Friday, Dec 30th grooming schedule

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1. I moved these up to a new post:

   
   

   Olie OlsonDec 28, 2011 07:30 PM

   Wednesday 12/28. We had another inch of snow with rain today so most of the new snow disappeared. I was in the West Pioneer today near Ferguson Lake and it was snowing there most of the day with two inches accumulating by 2 PM. It may not have rained on the Haggin trails. If I go to Butte on Thursday I'll report what I see at Haggin. It looks like grooming on Friday should be possible if temperatures permit.
2. lundborgDec 29, 2011 03:44 PM

   I'm just back from Driggs at 3:30. Gus will probably want to groom and Mark Switek left a phone message saying he is available. Ray thought he would be available and he has all the fuel.
   
   I have to go to dinner at 6:00 and probably won't be back till 10:00 or later. Ray can't get to the blog and Mark doesn't have internet so they'll have to be called (Mark: 559-0106, Ray: 239-3240) after Paul reports in. If Gus or any of Dave's crew want to groom I'll take a bye.

We are going to groom this morning (Thursday).  We should have some fresh snow to work with.  Will post the Missoula grooming report this afternoon.

We plan on grooming thurs night. We will take it slow & easy - I am assuming there is only a couple inches of new snow since last weekend. Sorry about the damage last week - although the bent ski on the skandic occurred at a slow speed in the bottom of little Cal (creek area). I saw it happen - threw Chris right off the sled - just hit a hidden rock...

Simms Ski

Well I spent about three hours working on the damaged Simms ski and was able to get it straightened back to close to normal. It's still a little crooked but should work fine. The rear weld holding the skag on ski was cracked but after straightening it the crack didn't get any worse so I didn't re-weld it. The axle bolt support running through the ski leg was slightly bent and I tried to straighten it but since it's tempered steel I didn't have a lot of success and left it alone. It will work as is. So please keep the speeds slow until we get another foot or more of snow to cover our hazards. I kind of hate to repair damaged equipment that could be prevented by just slowing down. We're going to be hitting hazards but slow speeds will keep damage to a minimum. Thanks, Paul

Friday, 12/9 Report

Paul and I spent a few hours getting things back in shape from the grooming session Saturday.  I'm recapping our experience for the benefit of the whole crew so we can learn from our mishaps.

First we attempted to put the new spacer on the Skandic ski.  You may remember Paul had to take the new one home to ream the inside to fit the pivot on the Skandic strut.  Well, once we got that done, we noticed the other ski was distorted.  The mounting bracket was badly bent, one of its spacers was broken, and the ski itself was warped.  The net effect was an extreme toe-in, with the ski not flat on the ground.  Luckily we kept the original skis in the cargo container, so we switched back to the original skis.  Paul took the damaged Simmons ski home to see what can be done to fix it.  You may not be aware that we replaced the factory skis with Simmons Flexi Skis on both the Skandic and the Beast to improve the steering when pulling heavy loads.

Next we went to work on the roller.  We found 2 of the 3 bolts that attach the disk (rim) to one end of the roller missing, and the third loose.  Thus the disk was flopping around inside the culvert and as a consequence, one of the 3 angle iron ribs that form the attachment of the culvert to the disks had pulled away from that end of the culvert, bending the rib, and pulling the pop rivet out of the culvert.

To work on things, we removed both stub axles (no small job) and got the draw bar and the fantail out of the way.   Paul was able to peen the angle iron rib close to straight, and we used a 1/4 inch bolt instead of a pop rivet to re-attach the end of the rib to the culvert.  Before we re-assembled everything, we took the draw bar frame over to a couple of trees that were spaced about right to backstop one side of the frame.  We hit the other side of the frame close to the hub repeatedly with an 8# doublejack without any effect on the bow from a previous collision with a tree on the trail.  That should give one a perspective on the impact force on the frame that caused the bow.

Anyway, we got everything re-assembled and then greased both rollers.  They are back in good shape, although one of the air spring levers and associated bushings is missing from the other roller ???

We hooked up the Beast to the Ginzu and #4 Alpine II to the TiddTech and swept Crooked John, Wulf's Cutoff, and Sugar Loaf, setting tracks with the Ginzu as we went. We hit lots of stumps, but we were rolling slow enough that we floated over everything except one that sheared the pin on the TiddTech.

Bottom line guys,  this early in the season, slow running is mandatory.  Wise procedure is to make a pass with without implements, "walking" thru questionable terrain, and then go back with implements, now being to see exposed hazards, and move at appropriate speeds.

We will start the 2011-2012 season on Saturday, December 3.  Since the weather is expected to be cold and since Paul has to come around to Jerry Creek to pick up the machines, we will plan on arriving at the parking lot about 11:00.  We will be bringing the Beast, the Skandic SWT and Alpine II's #3 & #4. 


Paul will keep the new Skandic at his place until we get the pintle hitch mounted and he puts the initial break-in hours on the machine.  We have to get a plate made with a 5th wheel socket that will mount on the deck of the Skandic.  Once we know more about the new implement, we'll work out the electrical issues and hopefully come up with a scheme so the new implement and the Ginzu Groomer can be used interchangeably on the Skandic and the Beast. 

I should be available Friday morning, March 18th to groom. I'll be out of twon this arriving back late thursday.

Thurs night grooming

Don't think we will groom tonight - Temps look like they will stay to warm through the early evening, plus 2- 4 inches of snow is forcast for thurs night / friday morning.

Good luck fri morn

I entered this earlier but it didn't stay.

I should be available Friday the 11th for grooming.

Those who purchased gasoline from Lisacs Tri Stop please let me know the day and amount for February.

The invoice did not have any receipts, so I do not know who purchased what.

Thanks.

