Snow is still good on Hume Road and on the main road out to Lane’s Lookout. Big Loop and other side trails are icy and patchy.
Category: Snow Reports
The snow is piling up at the Palouse Divide! Here’s the latest grooming report from Jon:
Thanks to Matt, Andy and Nick for all the saw work yesterday. We were able to clear and pack everything on the east side except Potlatch Loop and the Snowshoe Trail. Lots of trees coming down on the trails due to saturated soils and recent snow loads so expect a few obstacles. We’re doing our best to keep up. Teams are scheduled to groom and set tracks on Friday with more snow forecasted. Conditions are getting better every day.
Report from our trail manager, Jon: Pretty nice day at the Palouse Divide. Thanks to Nick from USFS for helping to clear and pack the 377 road. We’ll be clearing, packing and grooming the rest of the east side trails as the week progresses.
Foggy but beautiful today! Snow was good on the Trailhead-Big Loop-Hume Road loop. A little thin in places with denser tree coverage. Some downed and low hanging trees for the groomers to clean up. Snow is not super deep yet, but it shouldn’t melt this week and its supposed to snow Friday, so we’ll be ready for Free Ski Day!
Free Ski Day is January 11, 2025, 10am-3pm!
Club Members: We still need instructors. Teaching beginners how to feel confident on skis is a great way to spend the day!
Contact Jesse and Elise if you’re interested (palousedividenordic@gmail.com).
Hume Road (not pictured) is still in great shape with a good base and well-preserved tracks. There are just a couple minor thin spots (mostly past the intersection with Big Loop), that are easily bypassed. The challenging part is getting to Hume Road! The main Palouse Divide road has many bare sections. The dwindling base has been all churned up by a vehicle on wide tracks that went up and down the road. (According to Shirley of the lodge, the Forest Service had to drive to Bald Mountain.) Past the turnoff to Big Loop there is a long section of just bare dirt, where you have to carry your skis for quite a ways.
We were able to get the 377, Hume Rd., and Big Loop groomed Friday. Snow conditions are generally good but thin spots starting to break through.
We also groomed the 3828 road on the West side. One bare spot on the way up but snow is generally better.
Have a great weekend of spring skiing.
The snow is holding, the conditions are great, and the trails are being groomed by our crack team!
You all should have great ski conditions for this weekend. The Forest Service is not active on the West Side again this week, so groomers will get out and do as much as they can over there, as well as the regular East Side trails! Enjoy those opportunities while they last!
A grooming team is going up today and another will be up tomorrow. Enjoy!
The recent snows have made skiing possible again! There’s a few inches of new snow, though it is a little thin under the trees. Not sure yet if there is enough to groom this weekend.
A group of volunteers went and checked the Bald Mountain Loppet route today, to prepare for the planned 18-mile ski this coming Saturday. This is what they found. Sadly, we’ll have to cancel the Loppet. If we get snow enough to pull off this great adventure in 2024, I’ll let you know. And we were hoping for this to be the debut of our new snowmobile!
Several new inches of new snow in last 24 hours. Total of 10” at the Lodge now. The Divide Rd. (377) is packed to Lanes Overlook. Hume Rd and Big Loop are packed as well all in anticipation of getting groomed tomorrow. The groomers will have to make the call in the morning as to whether grooming is helpful or not. Snow is still a little thin under the trees. I could feel the ski scags touching ground once in a while. Hume Road and Big Loop have the best coverage. Little, Meadow and Potlatch loops left untouched for some nice powder skiing.
There is snow again. Hurrah!
Trails with more trees may not have full coverage and there’s not enough snow to groom yet, but we’re heading in the right direction! The Divide Road (377) was skiable, though thin under the trees, until just before Lane’s Overlook and Hume Road looked good.
Sadly the base has melted away at the Divide.
Great conditions on the Divide today. Thanks Matt for helping get everything groomed and tracks set. Everything on the east side is done except Potlatch Loop. Quite a few folks taking advantage of some prime snow. About 2” new snow since yesterday. Warming up but no significant impact on snow yet. Just a little faster.
Thanks to Dave Nelson for helping clear trails today. Snow conditions are pretty good on the 377 and Hume Roads. Big Loop has good snow as well. Meadow Loop and Little Loop are a little thin with a few bare spots. We’re going to try to have the 377, Hume and Big Loop groomed for the weekend.