summit Prairie - 3/1/17

Made pre-trip repairs to cat and groomed a small loop around Summit Prairie, snow is in good condition with 5 to 8 inches of fresh. Cat tripped an engine light so it was a short day but the snowpark and close in trails are all dresseed up.

Red line on map is todays route

Cheers

Dave

Grooming Report - Huddleston to Logan Valley 2/26/17

Feb 27, 2017 Bill Prophet took Cat #1 today from Huddleston SP and groomed west and south catching FRs 16, 135, 187, 207,101, 1649, 058, 1648, 924, 815, and 307.  Pink line on attached map.  Bill reports 6" new snow;)

Skyline Trail - Huddleston - off trail 2/23/17

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Location: Co. 62 to summit; FR 101 west

Road & Trail Conditions:  Co. 62 bare to forest, plowed with variable clear, thin ice, powder over both

Snow Conditions: solid base, 4-8" new powder

Skis on & temperature: 8am 20°  (JD 28° )

Skis off & temperature: 5:30pm 19° (JD 32° )

Distance: 12 miles

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome):  10

Comments: there's a lot of great powder out there.  starr ridge looks a little thin & wet.  summit prairie is great.  hasn't been any grooming & saw no snomo tracks.  means breaking trail thru powder - i love it.

another of my off trail adventures. tough climb thru trees & then switchbacking up slope.  there is an easier way up to this ridgeline (101 to 125).  decided to go straight up for fun.  one tired puppy getting up there.  great downhill thru powder & trees on the way back. even with gps & maps, lost some of the marked roads on return. don't necessarily recommend this exact route.

winds were intense all day: 20mpg sustained, 35 mph gusts. windchill varied from 0-10. snow squalls every hour. happy for ski goggles & balaclava. shortened segment along ridge due to headwind.  at top sno is deep & beautiful:

Dixie on Sunday Morning - 2/19/17

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Location: Hwy 26 east to Dixie Summit sno park; FR 2610 to top

Road & Trail Conditions: 26 clear, snopark plowed packed sno & ice

Snow Conditions: 3' condensed, very firm base, 1/2 - 4" powder on top with elevation & as day progressed

Skis on & temperature: 9am 33° (JD  38° )

Skis off & temperature: 5:30pm 33° moderate sno (PC 36° rain; JD 39° rain)

Distance: 11.5 miles; 2 miles elevation

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 10 - bliss



Comments:  just when i think ski season is washed out...a day like today happens.

beginning of the 2610 at snopark looked a little thin & moist.  that improved quickly with elevation to some of the best powder on a solid base i've found this year.

 

this time of year i opt for elevation & dixie is the easiest access plus fastest climb.

dixie & i have a thing, if one can have a thing with a mtn.  i can see sno on strawberry &, yeah, i want to ski that.  when the sno is right on dixie, i have to go.  i now understand more about the siren's song.  started hearing the song on thurs.

went out to do this run 4 weeks ago, skis broke thru 8+" at sno park, would have been 16" at elevation.  no tracks, no base. headed back to starr ridge.

this run is a short 5 miles distance; 2 miles in elevation makes for some leg work up.  then there is coming down.

dixie falls in between the grooming area of grant co. snoballers & the burnt river club, so no grooming.  occasionally a county (?) snocat will make the journey up for com tower maintenance/repairs.  the occasional snomo will venture up, usually not to the top.  without these you need to wait for the base to consolidate & fresh powder on top.  like now.

the first 3+ miles to the treeline is pretty easy altho continual uphill.  there are some great views south to the strawberry range and then a little higher, to the east & elkhorn range.  today was pretty cloudy

after leaving the treeline it's a steep west facing slope, exposed to constant winds creating deep sno drifts & today, an ice crust on top (see blue line on map above).  the road can be a concept rather than something obvious before you. i've got a gps with topo maps & roads.  i referred to it a lot to see if i was even close to being on the road even tho i've been up here several times.  along this west slope, you don't want to stray too far off course.

