Mar11-To the Fire Tower

From Penguin including 1b, 24, 40,33 Burma everything was freshly groomed.  On the Champlain Parkway it seemed that only one side had been done over night.  Generally the grooming was excellent except for Burma where it was good but because it is not flat the grooming is more on the sides than the middle.  I had started fairly early so it was only on the way back that things started to slow down a bit and you could start to hear the dreaded sponge sound every now and again.  Overall it was a fantastic day.

4Mar Penguin, Burma to Fire Tower

Every trail was groomed since yesterday.  Speed seemed to be dictated by exposure to the sun and how long ago the trail had been groomed.  Grooming ranged from good to excellent.  Burma was very firm and a bit icy in the middle of the skate lane, as if the groomer just passed over as opposed to digging up the snow a bit.  The good news is, it was fast.  As one got closer to the Tower the slower it became but there was more corduroy.   24 was particularly nice, again.  I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of debris.  All in all another great day in the park, not sure why there were not more people out?

Mar 3, Parkways, Ridge, 1b, 24

The skating today was pretty good.  Some sections were slow, some fast.  The middle of the skate lane is pretty firm with good speed.  Go to the side however and prepare for quick deceleration.  As far as I could tell no classic grooming took place.  On the parkways, up Penguin and along Ridge for awhile all had a fresh skate lane.  1B, Burma, 24 etc were groomed yesterday and were a little better today I thought because they have firmed up.  With all the crude on the trails I would assume the classic skiers had a tough go of it.  As for the skate lane if you were careful you could avoid the big obstructions.  With cooler temperatures and fresh grooming the skiing could be quite good tomorrow.