Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!  We received about 3" of wet snow on Wednesday which isn't lasting long.  There have been a few spots around to do some skiing though.  A little more snow is on the way for Friday night along with some colder temperatures.

Pilot Knob campground

Meltdown in Forest City

Pretty much all of our snow melted last weekend.  It looks like our next chance for snow is just before Christmas which would be great timing!  Until then, I've been doing some double-pole work on the lake at Pilot Knob.

Pilot Knob Lake

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Lodge and Majopa grounds were great for skate skiing this morning.

I attempted to groom some classic tracks on the golf course this morning.  Some of the tracks were quite good, some were quite bad because of the thin base.

Packed trail

It looks like we received at least 4 to 5 inches of snow today.  The ski trail has been packed with the roller tonight.  No tracks have been set yet.  The wind was picking up so some of the open areas will be drifted in tomorrow.   I'm hoping it can be skate skied.  I know I'll be out there for my Thanksgiving morning ski!

It's time for some pre-season repairs and maintenance for the snowmobile.   Let's hope for some good snow this year with a lot less wind than last year!

Golf course rolled and tracked

Thanks to North Iowa Nordic for loaning their utility snowmobile and to Tim Dakken & Terry Tweeten for loaning a snowmobile trailer.  The golf course has been rolled and tracks have been set.  My snowmobile has been broke down on the trailer waiting for a new ignition module for 2 weeks now.  So it was nice to get back on the trails tonight.  There was quite a bit of snow out there to pack down so it won't be super fast.  However Saturday should be a good day for skiing.

Bear Creek golf course

snowmobile down

Sorry folks.  My snowmobile would not stay running yesterday afternoon when trying to finish grooming.  It's too bad, it worked ok while pulling the roller in the morning.  And there was at least 8" of new snow, by far the biggest snow of the year.  I'll see what it will take to be repaired.

No grooming this week

Because of the warm temperatures this week and the impending snow storm coming in Thursday including lots of wind, I am not doing any grooming most of this week.  I believe that would not be a good use of resources (time & money). 

The goal is to have trails ready for the weekend once we receive the new snow and the wind settles down some.  I hope to be out working the trails Friday or maybe even Thursday night.  It looks like colder temperatures are returning this weekend and lasting well into next week! 

thanks
Jeff

Pilot Knob road

The road at Pilot Knob State Park has been groomed this morning for both skate and classic style skiing.  I would expect the snow to be somewhat slow but still worth a fun Sunday afternoon ski!

Moonlight ski

We had a super moonlight ski tonight on the golf course.  After a fresh 2 to 3" of snow, the wind calmed down for perfect weather conditions.  The only thing missing was the moon!

Thanks, Connie French, for organizing this event!!

Moonlight ski

You are invited to a Moonlight Ski Saturday Night, February 15th, at Bear Creek Golf Course Forest City Ia.  Meet in the parking lot at 6:30. Hoping we will have a full moon and lots of snow, and lots of skiers.

See you there,
Connie French

New snow is on its way today!!  I will groom the golf course early this afternoon to prepare for the moonlight ski tonight!

Pilot Knob groomed

The road and lake at Pilot Knob State Park have been groomed this morning for both skate and classic style skiing.  Conditions should be excellent.

Golf Course

The golf course has been groomed after about 1/2" of fresh snow today.  It is groomed for skating but is thin in spots.  I did put in classic tracks using the snow mover over about 2/3 of the golf course.

Moonlight Ski this Saturday

You are invited to a Moonlight Ski Saturday Night, February 15th, at Bear Creek Golf Course Forest City Ia.  Meet in the parking lot at 6:30. Hoping we will have a full moon and lots of snow, and lots of skiers.

See you there,
Connie French

New snow

We received 2 to 3" of snow this morning!

Pilot Knob road and the lake are groomed for skating and classic skiing.

The golf course has been groomed for skating, but is very thin in spots. 

The Lodge/Krysilis area has been groomed for skating and classic skiing.

Pilot Knob State Park road

 

Pilot Knob State Park lake

 

Krysilis property

Pilot Knob road

The road at Pilot Knob State Park has been refreshed with a nice skate deck and has been tracked this morning.

Pilot Knob

The lake and road at Pilot Knob State Park were groomed for both skating and classic skiing early this morning.  The road had quite a few soft drifts, but after 6 passes with the Ginzu groomer it should be a great ski. 

Best place to access the road is to park at the Northwest park entrance.  The road is about 1.9 miles(3.1 km) from that gate to the other end of the park.  One out and back loop would be 3.8 miles (6.2km).  And you have miles of ungroomed hiking trails to explore that connect to the road.

Best place to access the lake trail is to park in the sledding hill parking lot and walk/ski directly south and there you'll find a 1.5km loop.

Friday night

The golf course has been groomed for skating, but there are quite a few bare spots to really enjoy skiing.  However the Lodge/Krysilis area has excellent skating trails. 

I will groom both the lake and the road at Pilot Knob State park early Saturday morning.  These areas should have enough snow for great skate and classic skiing. 

Drift busting

Pilot Knob State Park.  The lake has been groomed for skating and classic skiing.  The road has been groomed for skating only.

The Lodge/Krysilis has been groomed for skating only.

