The past two days has seen a significant thaw, although a slight frost is forecast for tonight. Because there is so much snow in the forest there is still a surprising amount of skiing to be had, but breaks are appearing and the meltwater is running like a train. Snow is soft, still very deep in places, but slushy where thin. Here is a trail by trail account, based on this evening’s visit:
– Main Trail from Car Park to Hut: first 60m or so is almost bare; broken at Hut.
– Biathlon Range — big snow patches but waterlogged.
– Main Trail from Hut to Classic Start — complete.
– Classic Start training slope — complete.
– Main Trail from Classic Start to Short Cut — hill is mostly bare but most of the south verge is skiable.
– Norman’s Way from Short Cut to Highland Fling — long bare stretch from Short Cut to Telemark Twist; short break just beyond TT; remainder complete.
– Highland Fling — complete apart from short break near Norman’s Way.
– Range Way — broken.
– Deer Cut – summit level is bare for 50m or more.
– Leids Leap — complete, apart from 2 short breaks at snowdrifts, from Deer Cut to summit.
– Haute Route (mobile phone mast to Highland Fling) — complete for now, but several short breaks will appear very soon. Most can be avoided via drifts at the side.
I’m pretty sure that Short Cut is complete. Also, it’s likely that Timberline/Snowgoose will be complete for a long time yet. All the drifts up that way have consolidated pretty well.
