Greetings and welcome!
It looks like the weekend went pretty well. It didn’t get terribly warm, with a high of 36 for the weekend, and the sun was a lot less of a factor than it could have been. It is good to see a few people got in an extra bonus weekend with great or very good trails. It is pretty rare to have February conditions the fourth weekend in March.
The last three weeks have been the perfect storm of below normal temperatures and cloudy skies. Combined with the massive ice base and weekly snow, it has been a fantastic March.
This week doesn’t look quite as promising. We are going to miss out on our weekly snow replenishment for one thing. Item two is that we are going to start the week with highs in the mid-30s and end it with them in the mid-40s. Item three, is that with high pressure dominating our weather this week, we are expecting some sun.
By my estimation things will start looking more like late March about mid-week. I fully expect that there will be places to ride next weekend, especially in sheltered areas and north of about Benson Lake Rd ( about halfway between here and Hwy 8), but I am also expecting a lot more burned through spots and icy spots to appear in the usual places this week.
With a forecast of 40+ temps and mostly sunny days from Wednesday on, the odds really aren’t on our side.
It is a rarity to ride March 30 and 31. I have only done it once, about 18 years ago when a big storm came through the last week of March. That opportunity will present itself this year, but it will most likely not be with decent conditions system wide. Picking your spots well will most likely find decent conditions. There are back country places and sheltered areas that will still hold ample snow two or three weeks from now unless we get some really warm weather.
The biggest problem will be the sun. The late March sun is brutal, and we are almost up to twelve and a half hours of the stuff. A sunny week will open things up a lot.
The other challenge will be standing water. Between our melts and rain storms, low spots have gathered some water that is now frozen. We might be adding some more water to those low spots this week, so there might be a few wet or muddy spots.
This season has been spectacular, and March has been the perfect storm of snow, cold and clouds to give us so many extra weekends. Will this week go better than expected? I wouldn’t write off the possibility just yet.
You can legally ride right up until 11:59pm Sunday March 31st if the clubs keep the trails open. After that they close for the season.I am sure that there will be places near here that it will be possible to ride right to the last minute.
I will keep you up to date.
Have a good Monday and thank you for visiting!
RJB