UPDATE 2/29/20
       Contrary to the usual pattern, areas south of the High Peaks did not receive much snow after Thursday's rain and snow that was very wet.  So, Hoffman Notch, Gulf Brook Road to Bores Ponds, and Newcomb Lake Road to Camp Santanoni may not be the best skiing for Sunday.  After the warm temperatures predicted for early next week, all opportunities will again be "equal", but for Sunday it is better to choose the Jackrabbit Trail (all sections broken out), or the other popular tours north of the High Peaks.   

After some less than ideal precipitation yesterday, the 1-3"originally predicted became more like 3-6" in the Tri-Lakes area.  This snow came with some very high winds, so some places could be almost bare (at least down to the crust) and some drifts could be much deeper.  The net result is that all trails are covered, and the only issue will be trail breaking on the ungroomed trails. Most sections of the Jackrabbit Trail had been broken out by Friday afternoon.

4 ft plus of snow at Lake Colden and 6-7 feet at 4,000 feet.

Still only predicted to be in the teens tomorrow and around 20 for a high on Sunday.  

Brief update on the groomed centers:
                   Van Hoevenberg:  4" new, 12" base, all 45 km tracked.
                    Cascade: 6'new, 12" base, all 15 km groomed, 10 km tracked
                   Paul Smiths VIC: Over 6" new, all 37 km groomed.

Next week will see another warming trend including temperatures in the 40s Tuesday and Wednesday.  Ski it while you can

     We had several hours of rain on Wednesday night, but by noon it had changed back to snow, but very wet snow so far.  No significant loos of snow with the rain, and the only questions now are how breakable will the crust be once the temperature drops, and how much additional lighter snow will we get overnight Thursday.  So far, it appears that all the major snow will stay well to the west and south of the Tri-Lakes area, but we could get another 2-3" which would put a nice surface on the trails that have already been broken out.  Weekend temperatures will be a high in the teens on Saturday, and around 20 on Sunday.  Then warmer again into next week with temperatures in the 40s Tuesday and Wednesday.  Another update tomorrow when we see how much snow fell overnight and we know what the groomed centers have managed to do with this less than ideal pattern.  
      Earlier this month my wife andI were in Norway.  We first visited our daughter and new grandson where they live north of the Arctic Circle, and then spent a few days in Oslo before flying back.  no snow in Oslo, but in addition to some museums we wanted to take a hike.  We stopped in at the office of the Norwegian Trekking Assoc. and got information on a suitable hike. We then asked about the weather for the following day.  The person we spoke with had excellent English, but he apologized for not having a good translation for the "sludd" that would be coming out of the sky.  We allowed as how that didn't seem to require any translation.  The above is a long way of saying, so far all we have gotten from this storm is sludd.  

INTRODUCTION
    Temperatures were into the 50s today, but this is not expected to be an extended thaw, so there won't be any significant loss of snow cover.  Temperatures through Thursday will be just above freezing for a high, but colder at night.  A mix of snow, sleet, and a bit of rain are in the forecast.  Then much colder on Friday (high of about 10) followed by somewhat warmer temperatures for the coming weekend.  

     Given today's warm temperatures, we need to hope for a few inches of snow before the weekend to cover up what will likely be some fairly hard and fast conditions once the temperatures drop.  Next update on Thursday, 2/27, after we know what has actually fallen from the sky and have a better idea of weekend weather.

JACKRABBIT TRAIL
        Finally good cover from end to end.  Downhills could be quite fast after today's warm weather unless/until we get some snow.   All sections are well broken out.  Section in from McKenzie Pond Rd. is thin at the start, but improves as one skis toward the pond.  Whiteface Inn trailhead has much more snow, but will also be quite "firm" when the temperatures drop as will be the other trailheads toward Keene. 

