End-to-End Jackrabbit Trail Report

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.