Windy Day

All of the trails were packed or groomed early this morning after we received about 3" of snow throughout the night.  The goal was to pack the snow down so it doesn't blow away this afternoon.  Then when things settle down it can be finish groomed.

The bad news is that the snow already blew off all the bare spots on the golf course.  Don't know if the golf course will ever have a decent base this year.  However everywhere else that we have been grooming this year looks great.

The good news is that we are going to start grooming the Pilot Knob State Park road this year.  It is holding it's snow well and is a popular place to ski. It was groomed this morning and I enjoyed a very nice skate there this afternoon.  The road is marked for skiing on one side and the other is for snowmobiles, walkers & snowshoes.  Hopefully everyone will adhere to this well marked plan so we can all safely enjoy the park road!

PIlot Knob

The loop around the lake at Pilot Knob State Park has been groomed this morning for both skating & classic skiing.

I hope to do some packing Sunday morning assuming we get snow.  Packing the snow with the roller will be an attempt to keep the new snow from blowing away during Sunday afternoon's strong winds.  Then when things settle down into the week, the trails can be finish groomed with the Ginzu.

It has been really challenging keeping up with the up & down weather patterns we've been getting!!

Thursday grooming

Groomed the Lodge/Krysilis area tonight for skating only.

Groomed the lake at Pilot Knob State Park for both skating and classical skiing.  Getting some nice depth on the lake.  Will probably regroom early Saturday morning since we are expecting more snow Friday evening.

Regroomed the Pilot Knob lake

I noticed quite a bit of snow blown on the trail during an early ski this morning.  So the lake has been regroomed this morning with two sets of classic tracks and a nice skating lane down the middle.  Today should be a great day for skiing!  Enjoy!

Saturday grooming

Don't forget the free hot cocoa today at the Bear Creek golf course from 3 to 5pm.  There will be some pretty neat door prizes, including a free nights stay at The Lodge, along with social time. 

We received maybe one inch of pretty white snow this morning.

The golf course has been groomed but does not have a set of classic tracks.  The skate lane is very thin in spots.  Use your rocks skis here.

The Lodge/Krysilis area has been groomed for skating and looks very good.  There is even a small classic track on the north side.  Use your good skis here.

The lake at Pilot Knob has been groomed for both skating and classic and looks to be in excellent shape.  Use your good skis here and smile a lot!

thanks

lake at Pilot Knob State Park

Pilot Knob and Lodge groomed

The lake at Pilot Knob State Park has been groomed tonight for both skate and classic style skiing.

The Lodge & Krysilis properties have been groomed for skating style only.

HOT COCOA AT THE CLUBHOUSE SATURDAY

Do you, your family, or your friends want to know more about skiing in Iowa?

Have you been on the Forest City Ski Trail?

Do you want to learn about skiing without standing outside in the cold?

 

On Saturday, January 18, from 3-5 pm, volunteers and FC Parks and Recreation members will serve hot cocoa at Bear Creek Golf Course.   Check out the Forest City Ski Trail (inside by looking at a map, or outside depending on trail conditions)  and learn more about this fun activity for kids of all ages....   

 

    learn how to layer clothing and dress appropriately for different ski conditions. (These tips can apply to many types of outdoor fun in cold temperatures.)

   see the difference between ‘skate’ and ‘diagonal’ style cross country skiis

 

Bring your skiis or your curiosity.

Sign up for door prizes.

Spend an hour or two indoors with friends who enjoy outdoor recreation year round!  No skiis required.

Trail pictures from Pilot Knob State Park

 

The Lodge

Just got back from skating at the Lodge this morning.  It is in excellent shape for skating!  (There are no tracks for classic skiing here.  Go to the lake at Pilot Knob for some classic tracks.)

If you've never skied this area, I would describe it similar to a roller coaster ride.  It's small with hills and tight corners.  But it also has a small flat loop on the North side for an easier time. This is one of my favorite places to ski!

Pilot Knob lake

The best place to ski in our trail system today is the lake at Pilot Knob.  The track is still in decent shape.  The skate lane has a dusting of snow on it from Friday night but is still ok to skate.  I'll regroom this once we get past today's warm temps.

There is not enough snow on the golf course for grooming but I see some have been skiing there.  The Lodge should still be good for skating.

Groomed Pilot Knob lake

The lake at Pilot Knob State Park has been groomed for both skate and classic style skiing tonight. 

The main trail in Forest City will be groomed when time allows. 

Trail pictures

Just a couple of trail condition pictures at the Pilot Knob Lake today.  It was nice to see seven other skiers out on a cold day!

New Year's Day Grooming

The Forest City Ski trail has been groomed for skating this morning.  This is the first grooming and is thin in several spots.  Use your rock skis to avoid damaging the good ones if skating there.  It was too thin to set any classic tracks.

The Lodge/Krysilis area is in very good shape for skating.  I did set a small classic track loop there but it did bottom out in spots.

Pilot Knob lake is in excellent condition for both skating and classic skiing.  It was rolled early this morning then groomed a few hours later.  It has two sets of nice classic tracks with a wide skating lane down the middle.  This is where I'll be skiing this afternoon.  Thanks.

First use of the Ginzu's tracksetter this year.

Krysilis property shown.