January 29th Grooming Report
Planetary Problems!
While the above title brings to mind a myriad of events from pandemics to politics to climate change, most of these topics go way beyond the scope of a grooming report. However, we do have some planetary problems relevant to our Nordic world to discuss today.
Our trusty Pisten Bully seems to have one component that is not quite as trusty as the rest, namely the final planetary drive. These drives contain components that seem to be undersized for the stresses they have to bear, have failed in the past, and unfortunately are causing problems once again.
If you are curious as to how planetary gears work, click on the image above to see a fascinating animation and the image below details the exact location of where our suspect planetary gear reduction final drive resides in our own Pisten Bully.
With the bad news out of the way there is nothing but great things to report. In past instances parts were weeks away in Europe but this time the replacement drive was in Reno and is en-route with hopes of replacement happening early next week.
Looking at skiing today, that is also looking fantastic. Overnight about 3 inches fell which for the first several hours of grooming the Ginzu Groomer was able to lay down in the nicest classic tracks of the week and some very crisp if a little soft corduroy. After two passes through the entire network, the temps warmed enough (-1ºC/31ºF as of 11:30 AM) that the Ginzu ceased to function, but the roller was able to make a third pass throughout the fields and stadiums.
What you will find today if you make it out is lots of sunshine, calm conditions, warm temps, and nothing but the beauty of three inches of fresh whitewash over our miles of trail.
Groomer’s choice for today is Boiler Loop.