CROSS-COUNTRY SKI CENTERS
          CASCADE X-C SKI CENTER:  
          Km Open and Groomed: 15   Km Track Set: 15
          New snow:      Base Depth: 10"  Off Track 20"
          Surface Conditions:  Wet powder as of Monday
          Remarks:  Restaurant and ski shop open

          MOUNT VAN HOEVENBERG:
          Km Open and Groomed:  45    Km Track Set: 45
          New snow:      Base Depth: 12"  off Track 20"
          Surface Conditions:  Wet powder as of Monday
          Remarks: Groomed and tracked - everything except the outer loop of the Ladies 5 km. 
​

           PAUL SMITHS VISITOR INTERPRETIVE CENTER:
           Km Open and Groomed:  37  
           New Snow:      Base Depth: 25"
           Surface Conditions:  Wet powder as of Monday
       Remarks:  All trails groomed.  Most track-set 

BACKCOUNTRY CONDITIONS:
            Snowshoes or skis are now required in the High Peaks.  There is 47" at Lake Colden and 6-7 feet at 4,000 feet. See introduction for a discussion of how surface conditions will "evolve" during the week.

WHITEFACE HIGHWAY:  Skiable all the way to the Castle.

MARCY DAM TRUCK TRAIL:  Finally enough snow to truly cover all the rocks.  

HIKING TRAIL FROM ADK LOJ:  Definitely skiable.  Old Marcy Dam trail is the better start as there are no problems with any brook crossings.

AVALANCHE PASS:  Finally, no rocks to dodge above Marcy Dam. Pass is in good shape.  Lake ice on Avalanche Lake and Lake Colden is being crossed. Be cautious around all inlets and outlets.

CONNERY POND TO WHITEFACE LANDING:  Finally fully covered and broken out.   Pond can be crossed to avoid the hills at the beginning.
​
HAYS BROOK TRUCK TRAIL:  Definitely skiable to both Grass Pond and the Sheep Meadow,   Blowdown past the crossing of Hays Brook now reportedly cleared, but parking is not plowed.

FISH POND TRUCK TRAIL:  Definitely fully covered from the parking area.

RAQUETTE FALLS:  Finally enough cover for this classic tour. A bit thin under some of the hemlocks, and there is a tree at the bottom of a hill about three miles in. Road is plowed to the parking area past the bridge over Stony Creek with a few spaces plowed at the parking area.

GULF BROOK ROAD TO BOREAS PONDS: Parking area has been plowed.  Tracks broken to the ponds and out onto the surface for an even better view.  Second washed out culvert that required a detour has now been shoveled (thank you Jim Brundage?) and is no longer an obstacle.  First culvert is now just a "speed bump" with the new snow.

NEWCOMB LAKE ROAD TO CAMP SANTANONI: Good skiing as always. Moose Pond Trail also has good cover, but there is an undetermined amount of  uncleared blowdown.

AUSABLE LAKE ROAD:  Plenty of cover, but snowmobile traffic makes the surface less than ideal for skiing, but still acceptable. 

INTRODUCTION  (updated as of Friday, 2/21.
      This past Tuesday was a bit above freezing with a bit of rain during the night, so the hills are faster than usual, but it's not absolute glare ice.  X-C Centers will be able to groom up some nice surfaces.  Ungroomed areas may vary as some received a bit of new snow, others didn't and we haven't been able to personally check every area at this moment given that one-half inch of new snow that has fallen, seemingly randomly, and can make a big difference.
         It was cold Wednesday night through Thursday night with no new snow, but has warmed on Friday to the low-mid 20s and will then warm to around freezing on Saturday.  Then warmer still on Sunday followed by highs around freezing into next week with finally a chance for some new snow.  Meanwhile, there is plenty of cover, and it's not going anywhere for the foreseeable future.

JACKRABBIT TRAIL
        Finally good cover from end to end.  Downhills will be quite fast after the brief bit of rain Tuesday night.  All sections are well broken out.  Section in from McKenzie Pond Rd. is quite hard and fast with debris from the recent high winds further complicating the skiing.  Whiteface Inn trailhead has a bit of new snow and would be the best start for an out and back trip.  Other trailheads toward Keene  have pretty "firm" surfaces. 

