Silver Crest Trails Association

Jake and Chuck ran into some unexpected mechanical troubles with the new UTV on Monday afternoon… (We are still breaking in the machine motor, belt, tracks, etc. so things need adjustment and we are still in sea trials -shakedown cruise mode) this week. Jake took the snowmobile out instead, and did his best to pack and track a couple trails in the harsh cold wind. Needless to say, it’s a Winter Wonderland up at SilverCrest right now so grab your wide touring skis and snowshoes go have some fun breaking your own trail! The Pisten Bully Snowcat will be on the trails Thursday evening making Skate nirvana for Friday morning. SCTA will classic trackset Friday afternoon.

Which is what we are going to do this week for grooming plans. Between the predicted one and a half to three feet of new snow and cold temps moving in Saturday, we do not plan to groom until early next week. The KHGA Pisten Bully is tenatively scheduled to pack Thursday night but heavy snow is predicted all day Friday. A cold front coming in Saturday with highs of 4 F and Sunday -4 F. Taking into account uncertain road conditions we decided to be on the safe side this weekend and wait until things settle down. I’tll be fun to see how much comes down though. We will post grooming plans as we know more.

Winter Trails Days are coming up the first Saturday in February.

Bob

SCTA had our annual ski clinic Saturday with about sixty skiers trying it. A good turnout and thanks to everyone who participated. As always a big thanks and appreciation to Chris Latham at Bighorn Outdoor Specialists for the donation of his time and free use of his in-store skis so people could try out skiing and our trails at no cost ! Also thanks to SCTA board members and volunteers who organized and assisted the event ! Temperatures were a little cooler than predicted but a nice day overall with the sun breaking through late afternoon. It looks like the predicted snow dump is not going to materialize Sunday. New predictions are… 1-3 inches for Sunday with a high of 22F. 1-3 inches Sunday night. Monday maybe 1/2 inch and a high of 21F. Drew went over the trails with our new Can Am Sunday evening and skiing should be good for a few days.

The weekend was a great time to get out and ski. A good crowd Sunday enjoying the warming hut fire pits. Thanks to crowd from Bozeman for the smores (Much better than an energy bar). Mild temps and soft snow with a firm base made for nice skiing conditions. We tuned up the trails Saturday and Sunday so they are ready for weekday skiers.

The KHGA groomer is going through Thursday night and we will set classic tracks late Friday afternoon. Weather looks good for the weekend. High Friday of 38 F; Sat & Sun 34 F ; Monday chance of some snow; high of 29 F. We will post of any grooming plans for Monday. Have a great weekend !

We have talked about grooming on Mondays to clean up the weekend tracks for mid week skiing. Jake did some Monday tracking and of course it snowed over his efforts sometime Monday night ? Went up to ski Tuesday and found 4 – 5 inches of new snow on the trails. We got out the Bearkat, roller and track setter and got new classic tracks set over all trails. Some trails are double wide rolled for skate skiing while others have just one pass. Should be nice conditions this week. Several people were out skiing and snowshoeing on a gorgeous Tuesday ! Good to see.

Bob

The KHGA groomer went thru Thursday night and did a great job of packing. Thanks Mike ! Then it snowed 5-8 inches of wet snow after he finished. Jake gave it his best shot using both the roller and ginzu Friday evening. Thanks Jake ! Neither working well due to high moisture. We will reassess Saturday morning and plan on at least setting classic tracks. Should be a beautiful weekend with snow in the trees. Foggy early Saturday morning then burning off and sunny for the rest of the day and Sunday/Monday. High temps in the low 30’s. Have a great weekend !

The trails held up nicely this week with classic tracks in tact and the skate lane on the south side of the trails still in good shape. We plan on the Pisten Bully going thru at its usual time Thursday night and setting new classic tracks late afternoon Friday. Weather forcast is for maybe a little new snow Thursday night and Friday. Temps in the low 30’s all weekend and mostly sunny. Good skiing weather !

A nice day at the trails Saturday. Calm with soft new snow. We reset most of the classic tracks and ran the 84 inch ginzu down the skate lane for a touch up over all trails Saturday evening. Sunday/Monday forcast is in the mid 20’s. Partly sunny Sunday, sunny Monday. No new snow in the forcast so the trails should be in great shape for a few days.

Happy New Year !