News

The last week of 50 degree weather has taken its toll on the ski trails. The groomers went up today and discovered that it was much warmer and sunnier at Pahaska than in town, making most of the trails slush, with water running everywhere. A little trail recon revealed many melted out tree wells and bare spots where the trails do not connect. Not much snow is in the forecast, and with March nearly over, we have made the call to hang it up for the season. Nevertheless, there is still a fair amount of snow coverage, If the temps drop and the nights get cold, the crust can set up and make for some good crust skiing.

We will leave the porta-potties up through this week, but will begin removing signage and markers.

Volunteers; Stay tuned for a bridge removal workday in early April.

This season certainly has been an interesting one! Thanks for joining us on the trails, we are already looking forward to next season!

Heads Up, the Forest Service has closed the Crow Creek ski loop due to a wolf-killed elk carcass in the proximity. It will likely be closed a few days.

All the other trails are open and freshly groomed. The skiing should be fast in the morning, changing to spring conditions later in the day.

Hi all, not much new snow to report, the storm forecast to hit Pahaska never really materialized. The heat from last weekend has shrunk the snow pack down noticeably, but there's still plenty of snow for now.

We groomed yesterday, (Wednesday) and spruced up the trails that never really got the attention they needed because of the large snowfall last week.

Trails Groomed:

Moose Flats, Crow Creek, Barn Road, Race Park, Middle fork and the Highway.

It got too warm to continue, so we plan to go up Friday AM and finish all the South side trails before the weekend.

This Saturday is the last session of the Nordic Kids program. It going to be warm and sunny, so bring water and sunscreen!

The following week's forecast is ridiculously hot, so I don't imagine all the trails holding out for too long. This is likely the last weekend to get get access to all the trails. One bright spot, however, is that this warm, sunny weather will likely create some great crust cruising, where you can ski anywhere on firm crust, (as long as you go when its cool). So take advantage of some great spring skiing while you can!

18" new inches at Pahaksa since last Monday. The groomers wallowed around in it for quite some time and managed to get a nice groom on all the trails, (except for the dog trails East of the river). Nighttime temps are supposed to get quite low so the trails should set up and be very firm tomorrow morning. Expect spring conditions by afternoon. Everything should ski really well, but look out on corners for the occasional bit of Cat Chowder, (track marks).

Snowshoers, The Pahaska crew has been out setting their snowshoe tracks that criss-cross the groomed ski trails back to the barn and up above the lodge. If you haven't tried them yet, you should check them out.

Even though we've had over 60" of snow in the last 2 weeks, the long stretch of warm temps coming up will take its toll, so get it while it lasts.

see you on the trails,

the Groomers

Grooming Update, 3/2/24:

Well... we got some snow. It happened to come all at once, so that makes it difficult to stay ahead of it and keep it packed down, but we are glad to have it in whatever way it comes down.

Pahaska got 4" of wet snow on Thursday night, the groomers rolled everything in anticipation of more snow on the way. Saturday Morning brought another 9" overnight and HEAVY snowfall throughout the day, totaling 18-20". Every trail was groomed on Saturday and some areas were groomed twice. There is 1.5-2" of powdery fresh snow on the trails that came down after we finished, but the skiing is really good despite that. We are taking a break for the rest of the weekend and the will be back up the first part of the week to reset.

The forecast calls for snow throughout the coming week, so March should have some great skiing!

The Groomers went up today and reset the trails for the weekend. We've had some warm temps this week and have seen the snow pack shrink, despite picking up an inch or two the last few days.

Most of the trails are in good shape, but there are a few low-snow areas, so ski with caution.

Trails Groomed for skate and classic:

Moose Flats, Barn Road, Crow Creek, Race Park, Highway, Outlaw, Haul Road, Penny's, Becker sand Middle Fork.

SG East trails were packed with the cat today. They will require another storm before track can be set. If you ski them, watch out for sticks , etc... that might be in the trail.

We are waiting for the next storm to get on the dog trails.

More snow is in the forecast for next week! Enjoy,

the Groomers

Snow update 2/17/24:

We finally got some snow! and it seems like the entire season's snowfall came at once... 22-24" around Pahaska, with more on the higher benches. The grooming crew was busy trying to pack the trails for the High school races that took place on Friday and Saturday.

All the trails around Pahaska have been groomed and re-groomed, with track skate lanes. The highway still has grooming for the race, with double track set all the way to the Forest Service Kiosk and a "best line" track set down the Middle Fork. The Skiing is fantastic!

The SG East trails have had one initial pack, but are not groomed.

The dog trails have not been touched yet, so if you like to slog through powder, that's the place to be!

The groomers will be back up toward the end of the week to refresh the trails for the weekend.

As a reminder, please snowshoe on the FAR side of the groomed surface from the Classic tracks and pick up after your dogs.

Its finally here, get out and enjoy it!

Taste of Trails will be held this weekend Saturday, February 10th starting at noon.  Only 15 spots left! Register today .

3" of new wet snow at Pahaska as of Sunday morning. The Highway was re-groomed up to the Park line. Its really the only thing worth skiing at the moment. Please find somewhere else to walk rather than right up the tracks on the road. The base is around 3" deep and very fragile.

The Grooming team is working hard to put the Taste of Trails course together for the weekend. Machinery will be out on Moose Flats, barn road and Race Park, so it would be best to avoid those areas.

Let's hope the second round of Pineapple express brings some more snow to the area before the weekend.

Thanks,

The Groomers