6ºF and no windchill
Note for Shawn: Nor-Am races up on the mountain this weekend. Yesterday’s race was delayed 'til noon, when it finally warmed up to 0F.
Snow in the forecast.
Ugh we are behind on snow this year. Seems to be all west of me. We have the temperatures but not the precipitation. I need to get out on my ski’s, going through withdrawal Can you send me some pictures to get me through. 
On a good note the ski center was getting everything organized and cleaning trails etc…
HJ,
It’s warming up too down here in Bozeman, MT. We “almost” got to 0 today! Speaking of skiing, we got a nice base layer here in town. Last Tuesday I hit one of the trails for the first time. Followed the groomers up the canyon for a nice 15.4K ski. I’m trying to work my way up to the full 26.8K later this season. Soft snow, needs some more compacting before the skiing is fast.
We broke into double digits today!!! Woo-hoo! Summer’s here!
Lots of good snow up in the mountains, but I’m a bit confused by all this talk of doing anything but going downhill on the skis. What’s up with that???
Later,
K
Kevin Strong said:
We broke into double digits today!!! Woo-hoo! Summer’s here!
Lots of good snow up in the mountains, but I’m a bit confused by all this talk of doing anything but going downhill on the skis. What’s up with that???
Later,
K
It’s not downhill on skis, that’s cheating! You have to first go ski up the hill… 
Kevin Strong said:
We broke into double digits today!!! Woo-hoo! Summer’s here!
Lots of good snow up in the mountains, but I’m a bit confused by all this talk of doing anything but going downhill on the skis. What’s up with that???
Later,
K
Basically it’s a different attitude. 
And a lot of fun.
HJ,
Classic or skate?
We’re getting an overnight low temperature of 41 tonight, and 34 tomorrow night, and that’s more than cold enough for me! I don’t know how people can stand living in places where it gets REALLY cold.
Craig Townsend said:
HJ,
Classic or skate?
Mostly classic, with a bit of skating when I feel like it and the snow is better for that.
Craig you forgot backcountry. I like classic when I have set tracks. I prefer backcountry. Nothing better then breaking trail through the woods.
I thought it was cold here…
…until I watched that Eagles/Lions Snow Bowl game this weekend, its going to be a positively balmy 60F here today.
Shawn Viggiano said:
Craig you forgot backcountry. I like classic when I have set tracks. I prefer backcountry. Nothing better then breaking trail through the woods.
I enjoy breaking trail too, but when I only have a little bit of time to ski, I stick to the groomed trails in town. Just got back from skiing up and down some old logging roads. I’ve got to find my map I seemed to have misplaced to figure out exactly where I went… Having a compass in the pack with no map, doesn’t help to much if you get lost…
I decided to dig my skis out and look at them.
Wood Norselanders. When I got them, oh, '63 or so, the folks that gave them to me took the bear traps off and put cable bindings on them.
Still there.
Leather webs on the poles long since rotted away.
Lots and lots of miles on Mammoth with these.
Did some up above Big Bear somewhere, but that was what, 68?
Last time.
Can’t bring myself to get rid of them.
Where I live is very hilly, I am 200ft. asl and on the coast so we rarely get snow. There are some hills around a half mile away that are over 500ft. asl and would make nice ski runs for novices if it ever snowed enough for that purpose. You have to travel to Scotland for ski slopes covered with snow but 30 miles westwards is an artificial ski slope.
Temperatures over the last few days have beet from 45F - 55F. Good temperature if you are working outdoors or running trains.
Now water skiing is more the norm around these parts.
56 where I am now, Anaheim. This is cold for southern California. The local news gets so funny when the temp drops below 60.
Back at the train layout in Colorado the temp is around 17 degrees with a little more then 2 feet of snow on the ground.
Craig Townsend said:
Shawn Viggiano said:
Craig you forgot backcountry. I like classic when I have set tracks. I prefer backcountry. Nothing better then breaking trail through the woods.
I enjoy breaking trail too, but when I only have a little bit of time to ski, I stick to the groomed trails in town. Just got back from skiing up and down some old logging roads. I’ve got to find my map I seemed to have misplaced to figure out exactly where I went… Having a compass in the pack with no map, doesn’t help to much if you get lost…
Yeah, but at least you always know which way is Magnetic North.
I was stupid once, well, more than once, but for this story, once… Anyway, took my girlfriend CC skiing on some logging roads near Moscow, ID. It was one of those sunny days that the North Idaho Panhandle is famous for. What could go wrong.
We had been skiing for perhaps an hour, hour and a half, when it started to snow. Still having at least two neurons firing, I suggested that we turn back. Our ski tracks are starting to fill up, but what could go wrong, we are on a logging road, right?
We came to a fork in the road that I didn’t remember being there on the way out. By this time, our ski tracks are full. Its snowing heavily. 10 Essentials? What are they? At least I have a lighter, and I was a Boy Scout, so I can build a Quimsy if necessary and start a fire in the snow, did both in good ol’ Troop 2, but I don’t have anything else, this was a simple out and back on a sunny afternoon, remember?
We took the right fork, not necessarily the correct fork, and after another hour, we popped out at the lodge of a ski hill that I dimly knew about, and was only about 2 miles from where we had parked the car, a 65 Mustang Coupe, that I still have.
That girlfriend was smart, she’s long gone.
Lesson learned. Map, compass. GPS…? Nah, never had much use for one. Long story. and the rest of the 10 Essentials, augmented for the terrain and weather that I’ll be in.
she’s long gone … 
Funny story Steve! Last week I brought my camel back with me to ‘drink’ from… Little did I realize that the hose would freeze up in sub zero temperatures. Lesson learned! Upside down regular water bottle for the rest of the season.
Hmm, lift carries you to the top, you ski down to the bottom. Waiting for you at the bottom, hot chocolate and hot tub. I remain even more unconvinced about this whole “cross country” thing. Frozen camelbacks, getting lost in a snowstorm… seems a recipe for disaster.
Later,
K
Kevin Strong said:
Hmm, lift carries you to the top, you ski down to the bottom. Waiting for you at the bottom, hot chocolate and hot tub. I remain even more unconvinced about this whole “cross country” thing. Frozen camelbacks, getting lost in a snowstorm… seems a recipe for disaster.
Later,
K
Of course its a recipe for disaster. That’s what makes it so attractive!