in general, west slope of dixie is steeper & typically has an icy, wind blown crust.  east slope has gentler slope & often awesome deep powder.

this trip is not for the faint of heart; need good leg conditioning, stamina (7600'); no skinny touring skis; take cold weather & wind gear (ski googles & balaclava) even when it is warm & sunny.  dixie has her own weather pattern.  storms that leave the valley can linger on dixie for quite a while. wind can be relentless. today, sustained ssw 20-30mph with gusts & blowing sideways sno.  i love it.

trip started nicely with partly sunny skies.  first squall came in from ssw:

first sno squall coming out of the south right at dixie

& i hunkered down behind a skinny tree for an hour about 1/2 mile from top.  couldn't see road or landmarks.

lone tree above treeline became new best friend

sky cleared & made a run at the top where another squall settled in.

cameras don't capture sno squalls too well

waited over 45 mins. & decided to start down as it was getting late.  first 1/2 mile was skiing by feel & gps. & then clouds lifted enough to see. sno squall dumped enough new to put a good powder covering over icy slope on return trip.

originally planned to come down from top & circle around knoll to SE (see orange dotted line on map above), getting into deeper powder on east side & practice backcountry downhill.  couldn't see any landmarks & opted to retrace route.  without gps, would have got seriously off course, on a steep slope.

lovely downhill through 2+" fresh powder from squalls since ascent.  short downhill runs at powerlines & ski hill at snopark.

while hunkered down at the top, wondering how i was going to get back,  a skier materialized from out of the clouds.  JP from baker drove over here to ski dixie. confessing he cheated, he snomo'd up to treeline & skied the rest of the way.  he had some awesome backcountry gear, locking boot heels, for just this kind of terrain.  i've been lusting after that gear.  i had been considering driving over to baker to ski anthony today.  hmmm......

Grooming Report - Logan Valley 2/17/17

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 Feb 17, 2017:  Bill Prophet in Cat #1 from Huddleston, south on FR 135 to FR 16, west to FR 1651, southwest to FR 1647, north back to FR 16, west to FR 924, north past Lake Creek Lodge to FR 1648, southeast back to FR 16, east to FR 1649, east to FR 101 and north back to start.  Bill reports that it was warm but groomed well.  Thanks Bill!

Orange Route on map.

Grooming Report - Logan Valley West 2/11/17

Glen

Gerald went out grooming again today.  Started at the 15/16 jct – E on 16 to 1630 – 373 – 1643 back to 16 then to 15/16 jct.

 

Jean

Thanks Jean and Gerald.  G

Krust Kruze - Starr Ridge 2/11/17

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Had a really nice Krust Kruze this morning on skate skis.  (Orange Route) Off 395 just before leaving the timber past Starr Ridge.  Took about 2 hours.  Was starting to soften up a bit by noon so early is better, also the 3925 is groomed, so it is firm but a little rough.  9.38 miles.  Should be good mornings as long as this weather holds.  Call if you have any questions. 620-2268.
Glen

Thanks for the update!  I took a slightly different approach today than cruising on crust and waited until about noon until the packed roads around Starr Ridge softened up enough for my scaly skis to grip.  Parked at Starr Snopark, skied west on the 4920-333 spur to 4900 proper, turned north on 4900 and skied up to Starr Summit.  Crossed 395 and picked up the road that parallels 395 south and down back to the Snopark.  Took a bit under three hours.  Not sure how far, but I'm sure at least two of you know.

Cheers,

Nathan
 

Grooming Report - Canyon Creek 2/10/17

Feb 10, 2017:  Cat #2

Gerald went out this morning.  This is where he went before it got to warm.  Started on FS15 to 1540 – 1560 – 1630 out to 16 and back to 15/16 jct.  29 miles

 

Jean

Grooming Report - Parrish Cabin - Canyon Creek 2/8/17

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 Feb 8, 2017:  Koby Essex took Cat #2 from the junction of FRs 15 & 16 at Parrish Cabin, north and west on FR 1530 (Crazy Cr) and FR 1520 (Canyon Cr) to the junction with FR 15. Too warm and wet for good grooming conditions.

