A tough week

That rain on Monday really did a lot of damage to the conditions in the North Country, all the way up to the Canadian border. Right after the rain the temps dropped to sub zero and surfaces are rock hard. Plus the large crowds of President's Day vacation week are quickly scraping off anything that's soft. The groomed runs are loud and scratchy but skiable. The glades unfortunately are still pretty treacherous.

However, things are looking up. Jay Peak got four inches last night, which was unexpected. Small accumulations here and there are improving things slowly. Forecasts are for moderate snow Friday, so the weekend may not be lost.

Don't put your skis away just yet. There is still plenty of good skiing to come. The Mt. Mansfield snow stake is reading 78 inches, which is down from 85 before the rain, but still about three inches above a typical year's deepest accumulation--and the deepest snow depths don't typically come for another week or two. The best skiing may be yet to come, and that's saying a lot for a pretty spectacular year so far.