Looking at the long term forecast makes me think that we are on the 
downslide of winter. Temps in the 50s appear in the forecast and there is 
no snow to speak of. I am hopeful we'll get a huge event this spring, but 
until then, it seems like what little snow we have will dwindle. At least 
you Vters have some decent snowpack, and I hope to get to the Green Mtn 
State this spring once our snow has melted.

Until then, I am going to ski what we have until its gone. Yesterday was 
day 12 on skis. I toured the backyard backcountry with the dogs both days 
11 and 12. There is sufficient snow to ski, but the biggest challenges are 
crust, breakable and non-breakable, and forest debris. The winds brought 
down a lot of limbs and whole trees in places, causing us to re-route our 
trails. I found that there is plenty of nice soft powdery snow on the 
north sides and shadey areas, but one must pick their way through the 
crust and debris to get some good kick n glide.

Today is day 13 and I will spend it at Greek Peak this evening. Tmrw I 
will hit up the state forest as reports from our xcski-l listserve say 
conditions are still nice. Having regular skier traffic in these 
conditions actually 'grooms' the trails and make them more manageable than 
my crusty trails.

It's funny how when the snow is meager, I ski more, mostly b/c I feel as 
though I gotta get it in while its here, b/c it won't be here for long.

Looks like this weekend will be spring-like conditions. With the sun out 
and a slopeside tailgate party, that won't be so bad.

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