FR 101 - Skyline Trailhead 2/8/17

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Location: Co 62rd to summit: 101 to skyline trailhead, off trail loop up to 151 to 101 to 159 to snopark & back up to 101

Road & Trail Conditions: Co 62 clear to forest, then plowed, packed sno-ice with rain on top - pretty slick

Snow Conditions: soggy & becoming increasingly so

Skis on & temperature: 12:30pm  34° snow (JD 42° rain )

Skis off & temperature: 3:30pm  36° mist (JD 42° rain)

Distance: 6 miles

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 8 for first half - warm & sticky sno; 10 for second half = fun

more gratitude to the grant county road crew.  in addition to plows, sanders, graders there is also this:

front end pulls sno in & throws it up & off to side.  62 is much wider than a few weeks ago.

Comments: took a chance for one more ski before warm, rain front hits elevation tonite.  someone, with dog, laid great tracks from huddleston to skyline trailhead (thank you!). past that sno was too deep & sticky to continue on 101.

set off trail north from trailhead to scout out loops from higher up on skyline trail back to the 101.

great fun getting lost & found several times. the 150 rds north of trailhead haven't been used in awhile; there are 3-5yr. saplings in the the middle of the rd.  wouldn't have known they were rds without gps & usfs topo quadrangles loaded.  found a few slopes to practice downhill.

the short downhill from 101 - 159 to snopark is gd downhill practice & not too tuff to climb back up.

you can skip that section by parking at summit & starting on 101 west:

62rd at summit, cross over this to 101 west

break trail on 101 west to 159 jct.

the first 200 yards  are rarely groomed or tracked.  after that there is usually some base to go on.

the 934 on the east side is also a great way to get to elevation. haven't seen any tracks on that this year.

starting at the summit is useful as the season wanes & starting & going higher gets better sno conditions.

moderate snofall quit about 2.  by time returned to rig, mist began & rain followed.

Grooming Report - Starr Ridge East & West 2/7/17

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Cat #2:  Travis and Glen took Cat 2 from Bear Valley Work Center north then east on FR 2195, then north on FR 21to the summit then about 1/2 mile west on FR 2470 to remove a log, backtracked south on FR 21, then east on FR 4955, stopped grooming 1/2 mile north of CR 63C to walk the cat thru a stretch of active logging.  Blue line on the map.  Then headed to the Starr Snowpark on FR 333, Green line on map.  Resumed grooming from US 395 east on FR 3925 to within one mile of FR 15, stopped grooming for another active logging area.  Orange line on map.  Have fun all:-)  GJ

Starr Ridge off trail Pt. 2 - 2/6/17

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Location: Hwy 395 to starr ridge snopark - FR333,456,4920 - off trail - 353, 333

Road & Trail Conditions: 395 clear; 3' shrinking base

Snow Conditions: variable: warm, mush, icy - didn't stick to skis with maxiglide pre-trip

Skis on & temperature: 1:30pm 36°  (JD 42°  )

Skis off & temperature: 5:30pm  33°  (JD 38°  )

Distance: 10 miles; 1000' +/-; lots of up & down off trail

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 7

Comments: not a great day to go off trail. lowest score of season.

 groomed trails were ok; only ski tracks & firm. became slight icy toward end with cooler temp & wind change.

off trail was primarily very icy surface, occasional powder, and at lower elev. breaking thru 8". not very smooth.  good day to learn how to go up & down very icy slopes. bailed halfway down & returned on 353. try again another day with more powder.  would like to make an attempt at dixie butte & want some practice & conditioning.

warm weather system over weekend had two impacts: warm temps. condensed & moistened surface; high winds brought down a lot of small debris. nothing serious - dodging pine cones.

good day to learn about changing snow conditions from beginning to end & with difference in elevation between 333 & 4920.

huddleston could have better conditions.

forecast has an additional few inches over the next day+.