Ski Conditions

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Local Skiing Conditions
Please send conditions reports to: stevegaus@comcast.net

Sunday February 5, 2012
Same here...sunny, temps in the 40's. My morning bike riding group got out their road bikes for rides yesterday and today. I'm still trying to think of this as ski season, so I'm waiting...

From Tom Detzner:
Ted and I skied the Birkie trail north of OO for 3 days and found great conditions. Though the base is thin, the grooming, coverage and tracks are excellent and the skiing is fast and fun. It got up above 40 degrees each day but the snow should survive till it gets colder on Tuesday. I think it will be fine for the pre Birkie and North End Classic. I am praying for more snow before the Birkie, but that is still 3 weeks away.

Friday February 3, 2012
More of the same. I ran this morning. I'm guessing that my next time on snow will be the Pre-Birkie. Oh well...

Thursday February 2, 2012
I think we're done skiing here until (if?) we get more snow and some cooler temps. Chuck and I went pole walking at Kishwaukee Gorge F.P. This is a nice place. It's 125 acres with 2 miles of trails, although Chuck and I went on a couple of trails that weren't counted in those 2 miles, so there really are more. Some great vistas on and below the bluffs on the Kishwaukee River.

Wednesday February 1, 2012
The only skiable snow remaining is where it has been packed...and not so great there. See below.

From Tom Detzner:
I skied the same trails this morning at Rock Cut and report them as poor but skiable. We lost a lot of snow yesterday. There are more bare spots and lots of ice, A few sections still have fair to good snow so if you really want to ski, you can. Be careful

Monday January 30, 2012
I'm looking out my window on a pretty, sunny afternoon. It's a balmy 55 degrees and I don't see very much snow. The forecast calls for daily highs in the mid 40's for the rest of the week. So if you want to ski here, better do it soon!

From Tom Detzner:
I skied Rock Cut this morning about 10:30 and found it better than I expected. From the Rt 173 entrance I went in the connector loop to the Vasa loop. (Is it now called the Wayne Fish loop? I guess we can call it whatever we want to, and it would be nice to remember Wayne with a ski trail, even if it is in IL.) The whole loop is skiable if you are comfortable skiing on hardpark with a thin layer of soft snow on top. There are short bare spots under the pines where the connector loop connects, and crossing the ditch on the connector loop. The rest is fair to good. Even the tollway hill was pretty good. The sun will do some damage this afternoon but I think it will still be skiable tomorrow morning. Rock skis recommended. Happy skiun.

Sunday January 29, 2012
There was a large contingent of Northern Illinois Nordic skiers at the Noquemanon races this weekend in Marquette Michigan. We had participants in just about every race. See "Race Results" for details. The weather was great with temps in the high 20's, sunny skies, and excellent snow. Highlights include Charlie Carlson winning his age group in the 24K Classic race, and Ted Holm finishing third in his age group in the 24 Freestyle race. Tom Detzner reached two milesstones with a 10 year Noque pin and this race was the 50th ski marathon of his illustrious career! Congratulations to all participants!

From Rick Nelson:
Rock Cut Conditions:
Mike Rieger and I started at Lions, went up the tollway hill and skated on the Wayne Fish Loop (formerly known as the Vasa Loop) this morning around 8:30 AM.
3/4" of powder over Ice and hardpack. Skating on the was actually quite good. You can put your good skis to the snow. Only thin spot was under the pines on the connector trail.

From Craig Riske: (Yesterday)
Skated Rock Cut in the afternoon and found conditions on the Vasa loop to be (Suprizingly) fairly decent albeit a little rough under neath the 1 inch we got overnight. The Equestrian area was a no go though, way to rough and icey.
Will try the Vasa loop tomorrow again

Thursday January 26, 2012
Temps in the mid 30's today with a little sun. I skied at Sinnissippi early this morning and found fair-to-poor conditions for classical skiing. I stayed away from the groomed lanes. Snow was skiable, but tricky. I had waxables. I would have been better off with waxless. Looked fair for skaters. Crust skiing looked like it would be pretty good, but it has warmed up since then.

