February 1st Grooming Report
Nordic Elk!
Our resident elk herd is growing somewhat more comfortable sharing this beautiful valley with Nordic skiers and groomers. Even though they seem to really appreciate having some nicely groomed trails for their nightly forays, the first encounters of the season resulted in panicked explosions as most elk have never seen Nordic grooming equipment before. However, as the season as progressed, the elk much like their more photogenically famous neighbors residing in the elk refuge have grown somewhat accustomed to passing machinery and skiers.
Even though they are becoming habituated, they still don’t stand quite as readily as their more famous relatives. Today’s image was of part of a larger group of around 15. If you’d like to encounter them on your next Nordic ski, early morning is the best bet.
Today’s grooming at Trail Creek was pretty much best line Ginzu skate grooming except for some new classic tracks in the close field. 9:15 AM conditions are a moderate breeze, quite a bit of sunshine, and a warming overnight temperature of -1º/31ºF. All in all conditions are really nice and today’s warm temps promise to make for some fantastic skiing.
There is racing going on all over the place this weekend; there is a live webcam at West Yellowstone although it doesn’t seem to be displaying much race activity (IMD race results will be posted here), the Boulder Mountain Tour is happening right now, and Wyoming High School racers are skiing at Casper Mountain.
Groomer’s choice for today is the Alt Woods Trail (on the National Forest).
