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Friday, February 1, 2019

Calling all Chickens! Attention Please!

I just thought I should mention that our Facebook page will now be the primary organ for the dissemination of up-to-the-moment grooming news. This is because I can update that page from my phone, and I haven't figured out how to do this blog from my phone. A sorry state of affairs, no doubt. But it's the reality we are going to have to deal with for now.

Anyway:
The entire Chicken got a full-on grooming session again this evening (Friday) in order to have the best possible conditions going into the weekend. New skate track everywhere and new classic track on about 90% of the trail miles.
When I say 'best possible conditions' what I mean is we did the best we could with what was there. No, we were unable to convert chunky ice into perfect corduroy. But, conditions tomorrow morning ought to be quite tolerable.  The track underneath is firm (to put it mildly) and we used our chicken teeth to stir up the existing snow to create something related to awesome conditions. The kinship is a tad distance, but really it ought to be quite good.

See you out there!

Dave K and Peter B put in a total of 7.5 hours grooming, admin, maintenance, etc.

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Leftovers for lunch

A bit soggy, a bit stale, and kind of crunchy in the mornings. That is the current state of affairs at the Chicken Creek ski area.

Today, Tuesday, there will be some touch-up taking place late afternoon. Bauer Loops will receive some attention, but the upper loops will probably have to wait until tomorrow evening. And with any luck we may receive more moisture this weekend - hopefully in the form of snow. That would be a most welcome refreshment for a tired chicken.

John G was out there late on Sunday evening for a few hours, plus admin and other volunteer hours (maintenance, blogging, social media, etc) for a total of 6.5 hours since last update.

Friday, January 25, 2019

Chicken Salad Days

Good news in the poultry palace:
  • All trails are groomed as of 8:00 PM Friday Jan. 25
  • Classic track exists on 97.35 % of the trails
  • Classic got a touch-up tonight in certain spots which had been in particularly poor shape prior to grooming
  • This does NOT mean all the classic is "primo."  In fact, it is not. There are some scattered rough and/or non-existent sections
BUT
Mostly, the skiing tomorrow (Saturday) ought to be superb. Chicken tenders cooked to perfection with an herbed butter sauce. Firm yet forgiving. At least until noon-ish. Then our friend the sun will be changing things up minute by minute.

Due to a string of warmish days with lots of sun on the horizon, we will be using a light touch with grooming efforts over the next couple days (read: not much - if any - grooming until after the weekend).  We still want to balance the joy of fresh track versus trying to keep snow on the ground.
IF we experience very heavy usage, we reserve the right to actually do some work on the track over the weekend. Don't count your chickens...

Early birds will get the fresh corduroy. Check back for updates on planned grooming events.

Brad F and Peter B shredded it for a total of 7.5 hours, fuel fetching plus admin brought us up to 8.75 hours of volunteer labor since last entry.

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

The Plan for the weekend

Just a quick update to let folk know about what to expect at Chicken Creek Nordic through the weekend.

Today, Wednesday, the lower loops are getting a touch up with the groomer. They have seen some use over the past couple days but overall still holding up well. The touch-up ought to make skiing very smooth for tomorrow morning.

Next planned grooming session will take place Friday evening into the night. All trails are slated for grooming in anticipation of a sunny, busy ski weekend. We are looking at higher temps over the weekend, so grooming may take a back seat for a little bit until one of the following happens:
  • The track gets beat up enough that we are compelled to smooth it out
  • The weather turns colder and/or cloudier
  • Snow returns to the region
Don't worry; we won't let it get too bad. But we once again have to balance keeping conditions smooth versus stirring up the snow too much, especially with warm-ish sunny days coming.

David B groomed today, Brad F, Allen F and Peter B groomed Tuesday (yesterday) morning. Total volunteer hours accrued since last update is 14.75 hours.

Sunday, January 20, 2019

The Chicken Wishes Everyone a Happy Holiday

Yes, Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday celebration holiday. And it looks like more snow is on the way. Yipee!
That was an amazing couple days of skiing today and yesterday. Today may have been the finest conditions I have ever experienced at Chicken Creek Nordic. WooHoo! My drumsticks are all wore out. Time for a day off.  And it looks like tomorrow will be a good day for respite. The current forecast is calling for snow pretty much all day.  Hard to say right now whether we'll get any real accumulation, so we'll just keep an eye on things.

