Conditions for weekend of 03/07 - 03/09

Introduction
As was the case last week, our trusty ski conditions reporter, Tony, is currently on an adventure across the pond.  Today’s conditions are brought to you by Megan, your special guest reporter (i.e. someone brand new to collecting and sharing this info).  Please lend a hand by submitting your own observations in the comments.

Onto the good stuff (AKA the report)…
​While we’re still getting some snow here and there, rain and occasional above-freezing temps have peppered the week and will continue to do so.  On the upside, it looks like we’re in for a fair bit of snow this week.  We’ll see what a new layer of wet snow does to the existing grainy, crusty snow/ice we’ve got going on already. Expect that skiing conditions will generally be icy when below freezing, soft when above and may change significantly from morning to afternoon or from day to day.  

Jackrabbit Trail
In general, every section of the Jackrabbit Trail has good cover and has been broken out.  Where there is no hardpack (ice at this point), there is grainy loose snow.
McKenzie Pass Section: Fully skiable from Whiteface Inn Lane to McKenzie Pond Road. 
Old Mountain Road Section: Fully skiable. 
Paul Smiths Section: At least a track broken by a few skiers on all of the trails starting at the VIC. To date, logging has prevented a through ski from the VIC to Lake Clear, but this new snow may have covered up the logging efforts. Reports welcome.  
Other sections:  Craig Wood to Lake Placid Club section is skiable.  The connections to Cascade Welcome Center are also skiable.

Groomed Centers
ADK CASCADE WELCOME CENTER (PREVIOUSLY: CASCADE CROSS-COUNTRY SKI CENTER):
https://adk.org/cascade-welcome-center/   518-837-5047
Km Open and Groomed:  ALL TRAILS CLOSED until 03/07 Track Set: 
Remarks: Save the date! We will be hosting our final moonlight ski night of the season on March 8 from 5-9:30pm! There'll be food, drink, music, and general merriment!

SCOTTS COBBLE NORDIC CENTER:
15 km of groomed trails on Craig Wood Golf Course - rentals, lessons operated by High Peaks Cyclery. Trail fee of $15/day - $10/half-day. Residents of the Tri-Lakes area ski for free (Donations appreciated)       scottscobblenordic.com.
518-523-9811 or 518-523-3742
Km Open and Groomed:   Track Set:
Remarks: Last conditions report from Scott’s Cobble on Tuesday stated all trails were closed due to the weather.  IG post from High Peaks Cyclery since then stated all trails were in good shape.
HPC will be at Dry Hill in Watertown on 03/15 for an Alpine Ski Demo Day.

MOUNT VAN HOEVENBERG:
https://mtvanhoevenberg.com/daily-update/   518-523-2811
Km Open and Groomed: 55  Track Set: 45 km  
Remarks:  Set track on all of the Legacy trails on the south side (a.k.a. cross-country side) including now the Porter Mt. Loops. Trails on the north side (a.k.a. biathlon side) also packed and mostly track set. 

PAUL SMITH'S VISITOR INTERPRETIVE CENTER:
https://www.paulsmithsvic.org/trailconditions/  518-327-6241
Km Groomed and Open: 45 km  Track Set:  25 
Remarks:  Trails will be firm and fast, maybe icy, in the AM and mashed potatoes by the afternoons. We will resume grooming over Thursday or Friday night depending on how much rain we get. Saturday is Adk Tour De Ski. Racing will be held from 10AM-3PM? The entire loggers loops and competition trails will have double classic track on Saturday.

DEWEY MOUNTAIN:
https://www.facebook.com/deweymountainrecreationcenter  518-891-2697
Km Open:  15   Track set: 7 km
Remarks: Lower mountain trails open for skiing.  Variable conditions on the upper mountain – Timinator, Iron Bill have been packed and groomed while others have good cover and are ungroomed.

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
​Remarks:  Last reported groom on Saturday 03/01.

Backcountry 
Still enjoying pretty stellar mid-winter conditions -- seems like that might be turning to manageable late-winter conditions pretty quick.  Wednesday 03/05,  report from Lake Colden says the snow depth at the cabin is  54" (4” accumulated since last week). Now 6-7 feet of snow with deeper drifts at 4,000 feet. Finally, even the roughest routes (ie. lower Wright Peak and Marcy) are in good shape.  

Whiteface Highway: the highway is fully covered, but still with a few sections that are narrow or bare given the high winds.
Marcy Dam Truck Trail: Good skiing all the way to Marcy Dam. Meadows Lane blocked off for the winter. Park on the left to leave room for ranger vehicles with snowmobile trailers in the event of an emergency. 
Fish Pond Truck Trail: Very skiable all the way to Fish Pond. Lake ice safe for the alternate return.
Hays Brooks Truck Trail: Skiable to both the Sheep Meadow and Grass Pond.  Last I knew, the parking lot had not been plowed.
Newcomb Lake Road: Great skiing last we heard.
Gulf Brook to Boreas Ponds: Good coverage.  Some plowing for 2-3 cars reported as of 2/22 that should still be useable.  Parking on the shoulder is legal, just not all that desirable.  Conditions were great early last week and are now a bit crunchy due to the warming and rain.
Raquette Falls: Skiable, but no report on whether it is broken out or whether it is still possible to drive beyond the town plowing and park at the trailhead.
Avalanche Pass: Skiable past Marcy Dam. Lake Colden now has 54" of snow.  Snowmelt overflow and slush has been reported on nearby trails and may impact Avalanche Lake and Lake Colden. Caution is always advised near the outlet to Avalanche Lake as there are recent reports of skiers/snowshoers breaking through. If in doubt, take to the trail on the west side about 50 yards before the outlet and cross on the bridge.
Ausable Lake Road: No new report; was fully skiable two weekends ago.
Wright Peak Ski Trail: Skiable after it diverges from the hiking trail.  Still, there will be a snowshoe trench on the hiking trails portion.  Reported as “in great shape” recently.
Mt Marcy Ski Trail: Should still be skiable until the ski trail junction above 50-meter bridge. Good cover above that elevation, but there are many blowdowns that have been reported earlier from there to Indian Falls.  Above Indian Falls, plenty of snow, but a snowshoe trench to deal with.