Friday Grooming Schedule

We had better plan on an 8:00 start with the forecast of an overnight low of 18F and a high tomorrow of 33F. Today it's already 36F at 11:00 here at Jerry Creek. Paul is taking a day off, so we need a Beast driver.

Pete Kurtz from Sven's in Anaconda called late Sunday afternoon to report a propane leak at the Warming Hut. Paul went up and shut off the gas at the bottle that night and Monday I picked up a new regulator and installed it Tuesday. Things appeared to be leak-free. I left the pilot on so it will be interesting to see if the Thursday night crew find it still on.

February 26 Grooming

With our Arctic temperatures the plan is to try and groom Saturday at noon when hopefully temperatures will be warmer.

Dave Susanj added a note:

blue backpack was there as of Sunday evening

Comments on Saturday schedule continue:

Blue Backpack

My co-worker John LaFave left a blue back with a peanut butter sandwich and other items outside the warming hut Saturday. If anyone is up grooming and returning to Butte, and the backpack is still there, could you grab it? His number is 496.4306 work and 723.7474 home. I won't be able to attend this Thursday night groom.

Sugarloaf groomed Sunday

I groomed Sugarloaf Sunday late afternoon - Area picked up 3-4 inches so I thought it would help out any Monday skiers.

Pre-race grooming schedule

The weather still looks favorable for Friday and Saturday with highs of 30F and light snowfall. With the snow we had late yesterday and what is expected today, there should be a fair amount of new snow to work with. I hope the windfall debris will be buried. Hopefully the Thursday night crew can get an initial pack on the race trails. Regardless, I suggest we start at 8:00 Friday. If the needed, we can make a fast pass around the race course first and give it a chance to set up while we do L'il Cal, Sleepy Hollow, and Gus's Gas. Then we can dress up the race course and get tracks set.

Since this is a long weekend, it's important that we get everything groomed for the non-racers to enjoy.

I have been told a lot of debris has fallen on the groomed trails making it dificult to ski in some areas due to the high winds over the last weekend. I suggest that groomers bring leaf rakes and remove the debrie from the bad spots before packing. The race is Saturday.

Grooming Friday February 11

So far this week we have picked up another three inches or so of snow in Deep Creek so there will be snow to groom at Mt Haggin. Let's plan to meet about 9 am on Friday. We have had lots of wind so the open trails will have drifts.

What do you think for Saturday (2/5)

At 8:30PM at Jerry Creek it's 38F, the wind is blowing a chinook, and the sky is clear. Should we show up at Mt. Haggin at 8:00 and see what we find?

Feb 3 thurs night grooming report

Only a skiff of new snow, and a light snow falling, so we didn't groom. Temp was about 32F when we left at 9 pm.

Grooming Friday January 28

Is anyone thinking of grooming on Friday? I would like to take the day off.

Ideas for a better operation

Over lunch the last couple of sessions a few things came up that are worth repeating for everybody's benefit.

• The thresholds on the container doors need to be cleared of ice and snow most every session so that the doors will close completely and easily. Otherwise the latch mechanisms are getting sprung and the doors warped.
• The padlocks have weather covers over the key slot. The covers have to be snapped closed to do any good.
• The Ginzu groomer has the flexible wings on the rear combs. When the Ginzu is run along the banks of the packed trail, the wings begin to form a "chamfer" that hardens. If snow has drifted in against the bank the flexible wing will cause the whole Ginzu to float up and harden the drift without cutting it. In either case, over time the side where we set tracks begins to slope away from the bank and we don't have an implement that will cut it back level; the set tracks end up with the same slope. Bottom line: use compacters, rollers, or the TiddTech on the track side, followed outboard by the Ginzu with the wing overlapping the edge left by the implement ahead.

Thursday Groom

What do you guys think? Are we on for another Thursday groom? Paul - is the carburetor preheat valve located engine compartment driver's left? We all hovered around a valve in this area when the beast quit. It looked like a clip was preventing the valve from being turned.

thurs night grooming

Had 4 groomers show - Myself, Todd Hoar, Dan Blythe, and John Amtmann. Used 2 rollers the ginsu & the tid - tech. Groomed all of Crooked John, & Sugarloaf. Did not get Sleepy hollow. Temp was about 35 degrees start and finish, & maybe 4-5 inches of new snow. The beast quit us near the end but Todd got it started with a little gas down the pipes. Got stuck several times but things groomed up nicely.

Not much for the friday crew to do but buff things up & finish Sleepy Hollow & Lil' Cal.

Good Luck & happy skiing !

Weekend schedule

The forecast looks like a repeat of last week. The temp is supposed to rise to 36 overnight, so we may be skunked for tomorrow. Dave has a crew going up tonight; hopefully they can get something done before the warm-up.

All of the machines are fueled and ready to go. I don't know if anybody has been watching the injection oil on the Skandic. I believe we started the season with the last of the Bombardier non-synthetic. It would probably be best to let the reservoir go nearly empty before switching to the synthetic. There is a gallon of the Wally brand in the warming hut.

The Bitterroot Alpine II is still acting up when it gets warm. We took the cowl off to help, but it still seems to vapor lock.

The brake is fixed on #3 Alpine II.

Mark Switek won't be available until after Sunday.

Jan 6 - thursday night grooming report

1-2 inches new snow - 38 degrees. Tried the ginsu & compactor - compactor just loaded up, so we switched to the red roller. It got buildup with snow also, so we bagged it. We got out across Wulf's cutoff from the sugarloaf side & back & that was it . It was about 33 degrees when we left at about 9:30. Good Luck on friday morning. The Ginsu was the only thing that didn't load up as long as the teeth were up out of the snow.

Grooming schedule for weekend of Jan 7-9

The regular Friday grooming schedule will resume on Friday, January 7th at 9:00.  Hopefully Bob Rase will join us for his first grooming session.