Chris Landry made a trip to the Skyway study site (off of Sunset loop) today with some graduate students from Tom Painter’s research group at University of Utah. They were here to measure dust on snow. Unfortunately, there was a lot of dust to see, and most of it is on the top layer of snow, which makes the crust ugly and difficult to ski.
So long beautiful crust season!
As many of you know who live in the Grand Valley, we had tremendous winds today, Monday April 12, that brought a lot of red dust from Utah and points west. Unfortunately, for us die-hard skiers, this has wrought havoc with snow conditions on the Grand Mesa, creating virtually unskiable conditions. We aren’t going to get enough snow to fix it, so at this point, we have decided to cease grooming operations for the nordic ski season.
However, what a great season it was on the Grand Mesa — skiing before Halloween that lasted well into April — there aren’t many nordic areas that can brag about six months of cross-country skiing with some of the best snow conditions anywhere in the country. I’d like to give a special shout-out to a great grooming crew of Jon Canty, Al Fournier, and Kenton Shaw for bringing us a great ski conditions from start to finish. Also, special thanks to Tom Ela for putting on our race events without a hitch. For myself, a special thanks to the board, but most especially to Christie Aschwanden, our Board President, who was a great supporter of mine this season.
For you members, thanks for your support and remember, we have great things in store for next year, but we will need your help. Please check our website for some exciting volunteer opportunities coming up soon for next year that we will need your help in making this organization even better for next winter. Just think, only 7 more months until ski season starts again! Thanks again and have a great summer….
Leslie Brodhead, Operations Manager
WOW! What a great day to be a Nordic skier on the Grand Mesa. Tomorrow promises to be even better. Call in sick, blow off your deadline, whatever it takes–get your butt up there and enjoy this marvelous snow!
–Christie
Mr. Fast Pants
FYI for all you spring skiing enthusasiasts — we are nearing the end of the season — this weekend will be the last time we snowcat groom (Friday evening) and next Friday (April 16) will be the last grooming of any kind — with snowmobile. Then we are hanging it up for the season. Thanks to all you members for your tremendous support. What a great season — with skiing beginning before Halloween and lasting well into April!
Also, on that note, I encourage any and all to provide feedback on the operations and grooming so that we can make next year even better — as always, comments can be e-mailed to gmnordic@gmail.com.
Happy Skiing!
Leslie
The Colorado Dust-on-Snow team from the Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies in Silverton performed a full-depth snow profile at their Grand Mesa Study Plot at the Skyway ski trails on Thursday, March 25. They found evidence of only one dust-on-snow event in the pack, near the bottom, from October 27th. Otherwise, the snowpack looked “clean”, with no additional, discernible dust layers observed.
But, dust season is far from over … even yesterday, strong S’ly winds were generating some haze and may have delivered a small dust-on-snow event later that day. As the Colorado Plateau dries out, the CODOS crew will continue to monitor the snowpack all over the state, returning to Grand Mesa in mid April.
CDOT contacted me to let me know they will be closing Highway 65 at 7 pm tonight, Tuesday, March 23 for avalanche control. They expect to re-open the road by noon tomorrow, Wednesday, May 24. If you plan on skiing tomorrow, please check the CDOT website, www.dot.state.co.us, before leaving. Assuming the road opens as planned, Jon will be grooming tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m.
Leslie
The Mesa Meltdown results have now been posted. Go to the “Race Series (Schedule and Results)” link under the Programs menu item. This was our final race of the season. Complete Series standings will be posted soon. Thanks to all you racers and volunteers that made for a fun season on Grand Mesa. Please thank and patronize our sponsors listed under the Sponsors menu item.
Tom, GMNC Race Director
Want real-time reports on where and when our groomers are grooming?
Check out our new, “Spot the Groomer” web page.
As a safety measure, we’ve equipped our groomers with Spot Satellite Messengers to report in at the beginning and end of their grooming shift with the time and location of where they are grooming. (The devices allow them to report to us–or emergency dispatch if appropriate–in case they need help.)
Our Spot the Groomer website gives you real-time reports of when and where groomers are doing their work. Our grooming crew reports in via their spot at the beginning and end of each grooming session. These Spot reports provide a Google Maps link to where and when the grooming has taken place.
Check it out: http://groomerspot.blogspot.com/
A pair of gloves and a water bottle were left at the 20-Yr bonfire party, and some kids ski poles and a disposable camera were left at the Barnelopet.
To claim, contact Tom Ela 970-434-9753.
We’re planning for our future and we want your help. Do you have a proposal or idea to share? We’ll use our May board meeting to brainstorm ideas and work on plans for next year and beyond.
Please join us, Tuesday, May 4th at 6:30 p.m. at Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado’s meeting rooms. [...]
Want to find out what the GMNC board is up to? Do you have a proposal or idea to share? Maybe you just want to meet the board and find out what we’re all about.
Join us for our next board meeting, Tuesday, April 6th at 6:30 p.m. at the Bill Heddles Recreation Center in Delta [...]
The Grand Mesa Nordic Council is a volunteer, not-for-profit organization of people who love to cross-country ski. We groom 54 kilometers (32.4 miles) of trails on the Grand Mesa with funds donated from skiers and snowshoers like you. Contact Us: Grand Mesa Nordic Council, PO Box 266, Cory CO 81414 grandmesanordic@gmail.com
