Less than ideal surfaces, but plenty of snow

ADDITIONAL 3/24/23 UPDATE
       Some rain and temperatures above freezing have caused Cascade Welcome Center to close their trails until the temperature drops. Mt. Van Hoevenberg reports no grooming for Thursday to preserve the base, but expect to have most of the area groomed for Friday. Paul Smith's VIC fully open.

UPDATE AS OF 3/22/23
        Just as the calendar says it's spring, the conditions are definitely ' spring conditions'. We expect daytime temperatures to be above freezing, but the nights to be below freezing. So, hard and fast in the morning with softer conditions later in the day. Best skiing surfaces will still be at the groomed centers, but there is still good cover on all sections of the Jackrabbit Trail and on all popular backcountry routes. The forecast through the weekend and into next week seems to indicate this pattern will continue. Therefore, no further update until either there is more snow, or the weather forecasts indicate a major meltdown.
        At the point of a major meltdown, we'll probably just leave it to the die-hards to know from experience where there is still snow.   

INTRODUCTION
     As of Thursday the snow had dried out somewhat from how wet it was when it fell on Tuesday, but on Friday there was just enough rain to make for somewhat icy surface conditions.  The rest of the weekend will see temperatures at or below freezing, so the best skiing will be at the groomed centers which are reporting good condition after today's grooming. There is a chance of snow new snow on Sunday, which will help mitigate the current somewhat icy surfaces. Next week warms up a bit, and with this current snowpack we can look forward to a long stretch of spring skiing. 

JACKRABBIT TRAIL
         All sections skiable, and all hazards are fully covered.  Downhills will be fast

        ADK CASCADE WELCOME CENTER (PREVIOUSLY: CASCADE CROSS-COUNTRY SKI CENTER)
         https://adk.org/cascade-welcome-center/   518-837-5047
           Km Open and Groomed: 15    Track Set: 15km 
          New snow:  0"  Packed Base Depth: 8-10"   Off Track 15-18"  
          New Snow last 72 hours: 1"
          Surface Conditions: Groomed granular
          Remarks: Entire system open with track set on all trails.
Remember that Cascade is now owned by the Adirondack Mt. Club. Ski shop open as usual, and ADK members  ski free. 

         SCOTTS COBBLE NORDIC CENTER - NEW
         10 km of groomed trails on Craig Wood Golf Course - rentals, lessons operated by High Peaks Cyclery. Free for residents of the Tri-Lakes area. $15/day, $10/half-day for others. 
.        scottscobblenordic.com

          KM Open and Groomed: 15    Track Set: 15
         New snow:  0"  Packed Base Depth: 8-10"  Off track: 10-12" 
          New snow past 72 hours: 1"
          Surface conditions:  Groomed granular          
          Remarks: 

          MOUNT VAN HOEVENBERG:
         https://mtvanhoevenberg.com/nordic-sliding-centers/conditions   518-523-2811
          Km Open and Groomed:  55  Track Set: 45 
          New snow: 0"   Packed Base Depth: 10-12"  Off track: 15-20" 
          New snow past 72 hours: 1"
          Surface Conditions:    Groomed granular 
         Remarks:   Track set on most trails. Porter Mt. not groomed on Saturday, but track is set on all the other Legacy trail and the competition trails.  

​           PAUL SMITH'S VISITOR INTERPRETIVE CENTER:
          https://trailhub.org/ts/AJqsdStcVzW7Mjrr4MJh  518-327-6241
           Km Open: 40   20 km of set track   
           New Snow: 0"  Packed Base Depth: 15-20"  Off track: 20-25" 
           New snow past 72 hours:  1"
           Surface Conditions:  Groomed granular on the wider trails. 
​           Remarks:   Jenkins Mt. Backcountry Ski Zone is again open. Use requires a helmet and skins for climbing. Conditions are reported as variable, i.e. fast where it has been skied, heavy where not. 
                                    Wider trails groomed and track-set with the big groomer. Narrower trails packed or skied-in, but not track-set.

            DEWEY MOUNTAIN:
           https://www.facebook.com/deweymountainrecreationcenter  518-891-2697
            Km Open:  15  Track set: ? km 
           New Snow:    0"  
           New snow past 72 hours: 0"
           Surface Conditions:  Granular
           Remarks: Entire area open

           TUPPER LAKE X-C SKI TRAILS
           https://www.facebook.com/Tupper-Lake-Groomed-XC-Trails-102907273119538/  518-359-8370
            Km Open:  10    Track set: 10   
           New Snow: 0"     Base Depth: 6-8"   Off track: ?  
           New snow past 72 hours:  1"
           Surface Conditions:  Groomed granular
​           Remarks:  Saturday's report is that the groomer has been able to produce a surface that is almost powder after Friday's rain.

BACKCOUNTRY CONDITIONS:

No detailed reports available as of Saturday morning. Lower elevation trails will be fast and crusty. It may have been snow up higher.

                 Snow depth at Lake Colden:  57" as per DEC's Thursday, 3/16 report. 
                7-8' above 4,000 feet 
                Skis or snowshoes are required by regulation in the High Peaks as the snow depth is now well above the 8" threshold. Snowshoes still advisable on all other backcountry terrain. 

WRIGHT PEAK SKI TRAIL: Finally, enough cover to be  skiable on the hiking trail section. Otherwise, great conditions to the top of the ski trail.

MARCY TRAIL:  Finally fully skiable 

WHITEFACE HIGHWAY:  Skiable starting at the Toll House. New snow was somewhat wet and fell with very little wind, so all areas should be well covered.

MARCY DAM TRUCK TRAIL:  Skiable with finally all rocks fully covered. All trees have now been cleared.

HIKING TRAIL FROM ADK LOJ: Skiable, and finally a viable, shorter option to the Truck Trail.  

AVALANCHE PASS: Skiable all the way to Lake Colden, an finally true mid-winter conditions. Ice on Avalanche Lake crossable, but use caution at the outlet. If in doubt, take the trail on the west (right) side about 50 yds. before the actual outlet and use the bridge to cross the outlet. 

CONNERY POND TO WHITEFACE LANDING:  Conditions are good to Whiteface Landing, and one can now cross the pond to avoid the initial hills. Those first hills are in good shape for those preferring not to cross the pond. One downed tree on the initial hills, but otherwise the trail is clear.

HAYS BROOK TRUCK TRAIL: The parking lot has been plowed so far this winter. Local Forest Ranger says it has continued to be plowed.  Skiing is close to perfect to both Grass Pond and the Sheep Meadow.

FISH POND TRUCK TRAIL:  Very skiable on the truck trail to Fish Pond along with the side trails. Lakes are  skiable as well.  

RAQUETTE FALLS:  Skiable. Corey's Rd not sanded, but drivable to the trailhead parking.  

GULF BROOK ROAD TO BOREAS PONDS:  Good cover, but no report on whether it is broken out to the ponds  A few spots have been plowed for parking. Please register if you ski there to help justify continued plowing.

NEWCOMB LAKE ROAD TO CAMP SANTANONI: Near perfect conditions on that ski. 

AUSABLE LAKE ROAD: 5-6" of packed base at the gate, and skiable to the lake. Continued vehicular traffic as of 3/16,  and reportedly nice skiing.