From John Kruse:
With the temp around freezing the icy snow I found on the Vasa loop at Rock Cut might not be a problem, coverage was still very good.

NOTE: I am headed for Marquette and the Noquemanon leaving early tomorrow (Friday) morning. I'll have the computer along, but it's likely I won't be able to (or get to) updating the web site until after I get back on Sunday.

Wednesday January 25, 2012
No new snow and the snow we have is getting thinner. Chuck Wallin tells me he's been skiing at Sandy Hollow and found the conditions there to be very decent with crusty snow, but not icy, and still good for making a classical track.

From John Kruse:
After my experience of conditions at Rock Cut yesterday we limited our skiing early this morning to the Vasa loop out of the Lions parking lot. With the sunny warmth yesterday we found the groomed trail a bit icy and in fair condition today, still worth the trip for us, no bare spots. With another day or two of sunny warm temperatures we will be in need of fresh snow to make any skiing possible. Skiing out of the 173 parking on the Vasa loop is still doable and possibly a better option if the the snow continues to melt on the service road near the tollway.

From Jeff Lightcap:
Skiing at Rock Cut from lions with classic skis was very icy until i got to the harvey rd bike path...good skied in track that may last for awhile
Kirt skated and thought the vasa loop was good....equestrian side not so good (as in bad).

Tuesday January 24, 2012
Temps in the 20's today. I didn't get out, but read the reports sent to me below.
Remember the Wednesday evening race/gathering at Sinnissippi tomorrow evening!

From John Kruse:
I skied the Rock Cut Vasa and a modified Equestrian ski trail loop this morning after the warm day we had yesterday. I started out just as the groomer passed by me at the Lions parking lot. I found conditions fair to good, very enjoyable, with all of the groomed trail skiable with some local problem spots. As we all know the snow cover is thin but the base this morning was firm with a light soft cover layer. Grooming looked to be a bit of a challenge, especially on the west side along and in the open areas around the power lines where there wasn't enough snow to fill in the holes and ruts from the heavy use over the weekend and warm Monday. The Vasa loop is the better of the two. Also note that without the snow necessary to do so, setting a classical track was not possible. The figure eight and the adjacent trail down to the lake was
not groomed.

From Jeff Lightcap:
Sinnissippi was groomed at 1pm Tuesday. Hard packed skate lane surfaces were broken up and smoothed as much as possible. Some thin spots showing grass will grow larger today due to sun exposure. Most sections skate really great...just look ahead for the thin or bare spots. The outer loop was groomed similarly to the skate loop...no classical track set.

From Dan Riggs (Rock Cut State Park site superintendent):
We made a pass over the trails this morning at Rock Cut while the temps were still relatively low and the results were mixed with the best conditions on the northeast (equestrian trails) accessed from Hart Road. The Vasa and northeast trails had some bare spots and conditions are not as good.

Monday January 23, 2012
Temps were above freezing pretty much all day today. We lost a lot of snow and what we have left is very wet. I was in Chicago today and even ten miles south of Rockford the snow is pretty much gone, so we're a little better off than that. The forecast is for temps to remain below freezing (barely) all week, but there is no snow on the horizon. I won't be able to get out in the next few days with Miss C. here. So please let me know what you find out there.

Sunday January 22, 2012
Overcast, light misty day today. It's 33 degrees now (4:30 p.m.) and it's supposed to stay above freezing all night and until tomorrow afternoon, so conditions will be soft and probably icy after it freezes again. This morning was probably still pretty good, although I didn't manage to get out today.

From John Kruse:
I classic skied both the Vasa and Equestrian trail loops at Rock Cut along with a couple side trips this morning encountering mostly good to some very good skiing given the conditions there. The classic track was well worn in, with the large number of skiers out this weekend. The bad news, as others have mentioned, the skating surface has not been groomed, so classical skiing is the only choice at this point.
Yesterday the running club ran a race around the lake so the trails along the lake were dug up by the heavy foot traffic. The good part is that it kept them busy and off the normally groomed ski trails. The five or so inches of snow we got on Friday was very light and dry making the skiing after lunch on Saturday a bit squishy but still a good day to enjoy our local state park. Given that it is late January and this snowfall could very well end up being the best of the season it is hard to understand why the grooming of the trails has been delayed this long, even taking into account what is likely a very tight state budget at the park. There are times you just have to make it happen. Hopefully a lot of you got out to enjoy the snow this weekend.

