Spring Cross Country Skiing

Nordic Trail Report 3.21.26

Tulips and iris are coming up, a few blades of grass appear to have grown six inches overnight, and the birds are throatily welcoming spring. Meanwhile, Elee, our long-time trail report writer and a groomer at Turpin Meadow Ranch, is back at the World Cup races in Lake Placid. The first official day of spring appears more wintery there.

Elee D. (on right) taking a break from cheering her heart out to take a photo with new friends along the World Cup race course in Lake Placid, NY, including Kelly M. (on left) who hails from Victor, ID.

At a Glance

• A few groomed tracks still going.

• Caring for your skis with dirty snow conditions.

• Time to think about spring xc ski camps, not just for team athletes!

General Weather – sunshine, cooler nights to come

Overnight temps have been warm, but snow is still setting up overnight. Looks like more of the same for the next few days. See the full forecast and more details at Mountain Weather.

Where is there still Grooming?

Teton Canyon – tracks groomed and reset Thursday, winding down but still skiing. Planned grooming for Saturday (timing TBD on temps, check the map).

Grand Targhee – T/TH/S/S grooming

Trail Creek – groomed on Thursday, paused to see what the weather brings. Still skiing to be had.

The most current trail conditions and groomer notes can always be viewed online at: www.jhnordic.com/grooming/

Community Trail Updates

Teton Canyon

As of Thursday pm there was ample snow to ski from the parking area. The snow quality improves as you get further back. Groomers are grooming when it makes sense with the temperatures. Check groomer notes for most recent grooming.

Trail Creek Nordic

Some pretty good skiing can still be found beyond Sam the truck. The Husky made it up to the end of the Old Pass Road and regulars might notice a bit of rerouting in Armin’s and Moose Loop to take advantage of some still quite nice snow. The Husky is parked for the foreseeable future, but if another snow storm materializes, there could still be some additional grooming.

Grand Teton National Park

With warm sunny days and some late freezing nights the crust window can be short, but there is still crust in the morning.

Togwotee Pass

Great adventure cross-country touring all day. Short (but super-fun) windows of crust cruising on skate skis.

Grand Targhee Nordic Track

Consistent grooming is keeping track relatively smooth. Classic track is not consistently set. Lots of snow, but getting warm even at Targhee. You can check Targhee temps here.

Dirty Snow: Tips for caring for your cross-country skis

There is still plenty of snow up high to ski. And maybe even a few more days in Teton Canyon and in the flats of Grand Teton National Park. With high winds and little snow falling from the sky to refresh surfaces, a lot of fine dust is now layering on top of the snow. We thought we would share a few tips on caring for your cross-country skis in these conditions.

Clean first!

Because a lot of what is coating the snow is very fine dust particles, you want to get as much of that off your skis as possible before adding new wax. This includes cleaning and brushing.

• There are good base cleaners out there that you can use to wipe down your skis. Apply the cleaner with a clean cloth (the idea is not to introduce grime, but remove it).
• No base cleaner? You can also start with good old warm soapy water to wash your bases with a sponge. Make sure you give them a good rinse and dry with a soft clean cloth. You can also make your own base cleaner with one part citrus cleaner and four to five parts water, but it’s hard to go wrong with warm soapy water.
• Next use a copper brush to brush your skis from tip to tail. A useful image from an athlete who skis dirty snow a lot during May training camps is “When you are brushing, think about trying to lift the dirt out of the ski at the end of the stroke.” Follow with a wipe from a clean rag. (In mid-winter, with a clean snowpack, brushing might be your first wax-prep step.)

Apply more than one layer of wax and consider using a colder wax.

If you are a casual waxer you may crayon on a layer of wax, iron it in, scrape, brush and call it good. In dirty snow conditions your skis (and your fun quotient) might benefit from a couple rounds of wax-iron-scrape before a final brushing to offset how quickly the dirt and ice crystals in the snow abrade the wax. You may also use a colder/harder wax which resists dirt accumulation within the ski base structure better than warmer/softer waxes.

Wax often.

Icy crusts, corn snow and dirt (and any other miscellaneous debris) all strip wax off a ski more quickly than mid-winter packed powder. You may need to wax every three or so skis, or even before every ski if you are out for long sessions. Frequent waxing protects your ski bases and maximizes your glide. If you see anything other than shiny dark black on your ski bases, it is time for more wax.

Take care of the skin or fishscale sections on classic skis too.

If snow is sticking to the grip section of your classic fishscale skis, Ian Harvey at Toko suggests a good cleaning with warm water and soap for those sections of your skis too. It is often dirt and grime from the surface that the snow is sticking to. You can also try applying pocket wax in the form of block, paste, liquid or spray to the fishscales. For skin skis apply Toko Skin Proof spray directly to the skins to help prevent dirt from accumulating on the skin and it also prevents snow from sticking onto the skin.

Thanks to Dan Streubel, Teton Valley Nordic skier extraordinaire and Toko wax guy, for editorial help with wax tips. 🙂

Go have fun on your skis, snowshoes, fat bike or feet!

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