CROSS-COUNTRY SKI CENTERS
          CASCADE X-C SKI CENTER:  
          Km Open and Groomed: 15   Km Track Set: 15
          New snow:      Base Depth: 10"  Off Track 20"
          Surface Conditions:  Packed powder and hardpack
          Remarks:  Restaurant and ski shop open

          MOUNT VAN HOEVENBERG:
          Km Open and Groomed:  45    Km Track Set: 45
          New snow:      Base Depth: 12"  off Track 20"
          Surface Conditions:  Packed powder and hardpack
          Remarks: Groomed and tracked - everything except the outer loop of the Ladies 5 km. 
​

           PAUL SMITHS VISITOR INTERPRETIVE CENTER:
           Km Open and Groomed:  37  
           New Snow:      Base Depth: 25"
           Surface Conditions:  Packed powder with a glaze of ice
       Remarks:  All trails groomed.  Most track-set 

BACKCOUNTRY CONDITIONS:
            Snowshoes or skis are now required in the High Peaks.  There is 47" at Lake Colden and 6-7 feet at 4,000 feet. 

WHITEFACE HIGHWAY:  Skiable all the way to the Castle.

MARCY DAM TRUCK TRAIL:  Finally enough snow to truly cover all the rocks, but the hills will be fast 

HIKING TRAIL FROM ADK LOJ:  Definitely skiable. The hills will be fast, but snowshoe traffic has made for perhaps better surfaces than on the truck trail.  Old Marcy Dam trail is the better start as there are no problems with any brook crossings.

AVALANCHE PASS:  Finally, no rocks to dodge above Marcy Dam. Pass is in good shape.  Lake ice on Avalanche Lake and Lake Colden is being crossed. Be cautious around all inlets and outlets - especially the outlet to Avalanche Lake where the safest course is to exit on the western shore and cross the outlet on the bridge.

CONNERY POND TO WHITEFACE LANDING:  Finally fully covered and broken out, but probably quite hard surfaces.  Pond can be crossed to avoid the hills at the beginning.
​
HAYS BROOK TRUCK TRAIL:  Definitely skiable to both Grass Pond and the Sheep Meadow,   Blowdown past the crossing of Hays Brook now reportedly cleared.

FISH POND TRUCK TRAIL:  Definitely fully covered from the parking area, but tracks are very hard with much storm debris complicating the skiing.  There is room for a new track to be broken, and that would be very nice skiing.  

RAQUETTE FALLS:  Finally enough cover for this classic tour. A bit thin under some of the hemlocks, and there is a tree at the bottom of a hill about three miles in. Road is plowed to the parking area past the bridge over Stony Creek with a few spaces plowed at the parking area.

GULF BROOK ROAD TO BOREAS PONDS: Parking area has been plowed.  Tracks broken to the ponds and out onto the surface for an even better view.  Second washed out culvert that required a detour has now been shoveled (thank you Jim Brundage?) and is no longer an obstacle.  First culvert is now just a "speed bump" with the new snow.

NEWCOMB LAKE ROAD TO CAMP SANTANONI: Good skiing as always. Moose Pond Trail also has good cover, but there is an undetermined amount of  uncleared blowdown.

AUSABLE LAKE ROAD:  Plenty of cover, and one of the areas that did get a bit of new snow after the warm weather and rain on Tuesday. Snowmobile traffic makes the surface less than ideal for skiing, but still acceptable given the new snow.. 

2/17 Update:
    Great conditions everywhere, but ski it today as Tuesday is predicted to have a "wintry mix" including some rain before it again becomes quite cold for the end of the week.  Pretty much all popular ski routes are in great shape and broken out.
         Raquette Falls is finally good skiing 
         Boreas Pond parking is plowed, and at least some has been broken out. 
      All X-C centers are in full operation, and no races at Mt. Van Hoevenberg to curtail the skiing there.

