Conditions 1/3/2014

• INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 
• Although it snowed pretty continuously most of Thursday, only about 3" of very light snow fell. This will help, but definitely still not "mid-winter" conditions yet. Temperatures will be well below normal Friday before recovering to highs of 15 on Saturday and in the 20s on Sunday.  Monday will actually be above freezing, after which it will cool down to about normal next week with some additional chance for more snow.  
• Garnet Hill, Lapland Lake, the free BREIA trails in Booneville, and Osceola Tug Hill have enough snow for skiing, and the southwestern Adirondacks picked up as much as a foot or more on Thursday, so those backcountry trails are back in reasonably good shape.
  
• JACKRABBIT TRAIL CONDITIONS:
  •               Base Depth - 3-4"
  •               Surface Conditions - powder on crust       
                         Km Open - 15
                 Remarks -  Flatter sections near Lake Placid now skiable. River Rd. to Rt. 86  is thin under any fir trees, but otherwise good.  The new snow has also made the Keene end of the Old Mt. skiable, but so far no report on the upper reaches where the temperature was warmer and all the base melted before Christmas.  No base at the Saranac Lake end, but skiing may now be possible from Whiteface Inn Lane toward the top of the pass.  
  
  BACKCOUNTRY CONDITIONS:
                Snow Depth at Lake Colden: 16"
                Snow Depth at 4,000 feet:  18-24" 
                Surface Conditions: Crust with very loose, light  powder on top.
                Remarks:    New light snow in various flurries (including Thursday) has brought the snow depth at Lake Colden up to more "normal" depth for early January, but snow cover is still very thin at ADK Loj, so even the Marcy Dam Truck Trail is not yet recommended. Skis or snowshoes not yet required in the High Peaks, but should be carried and used if heading to any of the higher summits. Micospikes or crampons will be practically mandatory right from the parking lot.  
  
          Road to Newcomb Lake is still the best backcountry choice with now 10" of cover.   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 now has 3" or so of fluff on an icy base and is now definitely skiable.  Marcy Dam Truck Trail is still just fluff on crust with rocks that must be dodged and still not recommended 
  
  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 (reports of several mishaps at Avalanche Lake outlet). Unbridged streams have mostly refrozen Opalescent River now crossable in Flowed Lands.
  
             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 -  3-5"
                  Inches New Snow - 3
                  Surface Conditions -  powder on crust
                  Km Open - 20
                  Km Tracked -  1
  •               Remarks - One km of man-made  has track set and good skiing.  Additional flatter terrain open on both x-c and biathlon side. Will try additional track-setting this morning.
  • 
         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 -   4
                  Inches New Snow - 3
                  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 -  3"
                         Surface Conditions - powder on crust
                         Km Open - 20
                         Km Tracked - 
                         Remarks - All trails now open.  No set track, but generally good skiing
  
                 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 2-3
                          Inches New Snow - 3 
                          Surface conditions - powder on crust
                          Km Open - 5
                          Km Tracked - 
                          Remarks -  Open on limited lower terrain
  
                   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.