Saturday, February 25, 2017
Not Dead Yet!!
John G got after it today and groomed the whole shebang (except for Hamlin Loop), classic track and all. More snow and more cold weather in the forecast means we the Chicken may get a temporary stay of execution. Stay tuned and we'll keep you posted. The skiing ought to be pretty darn good tomorrow (Sunday).
Friday, February 24, 2017
Is it Dead Yet?
We were all set to pull grooming equipment from the area. But; this storm cycle looks like it may have enough cold and snow in it to keep an optimistic eye on. So, that's what we're going to do.
In the meantime, readers may want to know that we have been busy in other ways. In fact, we've got a plaque to prove it. On Tuesday evening, the Chicken Creek Nordic ski area was honored by Mancos Valley Resources as their "Project of the Year" award. More to come on that later. We have also been up in the forest, flagging trees in collaboration with the US Forest Service in a bid to retain shade on part of the Hamlin Loop where there will be a timber sale this summer.
All told those projects racked up another 23 hours of volunteer service.
Stay tuned...
In the meantime, readers may want to know that we have been busy in other ways. In fact, we've got a plaque to prove it. On Tuesday evening, the Chicken Creek Nordic ski area was honored by Mancos Valley Resources as their "Project of the Year" award. More to come on that later. We have also been up in the forest, flagging trees in collaboration with the US Forest Service in a bid to retain shade on part of the Hamlin Loop where there will be a timber sale this summer.
All told those projects racked up another 23 hours of volunteer service.
Stay tuned...
Sunday, February 19, 2017
Sunday, February 12, 2017
Yuuuuuuuuuuck!
Grooming activities are currently suspended while we try to figure out if we went through a wormhole and landed in April. If the storm system moves out with some cold and enough snow to refresh the trails and resume skiing, that would be great. It also appears highly unlikely, as the temperatures are predicted to hit about 50 once the rain stops. Sigh.
Stay tuned. Anything can happen. There is enough snow/slush to kick around on up there if you are not fussy about the quality of snow. The southwest corner of the Lower Bauer Loop is in the process of getting washed out but was still holding as of Thursday. I haven't been back up there since then to look, but it didn't look like it was going to hold out for too much longer. It will be a big problem - not so much for skiers - if we can't get grooming equipment through that section of trail.
Stay tuned. Anything can happen. There is enough snow/slush to kick around on up there if you are not fussy about the quality of snow. The southwest corner of the Lower Bauer Loop is in the process of getting washed out but was still holding as of Thursday. I haven't been back up there since then to look, but it didn't look like it was going to hold out for too much longer. It will be a big problem - not so much for skiers - if we can't get grooming equipment through that section of trail.
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Chickens that Tweet
For those of you who want the latest data on grooming and conditions at the ski area, follow us on Twitter. We are aiming for near instantaneous reporting on grooming right here:
Twitter Feed (not chicken feed)
For those of you disinclined to push the above button, here is a detailed report on the doings from last night (Monday). Groomers Michael and Peter B groomed well into the evening hours, trying to take advantage of cooler temperatures. All loops received the treatment. Pretty much all the established classic track was obliterated in the process, but so were many of the potholes created by inconsiderate hikers. In general, the bit of fuzz we got on top of the snow already there made things a bit smoother. The warm weather today is not going to help. If this current system goes out as snow, we may get enough to freshen things up nicely. Stay posted, and seriously, do that Twitter thing.
What with all the grooming, machine repairs, administrative work, blogging, tweeting, etc., 10.4 volunteer hours were logged yesterday and today.
Twitter Feed (not chicken feed)
For those of you disinclined to push the above button, here is a detailed report on the doings from last night (Monday). Groomers Michael and Peter B groomed well into the evening hours, trying to take advantage of cooler temperatures. All loops received the treatment. Pretty much all the established classic track was obliterated in the process, but so were many of the potholes created by inconsiderate hikers. In general, the bit of fuzz we got on top of the snow already there made things a bit smoother. The warm weather today is not going to help. If this current system goes out as snow, we may get enough to freshen things up nicely. Stay posted, and seriously, do that Twitter thing.
What with all the grooming, machine repairs, administrative work, blogging, tweeting, etc., 10.4 volunteer hours were logged yesterday and today.
Sunday, February 5, 2017
Facebook Fantasia; Super Bowl Siesta
Just because no grooming happened at the area over the weekend doesn't mean we were all asleep at the wheel. The Board of Directors for the ski area met over the weekend in an attempt to make Chicken Creek Ski Area viable into the future.
FYI, the next planned grooming session is Monday evening, about 5pm; weather dependent.
One of the things which came out of the meeting was a desire to step into the bold new world of social media. Yes, of course that means Facebook and Twitter. Here are the links:
Facebook Link
Twitter Link
Coming soon, look for a way to contribute directly to the ski area without having to leave your chair! Anyway, the volunteer hours accumulated by volunteer board members and committee members to make this all happen total 27.8 over the last two days.
FYI, the next planned grooming session is Monday evening, about 5pm; weather dependent.
One of the things which came out of the meeting was a desire to step into the bold new world of social media. Yes, of course that means Facebook and Twitter. Here are the links:
Facebook Link
Twitter Link
Coming soon, look for a way to contribute directly to the ski area without having to leave your chair! Anyway, the volunteer hours accumulated by volunteer board members and committee members to make this all happen total 27.8 over the last two days.
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Poultry Inspector Report
Thanks to some good cloud cover today, the ski area remains in good feather. Bauer Loops got a quick touch-up this evening and ought to be sublime in the morning. Upper Loops are looking quite good, though there are some faint ruts which could easily catch a ski tip if your attention lapses on the way down. Speaking from experience there.
Yamaha rescue successful, returned to pen, grooming and rescuing tallied 1.8 volunteer hours; admin duties chewed up another 2.5 hours for a total of 4.3 hours today.
Yamaha rescue successful, returned to pen, grooming and rescuing tallied 1.8 volunteer hours; admin duties chewed up another 2.5 hours for a total of 4.3 hours today.
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Something Happened Somewhere
Skiers, get ready for the most ambiguous, un-enlightening entry ever! Two guys, John G and Phil A, went out on very expensive yet totally unreliable machines into the forest this afternoon in an attempt to improve skiing conditions for you. Yes, you. One machine quit running for as yet undetermined reasons. The other ran reasonably well, except at low speeds (which is how we do all our grooming). Some trails got some grooming, some didn't. One guy had to do some walking, the other one didn't.
I hope this clears thing up for you all. Between grooming, listening to explanations of how cutting down almost all the trees in the forest will be good for everyone, fetching the broken down machine from the shop, walking out after the other machine broke down, blah, blah, blah, 7.8 volunteer hours were spent doing things. Isn't that awesome?
I hope this clears thing up for you all. Between grooming, listening to explanations of how cutting down almost all the trees in the forest will be good for everyone, fetching the broken down machine from the shop, walking out after the other machine broke down, blah, blah, blah, 7.8 volunteer hours were spent doing things. Isn't that awesome?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
