Behind the Pines

First, a conditions update: Secret Meadows, River Run, Boynton, and Loki's were all groomed on Friday night. The plan is to groom Roundabout, Beaver Pond, and Odin's on Sunday morning along with the Inner Trails, Pines Run, and Ray's Run. The temperature plummetted overnight, so here's hoping that the teeth on our groomer are up to the task of softening up some icy crust. Skiing should be fast today.

Now, about Pines Run...

Over the course of this winter, I’ve had many opportunities to chat with folks who remember coming to Viking 10, 20, even 40 years ago. When they recount what they remember from their earlier visit, many describe an image of skiing through a beautiful, wide, flat stretch of trail with tall pines towering overhead - the iconic Pines Run. Needless to say, when we were contacted by a forester back in December and told that we wouldn’t have access to Pines for the winter, we were pretty dismayed. 

Fortunately, this ‘Winter from Heaven’ has provided us all with lots of other opportunities to explore the trails around Viking, some of which hadn’t been open in a few years. Think Odin’s Ring, Beaver Pond, and Roundabout. Two weeks ago, when I called the forester to check in, he told me that the project would be winding down soon and he gave me permission to start exploring the possibility of re-opening Pine’s Run. And, so I did.

I started with some exploratory jaunts from Viking Run to Secret Meadow. The upper section of Pines Run had been the main drag route for a logging operation, so it was littered with branches and small trees. I concluded that with the ample amount of snow on the ground, we could make it skiable. On Friday, Bill and I headed out with a shovel, snowshoes, chainsaws, loppers, and lunch. Five hours later, we had cleared the major obstacles, rolled and track-packed the trail four times with the groomer, and called it a day. 

Now, grooming can be tricky, especially when temps creep up above freezing. Temps above freezing coupled with heavy snow can be a nightmare. So, it’s often smart to just let the moisture drain and wait for the temps to fall. Fortunately, the forecast for Friday evening showed temps dropping into the mid-20’s during a short window. So, after dinner on Friday, I headed out to groom. ‘Round and ‘round, over and over, our groomer was able to level and pack the snow, and finally, set a track. 
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There were plenty of happy skiers at Viking on Saturday morning, and many of them headed straight for Pines Run. The tall pines are still there. Trail maintenance remains a work in progress, but it feels great to say that Pines Run is OPEN!