Wednesday night we only ended up with a dusting of snow, so not much change from what was reported on Tuesday. Mt. Van Hoevenberg is spreading their supply of man-made snow and now reports all of 2 km open. Whatever is open, however, will be in use for the Empire State Games this weekend, so the Paul SmithsVIC is best alternative. At the VIC, all trails are open, but skiing is recommended on only a few trails with "hard and fast" surfaces reported.
Slightly above freezing today, but then colder over the weekend with a chance of snow showers. A better chance for more snow early next week. We can only hope.
TUESDAY 1/30
Unfortunately, there is nothing positive to report since the last update on the 27th. There is still an icy base in the wooded areas, but most open areas are mostly bare. The only good news is that we haven't lost all of our base, but there is only a chance of snow showers any day through the weekend. Wednesday night is the best chance for enough new snow to again make some of the gentler terrain skiable, but then it will be warm on Thursday before cooling off again for the weekend.
Mt. Van Hoevenberg only reports 1 km open. Cascade has 15 km open, but the surfaces are likely pretty firm and fast. Likewise, the VIC in Paul Smiths has all their trails open, but warns that they ar hard packed and icy.
Pond skating is good on most ponds. Aggressive traction needed for any ascents of a high peak as many trails are quite literally a frozen river of water ice. Gentler terrain will be doable with microspikes, but some form of traction is recommended for any backcountry travel.
We'll do an update on Thursday with hopefully news of at least a few inches of snow falling Wednesday night.