7:30 AM Report:  Kolapore has received about 10 cm of snow in the past 24 hours - this will significantly improve conditions.  I would still recommend rock skis on the rockier trails.  There will be some wet areas on the trails from recent thaws, and as a result I would continue to recommend avoiding Southern Crossing west of the 10th line, Quiet Pastures and the south half of Trail to the Summit until we get some colder weather.

Kolapore Trail Guide

Yesterday I skied the County Forest, Kingsway and part of Wild Mouse. Overnight we've had about 2 cm of snow.  Based on this, here are my observations:

• it is possible to do some pleasant skiing if you are selective about where you ski

• with the possible exception of the County Forest, rock skis are strongly recommended. Some areas on the trail (e.g., south facing slopes) were bare a few days ago, and now they have about 10 cm of new snow. After a few skiers go through the track will be down to the ground. I think some of rocky trails like Paradise Highway will be in poor condition until we get a real dump of snow.

• There are some very wet areas on the trails. Based on the wet areas in the County Forest (e.g., a lake on the trail west of intersection 4), I would strongly recommend avoiding Southern Crossing west of the 10^th line, Quiet Pastures and the south half of Trail to the Summit.

Kolapore Trail Guide

The snow has refrozen, and the trails are now rock hard.  There are likely to be rocks showing through in some areas.  Skiing at the moment would be dangerous - no control on hills and there are frozen ruts from old ski tracks.  I strongly recommend staying off the trails until we get a decent amount of new snow (10 cm?)    The forecast for later in the week and the weekend is promising.

Kolapore Trail Guide

The Good News: We've had a few days to clear the worst of the fallen limbs before things freeze up.

The Bad News: Unless you have no-wax rock skis and are slightly nuts, North trails are not a good option. County Forest likely still passable but we need a good freeze-up and snow snow snow to get things going again. Stay tuned.

Just finished a few hours of stick-picking. If you've got no-wax rock skis and know the trails pretty well, it's spring skiing conditions. Main trails are packed well and secondaries are passable. Patience, and don't take on more than you can chew and you could get in a nice ski. Pick up a stick on your way by.  If you encounter a significant problem, please send an e-mail to info@kolaporetrails.org   Stephen

County Forest Footnote:  I encountered skiers coming out of County Forest late this afternoon, and they indicated that conditions were "better than expected".  I would agree.  The ice cover that was everywhere on Friday has softened enough to allow decent skiing on non-wax skis.  There is a lot of debris on the trails, although not as much big debris as came down in the wind storm 10 days ago.  Bruce

I skied in the south part of the system this morning, and (not surprisingly) the trails are extremely fast.  Great double poling.  For less experienced skiers the trails may be too fast, particularly on the hills.  Blue hard wax worked nicely this morning. With the weather forecast for tomorrow (freezing rain/rain), conditions are likely to go from fair to terrible.

As a result of high winds last week there are many twigs and branches and even a few trees down on the trails - please help with the cleanup.  The trail guides and other Kolapore supporters did quite a bit of cleanup on the weekend, but more is needed.  If you encounter something that's too big for you to handle, please send an e-mail to info@kolaporetrails.org with a description of the location (and a photo would be very helpful).

There has been no new snow since Thursday evening, when 2 - 3 cm of new snow fell on crusty snow.  The new snow has been packed down, and trails are very fast.  I recommend avoiding avoiding steep trails because of the fast conditions (possibly with ruts) and numerous branches down. 

As a result of high winds last week there are many twigs and branches and even a few trees down on the trails - please help with the cleanup.  If it's too big for you to handle, please send an e-mail to info@kolaporetrails.org with a description of the location.

I skied around County Forest this afternoon, and it's not bad, although the tracks are a bit uneven where skiers have broken through the crust.  There is more snow than I expected (32 cm at the snow gauge), but only 2 - 3 cm of new snow.  Trails that get much use are likely to be fast tomorrow.  I continue to think that it is best to avoid steep trails because of the fast conditions (possibly with ruts) and numerous branches down. 

Based on my survey of the County Forest, I can guarantee that there will be many branches down on the trails - please help with the cleanup.  If it's too big for you to handle, please send an e-mail to info@kolaporetrails.org with a description of the location.

The good news is that there is still a snow base at Kolapore.  The bad news is that we got more heavy rain last night, and there will be lots of rocks showing on the trails, plus numerous wet areas.  It's currently (8 AM) just below freezing, and the trails are likely to be icy.  I continue to recommend staying off the trails until we get some new snow.  There will be many branches down - please help with the cleanup.  If it's too big for you to handle, please send an e-mail to info@kolaporetrails.org with a description of the location.

Kolapore Trail Guide

At 10 PM the conditions at Kolapore are disgusting.  We had quite a bit of snow today, followed by a very heavy rain storm.  I just shoveled our walk, which was covered by slush and water.  I would strongly recommend staying off the trails until we get a decent amount of new snow.  The high winds today are likely to have brought down a number of branches or even trees.  If you can't drag them off the trail, please send an e-mail to info@kolaporetrails.org to let us know about the location of any problems.

Kolapore Trail Guide