INTRODUCTION
       Thanks to last Friday's 12-18" of snow, we definitely have good cover everywhere.  Unfortunately, three days of above freezing temperatures have put a crust on the unbroken areas, and a glaze on those sections that have been broken out.  Today, Thursday, we have started out with some freezing rain, although it is supposed to change to snow with up to 3" by the end of the day.  Tomorrow, Friday, will be quite cold with high temperatures only in the single digits.  Saturday will start very cold, but warm to the mid-20s.  Sunday will be near 30, and then early next week will be a bit warmer before cooling off by the end of the week.  So, given the temperature "rollercoaster", the best surface conditions will beat the groomed centers, but pretty much anywhere will have good cover.

JACKRABBIT TRAIL
        Finally good cover from end to end.  Today the downhills will be quite fast until the new snow covers up the glazed surfaces.  All sections have been broken out since last week's storm.

CROSS-COUNTRY SKI CENTERS
          CASCADE X-C SKI CENTER:  
          Km Open and Groomed: 15   KmTrack Set: 15
          New snow:  1".    Base Depth: 10"  Off Track 20"
          Surface Conditions:  Packed powder and hardpack
          Remarks:  Restaurant and ski shop open

          MOUNT VAN HOEVENBERG:
          Km Open and Groomed:  45    Km Track Set: 45
          New snow:  1".    Base Depth: 10"  off Track 20"
          Surface Conditions:  Packed powder and hardpack
          Remarks: Groomed and tracked everything except the outer loop of the Ladies 5 km. Williams College Winter Carnival X-C Races Friday and Saturday morning on the biathlon side,
​

           PAUL SMITHS VISITOR INTERPRETIVE CENTER:
           Km Open and Groomed:  37  
           New Snow:   1".    Base Depth: 25"
           Surface Conditions:  Packed powder with a glaze of ice
       Remarks:  All trails groomed.  Most track-set 

BACKCOUNTRY CONDITIONS:
            Snowshoes or skis are now required in the High Peaks.  There is 36" at Lake Colden and 4-5 feet at 4,000 feet. 

WHITEFACE HIGHWAY:  Skiable all the way to the Castle.

MARCY DAM TRUCK TRAIL:  Finally enough snow to truly cover all the rocks. Broken out as of last weekend.

HIKING TRAIL FROM ADK LOJ:  Definitely skiable, but the hills will be very fast.

AVALANCHE PASS:  Finally, no rocks to dodge above marcy Dam. Pass is in good shape.  Lake ice on Avalanche Lake and Lake Colden is being crossed. Be cautious around all inlets and outlets - especially the outlet to Avalanche Lake where the safest course is to exit on the western shore and cross the outlet on the bridge.

CONNERY POND TO WHITEFACE LANDING:  Finally fully covered.
​
HAYS BROOK TRUCK TRAIL:  Definitely skiable to both Grass Pond and the Sheep Meadow,   Blowdown past the crossing of Hays Brook now reportedly cleared.

FISH POND TRUCK TRAIL:  Definitely fully covered from the parking area.  

GULF BROOK ROAD TO BOREAS PONDS: No report on whether the parking areas has been plowed, or if it has been broken out, but definitely enough cover to east the crossing of the washed out culverts.

NEWCOMB LAKE ROAD TO CAMP SANTANONI: Good skiing as always. Moose Pond Trail also has good cover, but there is an undetermined amount of  uncleared blowdown.

AUSABLE LAKE ROAD:  Plenty of cover, but the combination of warm days, cold nights, and snowmobile traffic makes the surface less than ideal for skiing. 

After the foot or more of snow on Friday, Saturday's cold temperatures did not appear to diminish the desire of skiers to get out and enjoy the new snow.  Consequently, all sections of the Jackrabbit Trail between Keene and Saranac Lake have been skied, but no report on the Paul Smiths section.  Additionally, Avalanche Pass and the Marcy trail are finally in good shape with much traffic over the weekend on both trails.  Hiking trail from ADK Loj now definitely very skiable, but there are good tracks on the truck trail as well.  No rocks to avoid on the stretch between Marcy Dam and Avalanche Camp.
Monday through Thursday will see high temperatures above freezing with some light precipitation of various kinds.  No significant accumulation or melting expected.  Friday will be very cold with highs only in the low single digits, but Saturday warms to near 20 and then again above freezing on Sunday.  So the upcoming weekend and the beginning of President's week will see by far the best skiing of the season.