Last night (Saturday) John P and David B put in some long hours taking out the ruts and dog tracks all over the place. They also put up some sweet classic track, which was getting a workout today. As I mentioned, conditions were off-the-charts amazing, especially for those who chose to hit the track early with cold wax on their skis.

As of this moment, further grooming activities will be on hold until Monday's storm plays itself out. So look for more grooming to take place Tuesday either early morning or in the evening.  Our volunteer groomers need a break as well. All hail the groomers!

Volunteer hours accumulated since last update is 14.5 hours.
 

Friday, January 18, 2019

READY FOR THE BIG WEEKEND!!

It's true:
All of the terrain currently open at Chicken Creek Nordic Ski Area was groomed this evening (Friday) and ought to be in tip-top shape for Saturday morning.

Skate and classic track are in place all the way around. (You're welcome, Cap)

David K and Peter B were out late making it happen. 13 volunteer hours accrued today.

GO SKI!
ENJOY!

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Buttered Chicken. Yum.




Thursday Update:
All trails were groomed for skate skiing last evening (Wednesday) after the storm moved out. The resulting skiing has been quite nice (though the track is a mite choppy in places). The trees were all loaded with snow and the snow was buttery soft; a tad too soft for fast skating uphill. BUT:
Overall a delightful skiing experience. Our new grooming equipment was most helpful in accomplishing as much as we did last night. Peter B and David B (no known relation) were at it for over 5 hours yesterday.
Tonight’s forecast calls for as much as 7 inches in Mancos. The current plan is to groom it out Friday evening and into the night. This should lead to nice ski conditions for the upcoming holiday weekend.

Volunteer hours since last update total 18.5 hours, including grooming, equipment repair and maintenance, admin, social media updates, etc.

Monday, January 14, 2019

Post weekend update

Conditions at the Chicken were delightful for the weekend. Skiing in the snow is the bomb! Great to see all you snow lovers out there.
We are currently in a bit of a wait-and-see pattern, tracking the approaching storm system. Grooming is currently on hold until we can get a better feel for whether we will get significant snowfall. As the previous post mentioned, grooming makes the skiing more fun at the same time it makes the snow disappear more quickly. Since our coverage is getting thin, we are going to hold off temporarily.
That will change as soon as snow makes its presence felt.
A big shout out to Jeph Blaine for fabricating two pieces for the grooming equipment. Jeph is a very skilled welder/fabricator and his services are available for hire. Call him at 970-779-9224!
Brad was out Saturday evening brushing things up for the Sunday skiers. That work plus Jeph's work, admin etc logged another 10 hours of volunteer labor.


Friday, January 11, 2019

Push Vs. Pull

Volunteer groomers were once again burning the midnight schmaltz in an effort to keep the Chicken Creek experience as enjoyable as possible. We need to balance that against not agitating the snow too much since stirring the snow up helps it melt faster.
So...
Most of the dog-friendly Bauer Loops received quite a bit of attention, including fresh classic track. These loops see the most action and were treated accordingly. In an attempt to preserve what little snow we have, we will not be grooming again over the weekend. So get those early Saturday freshies if you can. And do what you can to make it snow some more. Soon. Please.

Here we go, blow by blow:

Bauer loops: Fresh classic and skate track all the way around. It ain't pretty, but certainly improved from Friday's mildly anxiety-provoking conditions.
Rush Connector: Fresh classic and skate, 2 passes. Looking ok.
Rush Creek Loop: The west side got fresh grooming up to the junction of the Chicken Creek Road,  Skate and Classic. Should be much improved and very ski-able. Classic track there is a new addition.

Hamlin: Got no attention, but is in overall pretty good shape. It was last groomed on Wednesday morning and has seen little action since.
Chicken Creek Road to turnaround: Also sadly neglected today, but in good shape and was groomed on Wednesday, similar to Hamlin.

Thanks again for the continued generosity at the donation box. It all helps! Wednesday Dave K and Paul put in 8 volunteer hours, and tonight it was Peter B, John P and Brad F working late and racking up another 12. Add in admin time plus blogging and social media upkeep and we have accumulated 24.5 volunteer hours since last update.



Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Mike the Headless Chicken

Okay, first the good news.
That was a pretty good dump of snow we just got, perhaps as much as 8 inches at the higher reaches of the ski area and perhaps 5-6 at the trailhead.  The area looked like a post card until the sun started getting after it. (more on that later under "bad news'.)  Groomers were out working late last night (Monday) trying to get all the air out of the snow, in order to enhance the skiing experience for y'all.

Here's the grooming report:
Bauer Loops: groomed for skate and classic
Rush Connector: ditto
Upper Loops (Rush and Hamlin): Track packed but NOT groomed

Conditions are as follows:
Bauer: Good to excellent, depending on where in the system you are. The snow was soft at the end of the storm and has been a bit difficult to tame. There are uneven areas and ruts more than capable of catching a ski and inducing involuntary face plant. Caution advised, but mostly pretty darn good
Rush Connector: Amazing!
Hamlin and Rush: see above

Now for some not-so-happy news. You may have observed the verb "trying" in the first paragraph. Two machine malfunctions - one relatively minor, the other of unknown magnitude - crippled grooming efforts last night. David B, Allen F and Peter B were out past dark last night doing what they could with what they had. The new grooming machine was instrumental in the work last night. That, and a flexible volunteer crew meant we got a lot of work done. I calculate 17 hours last night. Meeting with the mechanic and touching things up (including the installation of the aforementioned classic track) tallied another 5.5 hours volunteer labor today.

The mechanic's labor, however, was not volunteered, nor should it be. He came to OUR house on short notice and quickly got one machine back up and running. New parts are on the way for the mystery ailment.
All this serves as background for my next pitch:
Please don't neglect the donation box at the trailhead. There is a paypal button on this page for those so inclined. Non-cash carrying Luddites can send us a check at Chicken Creek Nordic, PO Box 111, Mancos 81328.
We are tearing through fuel, and now we will have machine repair expenses as well. Your generosity makes this all possible. Thank you.

22.5 volunteer hours logged since last update.

Saturday, January 5, 2019

Busy Day In Chicken Land

A full parking lot, Durango High School Nordic squad, the Durango Nordic Club, and lots of locals made for an epic day at the ski area today.

 This group was tearing it up out there, having fun and going fast. There were lots of happy skiers and dogs out there today for sure!

Thanks to all who made contributions at the trailhead! 100% volunteer powered.

The track was in very good shape this morning, thanks to grooming efforts made last night. We were burning the midnight chicken fat to bring you some phat groomers today, as well as some classic track on the Bauer Loops.

Terrain; Here's what's open:
  • All of upper and lower Little Bauer Loops (the dog-friendly loops)
  • Rush Connector and Rush Creek Loop
  • Hamlin Loop
All terrain has been groomed except for the very top of the Chicken Creek Road, which is in progress. Hope to open that very soon. Stand by...

Hamlin is a bit tetchy as it has only recently received any real grooming, use extra caution on Hamlin, keeping an eye peeled for rocks and uneven, rutted terrain. Ice too. Giant sea lice?
The snow we get tonight is very much needed as the coverage is quickly thinning in the warmer weather.

A minor touch-up happened end of day today, but it's extent was very limited. Nevertheless, conditions tomorrow are largely dependent on tonight's weather. We will keep you posted as time and opportunity allows...

Jan 4 Paul, Peter and Dave K put in 17.5 hours labor getting trails in tune for weekend. Today, Peter and Dave K performed machine maintenance, fuel fetching, blogging, blah blah blah for 3.25 hours for a grand total of 20.75 hours since last update.

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Chicken Fried Ice - WooHoo!

Don't know about you, but I've been dreaming of this for two years. Deep, cold, soft champagne powder.  Not the very best for getting a quick firm base but beautiful! I posted a few pictures at

our facebook page.

Yesterday afternoon all the Bauer Loops were regroomed, as well as Rush Creek Loop. Hamlin got machine packed and is awaiting further attention. With any luck at all, it will receive some of that tomorrow afternoon (Thursday). We are also hoping to get some classic track installed before the weekend.  Stay tuned...

I wish to extend thanks on behalf of Chicken Creek Nordic to all those who have donated at the trailhead donation box, as well as those who have mailed in checks. Your generous donations allow us to keep things going.
We are 100% volunteer, with all donations going towards recurring and capital expenses. Every penny counts!

Peter B and Dave K put in 11 hours labor yesterday, and David B put in 4.5 hours the day before for a grand total of 15.5 volunteer hours since last update.