Conditions 12/29/2013

• INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 
• Icy conditions abound with various depths of snow from zero to a few inches. The rains from before Christmas have left much of the area with minimal skiing.  Two inches of light snow Friday afternoon covered some of the ice to make certain areas available for hardy skiers, but caution is recommended.  Sunday afternoon will see some more precipitation, starting as light rain, but quickly grading to snow with 1-3" possible by Monday morning.  Then more light snow Monday before the temperature drops to well below normal for the rest of next week, rising back only to 15 for a high on Friday.
• With these conditions, best bet Sunday may be to watch the Olympic tryouts for ski jumping at 1:30 PM on NBC on Sunday afternoon.  Historic as this is the first Olympics where women's ski jumping will be a medal event.
• Garnet Hill, Lapland Lake and Osceola Tug Hill are still reporting enough snow for skiing, and definitely the southwest Adirondacks had enough from the lake effect to not have melted down.  Nevertheless, surface conditions will be poor - hence the best skiing will be at those groomed centers.     
  
• JACKRABBIT TRAIL CONDITIONS:
  •               Base Depth - 2"
  •               Surface Conditions - dust on crust       
                         Km Open - 
                 Remarks -  Flatter sections such as the Peninsula skiable. River Rd. to Rt. 86 has been skied, but cover is very thin under any fir trees.
  
  BACKCOUNTRY CONDITIONS:
                Snow Depth at Lake Colden: 6"
                Snow Depth at 4,000 feet:  8-10" (estimated)
                Surface Conditions: Crust with a few inches or so of powder on top.
                Remarks:    No backcountry route can be recommended, although Newcomb is back up to 5" and the gentle terrain of the road to Newcomb Lake will be skiable. Skis or snowshoes no longer required, but micospikes or crampons will be practically mandatory right from the parking lot.  Lake Colden did pick up 4" of very light snow, but that has settled back down so virtually no net gain in snow depth.  Better surfaces for skiing however once one gets to the lake.
  
          In addition to Newcomb Lake Road, not many of the early season favorites are a sure bet   at the moment.  The Hays Brook and Fish Pond Truck Trails have cover, but many blowdowns from the icing event before Christmas.  No report on Raquette Falls, but likely not quite enough cover yet.  Ausable Lake Road has an inch or so of fluff on an icy base.  Likewise, Marcy Dam Truck Trail is fluff on crust with rocks that must be dodged.  
  
  Ice on Avalanche Lake and Lake Colden and all other smaller bodies of water safe to cross,  just be very careful around inlets or outlets (report of one mishap at Avalanche Lake outlet). Unbridged streams have mostly "gone out" and may be difficult to cross unless they have refrozen, but Opalescent River close to being crossable in Flowed Lands, so another night of cold weather should solve that problem.
  
          
  
     Definitely be prepared for full winter weather conditions on any bare summit. 
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  X-C SKI CENTER CONDITIONS: (Groomed, trail fee required)
  •      Mt. Van Hoevenberg X-C Ski Center:  
  •     50km of trails, open daily, rentals, lessons, 518-523-2811, www.whiteface.com/activities/cross-country-skiing 
                  Base Depth -  3
                  Inches New Snow - 1
                  Surface Conditions -  powder on crust
                  Km Open - 8
                  Km Tracked -  1
  •               Remarks - One km of man-made  has track set and good skiing.  Additional flatter terrain open but with cautions about some rocks and other obstacles not fully covered.  
  • There is good skiing at the Intervale Jumping Complex on man-made snow from 12:00-4:00 daily. $10 trail fee for both areas.
  • 
         Cascade X-C Ski Center:
  •     20 km of trails with connection to 50km at Mt. Van Hoevenberg, open daily, rentals, lessons, restaurant, bar.  518-523-9605, www.cascadeski.com
                  Base Depth -   3
                  Inches New Snow - 1
                  Surface Conditions - powder on crust
                  Km Open - 5
                  Km Tracked - 
                  Remarks - Ski shop and bar open daily.  
    
             Whiteface Club Nordic Center:
  •     10 km of trails, open Wed-Sun. (except holiday weeks)  rentals, 518-523-2551,
  • www.whitefaceclubresort.com
                  Base Depth -  
                  Inches New Snow - 
  •               Surface Conditions -  
                  Km Open -  
                  Km Tracked - 
                  Remarks - 
  
             Paul Smith's VIC:
             15 km of trails, open daily, rentals, 518-327-6241, www.adirondackvic.org
                         Base Depth - 6-8"
                          Inches New Snow -  1
                         Surface Conditions - powder on crust
                         Km Open - 12
                         Km Tracked - 
                         Remarks - Flatter, bark-surfaced trails now offer  good conditions. Other trails quite skiable.  Likely the best skiing in the area.
  
                 Dewey Mountain - Saranac  Lake
              13 km of trails, open daily (including nights until 7PM Tue. - Fri.), rentals, 891-2697         http://www.deweymountain.com
                          Base Depth 
                          Inches New Snow - 
                          Surface conditions - 
                          Km Open - 
                          Km Tracked - 
                          Remarks -  Closed until conditions improve
  
                   Tupper Lake free x-c ski trails
               10 km of groomed trails starting from Tupper Lake Golf Course 
               http://www.skitupperlake.blogspot.com
                  No current report.