In case you haven't been following the weather forecasts, we have picked up over a foot of snow on Thursday and Friday.  It's fairly dense snow, so it will more than cover any of the rocks and other hazards we have been warning about so far this season.  It's always a great moment for skiers when all of the safety warnings are about the highways and not the ski trails.  

So, as it happens both of the contributors to this conditions page are away this weekend, so we can't provide timely updates on which trails have been broken out.  That said, go out and start breaking trails on any popular trail, and soon some other party is likely to catch up to you and add to the trail breaking effort.  

Saturday will be quite cold with highs only 10-15 degrees, but it warms into the 20s on Sunday.  Then warm with light rain or snow on Monday and Tuesday before dropping back below freezing on Wednesday.  So, the coming week and following weekend look to be great skiing most everywhere.  

Happy Monday skiers,
Here is a Jackrabbit-specific report covering the entire trail from Paul Smiths to Keene, based on observations on Sunday Feb 2.  Our next full conditions report for the region will be posted later this week.  Until then the big takeaway is that skiing improved everywhere over the weekend.  A dusting of snow Saturday night and Sunday was just enough to soften things up on already well-traveled ski trails.  In some areas there is a weak crust when breaking trail, but not enough to detract from the skiing (even on skinny classic skis).

Paul Smiths to Saranac Lake

• Excellent cover and ski conditions on the trail from the VIC to Route 86 (Easy Street).  A single snowmobile track between Osgood Pond and Jones Pond Rd, but it did not ruin the trail.  If anything it left a nice packed single-track trench for skiing.  
• Route 86 to Lake Clear (Charlies Inn) - excellent ski track and beautiful snow conditions south of Easy Street until you reach the logging roads/snowmobile trails, then the route is well-traveled by snowmobiles until Charlies Inn.  
• Lake Clear to Saranac Lake on the Remsen-Lake Placid railroad corridor.  Generally decent skiing between on the tracks, packed by snowmobiles.  Between the Lake Colby causeway and Kinney Drugs some repair work has been done so you will encounter large gravel patches, making a short walk or ice skiing necessary (though the ice is slushy right now).  RR tracks through SL are good to ski through NCCC to the turn into the Wild Forest area heading toward McKenzie Pond Rd. 

Saranac Lake to Lake Placid

• Remsen-Lake Placid RR corridor to McKenzie Pond Rd - excellent ski conditions
• McKenzie Pond Rd to Whiteface Inn Rd - good cover from the parking area to the junction with the side trail to McKenzie Pond proper.  Conditions on the long hill to the top of the pass have improved considerably.  Generally good cover and smooth surface conditions, but still use caution and check speed on the steeper pitches as there are a handful of tricky spots remaining with a few exposed rocks and drainage dips. 
  
  From the top of the pass toward Whiteface Inn Rd the trail is excellent.  Be aware of increased hiker traffic as it seems more and more people are taking the easy way up McKenzie Mountain by using the Jackrabbit as an approach rather than starting at the trail head in Ray Brook.  On the private land section there are two water bars to watch out for still
  
• Whiteface Inn Rd to River Rd - beautiful skiing through Whiteface Club trails into the Peninsula network.  Fawn Ridge section to Crowne Plaza is excellent as well.  Lake Placid Club trails through to River Road are superb.
  
  

Lake Placid to Keene

• River Road to Cascade XC Ski Center - good cover from Bird Song Way to Craig Wood golf course and good parallel tracks through the golf course.  Groomed trails starting at Rt. 73 through Cascade are in beautiful shape with set tracks.  
• Cascade to Old Mountain Rd - great cover on Loop 73 but two trees down.  Road walking required on Mountain Lane to start of Old Mountain Rd.  Skiing on the snow bank is possible in some spots.  
• Old Mountain Road has perhaps the best skiing on the trail right now.  There's great cover and ski track from Mountain Lane to the height of land.  Descending from here to Rock & River is just about as good as it can be in the absence of fresh powder.