Saturday January 21, 2012
We got five inches of new snow here yesterday. See Geoff's report below.
Chuck Wallin, Charlie Carlson, and I went to Wausau on Friday. We skied at Nine Mile Friday afternoon. Temps were in the mid single digits and it was snowing lightly. A very nice ski. Today we competed in the Snekkevik race. It was a bright, sunny day with temps in the low single digits at the start. The course was beautifully prepared with an excellent track the entire way. This is a very popular race for high school teams, of which there were many. It's great to see the sport being so actively pursued by these youngsters. When I look around at who is skiing locally, all I see is all of us aging codgers.

From Geoff Fenelon:
I attempted to ski at Rock Cut but no grooming at midday. LOTS of snow and classic is probably OK on skied in track. Also just drove out to the equestrian parking lot and still no grooming. Sinnissippi was groomed. It was pretty soft but pretty good skiing. John H and I will be skiing there tomorrow at 10:00 before the warm-up.

Thursday January 19, 2012
It's cold and sunny here. Temps in the single digits and windy. The recent snow is still very good. Chuck and Charlie and I skied for an hour at Sandy Hollow again today. Plenty of snow, but yestersday's tracks were all filled in. Golf course skiing has its plusses and minuses. One of the plusses is that there are no hikers to contend with.
The forecast calls for snow beginning early tomorrow morning and contiuing all day with a total accumulation of 4"-8". I will be out of town headed for Wausau with Chuck and Charlie and the Snekkevik race at Nine Mile. I'll have my computer along, so if someone will let me know what's going on back here in Rockford, I'll try to post it.

From Ed Edinger:
I skied at Rock Cut this afternoon. The 2+ in. of new snow on tuesday helped the deteriorating track, but has not been groomed. I did the horse loop. The skating was ok, but a nice grooming would help, especially if we get more snow Fri. Good coverage, be aware of sticks and occasional rocks and ruts.

Wednesday January 18, 2012
Cold and sunny today. Chuck, Charlie, and I skied at Sandy Hollow golf course this morning. Temp was 10 degrees and conditions were very good, with Chuck leading the way up and down the hills in the northeast corner.
The inaugural re-birth of the Wednesday evening race at Sinnissippi was attended by four people. We didn't race this time, just had a nice evening ski. Y'all might think about coming out next week. (Bring a light!)

From Rick Nelson:
I did get in a ski (classical) at Rock Cut today. There is very good coverage but the trail surface is very rough & potted with footprints so skiing is fun but tricky. Grooming. would make it very good.

Tuesday January 17, 2012
It's snowing again today and the temps are dropping. Looks like about two inches so far (3:30 p.m.). Not much more expected. I imagine that this will greatly improve the local skiing.

From Jeff Lightcap:
Skied from the equestrian lot at Rock Cut with waxless classic skis at 2pm....2 inches of fresh over base that felt like foam. Should roll/groom up good..I did not hit anything on the equestrian loop. I did not cross the park road. No grooming as of 3pm.

From Tom Detzner:
Skied the Sisu on Saturday from ABR to Ironwood and am happy to report it is still a great event well worth the travel. With temps at about 10 degrees and 18" of new snow (be careful what you wish for!) it was a little slow. (The winning 42k skate time was 2:05 by Matt Liebsch, former Birkie winner.) but still a lot better than last year! ABR is well known for excellent grooming and they did a great job with all the new snow. It was 3 hours + of skiing through a winter wonderland.
I ran into Ron Morris who was there with a group from Blackhawk Bike and Ski club. We worked together at Sundstrand many years ago. He skied the 21k and it was his first time on snow this year.
Thanks to the 3 day weekend we were able to ski for 2 days in the Seeley area and found conditions there to be excellent and scenery beautiful as well.

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