Thanks for setting tracks again, pretty incredible for being May!

I went out with classic skis today but there were no tracks set as of 5pm 5/1/13. I'm hoping the groomer will continue to groom the trails with the possibility of new snow throughout the week. It was wonderful to be out. Nice glide but would appreciate tracks. Thanks!

Lots of ski tracks on the trails today. Interest is still up, since the latest snow. Please drag the trails one last time!

Nice!

"From Fairbanks, you say"? on this warm April day? Don't feel consternation at the snow's transformation. The skiing's a must when the trails turn to crust. The mornings are best, 'less you like a sog-fest. In this month there's still room for the groomers to groom. So go get some fresh air, feel the wind in your hair. Set a personal record on the Estle Connector! Your Nikes can wait while spring skiing's so great.

The conditions are not what we normally get in April so enjoy the trails before the temp goes up! There was a military group out there yesterday either ROTC or Reserves from Kentucky. They had no idea about ski trails and not to walk on them. I did talk to them and they were very sorry about the unintended walking on the trails. All of thier prints have been groomed and the tracks reset.

Single track on the beaver slide and other classic only trails were awesome today. Thank you for the great April treat! Unfortunately, several inconsiderate people on foot have really chopped up the lighted loop trail(skate and classic) with their deep foot prints and other depressions.

Tanana loop extension will be cleared of snow this week for construction access and the Beat Beethoven Race that is next week.

3/20/2013 North end of Estle to Beaver slide was okay. Beaver slide was a disaster. I hope you take care of my favorite spring downhill run soon. Maybe a leaf blower could be used before resetting the track.

The weather conditions for the last two weeks have been less than ideal for ski trail maintenance. Current grooming updates can be found at the following address http://www.uaf.edu/fs/northcampus/trailconditions/ Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns. Thanks, Kara

kaaxx@alaska.edu or 474-2648

Why haven't you groomed the Estle Connector to LARS and Beaver Slide and Baseline trails since the wind last week? They're in terrible shape. Like skiing on sticky fly paper. You've done a great job of repairing other more open parts of trail like Smith Lake and T-Field. What have you been doing that you haven't finished the rest of the trails? It's been almost a week since the big blow. I hope not focusing on walking trails. Tree debris doesn't matter there the way it does for skiers. After yesterday's horrible ski through the woods (I wouldn't even call it skiing; walking with boards on my feet), makes me scared to try skiing from Ballaine Lake to Estle Connector or West Ridge to Ballaine? Have you re-groomed that wooded part to get all the tree junk off the trail?

Dogs are not allowed on the ski trails at UAF. Dogs are allowed on the Pooch Loop walking trails. Maps are available at www.uaf.edu/northcampus. If you have any questions please contact me at kaaxx@alaska.edu. Thanks!

Twice within the last week I have encountered individuals bringing dogs with them when they ski on University trails. It is my understanding that dogs are not allowed to accompany skiers on the groomed trails.

Thank you for your prompt grooming and regrooming after this week's snowfall. It was lovely out on the trails this afternoon. I really enjoy the new big whizzy loop.

Some tree work will be done this afternoon around 5pm to remove this tree from the trail light lines on the trail from SAR dish to potato field. Please take care in this area.

And thanks! Jason is one of the hardest working guys around!

I have found the UAF Mobile smartphone app very useful when looking at new trails. Just make sure that location services are turned on. The Pooch Loop dog walking trail is on that map. You can also see maps of the North Campus area at http://www.uaf.edu/fs/northcampus/trailmaps/

Thanks for the wonderful, beautiful trails. Have had the privilege of skiing fresh snow and fresh groomed trails. Whether I am skating or classic, I always know it will be great! You guys are the bomb!

From Ballaine there is an unmantained trail right along the treeline over to the range rd. one can also park at the end of Range rd.

I have a hard time knowing where the dog trails are--when I park at Ballaine Lake I am not sure which way to go on the trail--I just see signs posted saying no walking/dogs on the trail. On the map it says there are trails but how to get to them without disrupting the ski trails?

Hi, Ref the walking trails. Would like to stop by the office and chat. please advise who I should ask for and at what building are you located? Generally you folks are doing a great job, have suggestions to make the walking trails more safe for users. Thank You George Berry 687-8769 anytime.

The new addition of Big Whizzy is now being groomed as it was designed. There were some difficulties at the beginning of the season as the trail surface was uneven after construction. After the ground has had time to settle over the winter, work will start to level and seed the new addition so it can be maintained next season with less snowfall. Signs with maps were placed at junctions to help navigate the new trail. Please let me know if you have any comments or concerns. Thanks, Kara. 474-2648 or kaaxx@alaska.edu

Most trails are two way. Does that mean they are unsafe? It is nice to have options on which way to go. Not everyone likes the tight corners and steep hills of the new sections. I prefer to ski the original big whizzy. Keep it as it is.

Hi - First, I'm a big fan of your grooming, thanks for the good work. But 8-)..... The new Big Whizzy loop is very confusing and I think needs some adjustment on the grooming. There are abandoned sections of the trail that you are still grooming which I think causes confusion for skiers on the way they should be going - not a big deal except there is the possibility of two way traffic where it would be unsafe. Not grooming those sections would help a lot - but also getting some directional and "do not enter" signs up would help too. Again, thanks for your good work, I really enjoy skiing the west ridge trails.

Wow- great skiing last night! It was hero snow on all the skate trails, very fast but easy to get an edge in. Thanks to the groomers for covering the whole trail system right after everything refroze. A word of warning: look out for bent over birches from the freezing rain. I took a branch to the face not paying attention in the dark.

Under normal conditions, yes the trails would have been groomed Sat night however due to the forecast of freezing rain on Sunday grooming is being held off until the rain stops and the temperature drops. The weekend policy is that if 2 inches of snow fall the trails get groomed.

