it couldn't last forever....but all may not be lost

UPATE FRIDAY AFTERNOON:  
As of Friday evening, temperatures had dropped back below freezing with no prediction that they will rise much above for the next seven days.  And for the most part we survived with at least some base on the trails we like to ski, but the question will be the surface conditions given that not much snow is currently forecast for Friday night. Groomed centers, Mt. Van Hoevenberg, Craig Wood and the VIC should be able to again offer good skiing - at least once they have all the newly-fallen trees off of their systems.

The Jackrabbit Trail appears to have held a base on all sections.  There could be some wet spots but downed trees will be the major issue for several days until we can issue an 'all clear'.  In the meantime, assume there is a downed tree around every corner.

Backcountry conditions will be similar to the Jackrabbit as reported above. We can assume that the 25" at the stake at Lake Colden has diminished, but the snowshoe/ski requirement will remain in force because it didn't melt down below the statutory 8". 

INITIAL FRIDAY 12/19 REPORT:

​The earlier predictions for this thaw weren't all that bad, but Thursday night turned out to be a skier's nightmare.  Temperatures hovered around 50 all night with high winds as well, and as of Friday morning it's raining. If you live here, this isn't news, but fair warning to any who might think we escaped the worst of it.  Temperatures will cool down by evening with some new snow predicted that will at least start to restore the surface conditions where the snowpack managed to survive the thaw. And so far the extended forecast doesn't call for any temperatures above (or at least not much above) freezing.

We will wait until this afternoon before doing a survey of what's left and will have a complete report as of tomorrow morning.