I'm very disappointed there doesn't appear to be any grooming today. I skate skied yesterday in new snow, actually it was snowing so I hoped the groomer would be out this morning as it has stopped but a couple inches more have fallen. So although the temperature is good the trails need grooming for skating. Weekend skating gets the most "traffic" but sufficient grooming has often been a problem. I much prefer the UAF trails to Birch both in design and distance (I leave near UAF). Maybe tomorrow? I'm retired so I have some more flexibility but I also have a lot of weekday commitments.

Yes, I groomed that Ballaine lake loop the other day.

I really appreciate the grooming. Trails are great. Last year you groomed a trail around Ballaine Lake. It was a great place to take my 3-year old to learn to ski. Any plans to do that this year? Thanks again...

Trails are great! All this beautiful snow! Thank you for a great job!

Classic trails were set today

The grooming was great last week after all that snow. Would it be possible to set tracks on the classic trails now- Beaver Slide, Baseline, etc? Thanks!!

Re: Posting 849, Could you or your friend please give me a call. I have heard from security, it would be helpful to hear the other side of the story. 474-2648. Thanks!

First time in the last 6 years that I have had to pack trails with the snowmachine only as none of the equipment would make it through. I got all major trails packed twice, except Midnight Express, all classic only trails except Baseline and Skarland and most of the walking trails. Grooming will resume tonight

yes there is a new site for trail updates. I packed some trails twice today and all trails once. Packing of the trails will continue until it stops snowing. I am hoping to set tracks on Friday at this point.

OK, I read down a ways and figured it out...

http://www.uaf.edu/fs/northcampus/trailconditions/

Keep up the good work! Why is it that "Groomer Updates and Notes" on the web page (http://facilities.alaska.edu/uaf/ncampus/ncgroom.cfm) is not being updated? Last record was Oct 31! It's clunky that we have to look in "groomer feedback" to find the latest grooming updates. Yes, I hit "reload".

Packed all trails today in prep for the snowfall tomorrow

Groomed and set tracks until snow got too deep for the track setter, then switched over to the roller and rolled the rest of the trails. I will continue to set tracks tonight.

My friend was at the top of the Potato Field when said moose and calf jumped up in front of her. The calf went into the field and the mother stayed close as my friend got behind a light post. Mommy moose was not going to move from her position between calf and skier. My friend called 911. After a long delay a 4 wheeler showed up but went the wrong way. The noise caused the moose to move off. My friend took off and met police 4WD vehicle which loaded her up and took her to her car. If the snow had been deep how long would it have taken security to respond?

Given the amount of snow, you're doing a terrific job of keeping things skiable. I wonder if a fresh classic track can be set on the Skarland, maybe a little to the outside of what's there? I realize low snow load limits what you can do, so it may not be possible. Thanks again.

I am very much enjoying the ski trails. Thank you for all of your efforts. Will you set a classic track on the baseline trail at some point?

Most trails were groomed this morning and tracks were set. I noticed on the trails conditions page that I was seeing old information unless I refreshed the page. Then I was able to see the updated information. I will work on the walking trails and classic only trails Monday morning.

Totally loving the trails. Smith Lake was a joy to come out on and just ski. Have been all over the trail system, have no complaints. Thank you for your time and work. Summer or winter, we love these trails.

The trail on Smith lake was groomed on 11/5. I set track on it Friday morning. You can see detailed grooming info at http://www.uaf.edu/fs/northcampus/trailconditions/

As I am recovering ny fitness after some fairly serious health problems, I am looking forward to to skating and classic skiing around the perimeter of Smith Lake. I heard a report from the weather service that the ice on Smith Lake in now 10 " thick. Do you plan to prepare the trail on the Lake soon?

There is not enough snow yet to set tracks. The packed base is only 2-3 inches deep at the most. The track setter would be constantly digging into the ground both ruining it and mixing dirt and gravel into the snow. Now that we have a packed relatively level base I will be able to set tracks with the next 2"or more snowfall. In this early season I pack all trails as wide as possible to avoid having a soft shoulder later on in the season and it gives me a place to pull snow in from when we have low snow conditions.

The grooming is looking good. When will there be some classic tracks set? It would be nice to have a classic track in the upper loops. I have tried to set them along the extreme edges of the trails in the new snow but then the groomer seems to take them out the next time the trail is groomed without setting a new one. Thanks if you can respond.

re slanted trail. I think that a friction drag will work well, now that the slant is dissipated. If the drag is heavy enough and pushes aside enough snow, it should make a nice solid base, and am looking forward to a smoother ride.

The "slanted trail" was leveled some to allow for better winter grooming. That trail remains an all use commuter trail. I will be machine packing it and testing out a friction drag that will hopefully be able to pack a nice wide usable trail. The area around the new dish and the new learning area has been worked on and smoothed and leveled.

For additional trail information you can go to the UAF North Campus Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/UafNorthCampus?ref=hl

The forecast calls for 2 more inches of snow by tomorrow morning. I am planning on doing the first rolling of trails then.

The new learning area is in the same condition. I hope we get lots of snow!

What is going on with the trail reroute around the new dish. It is a mess! I though the GI was supposed to replace the trail with one of equal quality. That rutted muddy mess is not going to make a good ski trail.

I see the formerly slanting 'slanted trail' was 'fixed' this morning to remove the slant. All fine and dandy, but I hope this doesn't portend regular grooming of the trail for skate skiing. Such grooming makes bike commuting very difficult until the weak surface pack gets broken through. I thought last year's treatment worked well, with the hand-maintained biking and walking path coexisting alongside the occasional pass by snowmachine, and hopefully that can continue.