Hi. I drove up to Lake Mountain today and met @beefa skiing for a toll gate fee free XC ski day, yes , some plank action at LM. He gets about quite well on planks. It took me a while to get my ski legs back after not XC skiing since September 2018 . I don't believe I have previously skied for free in May esp. not at my old Nordic skiing stomping ground that is LM. I now have leg muscles aching in places that I had forgotten about . The road was clear .Snow ploughing workers were loitering near the LM turn off road with their vehicle and they had recently cut and removed a fallen tree,with a chainsaw that had smashed a road railing and blocked the road . The snow was soft and quite fresh and averaging 20 Cm deep. The surface was a tad wet and slow because there has been some R**n but overall the weather was good for plank action. The Boundary Hut ruins loop is 50 cms deep at least and very soft and uncompacted. Skiing on that route was very hard and we gave up after a while. I will go back and try and ski it again next week but on BC XC skis not skinny skis. @beefa skiing tried my classic skinny skis and did quite well. We both have NNN BC boots and bindings. His Fischer BC XC skis were quite different to my old Fischer classic skinny rock hoppers. I could have taken my new Fischer BC XC skis out for a spin because there was deep continuous cover and LM management has groomed it for skating and classic styles. We skied all the blue runs and both had a couple of spills but if you don't crash then you are not trying! . I went back to LM village down the Royston trail and @beefa skiing went off to ski some of the Jubilee trail. I will go up and ski at LM again next Wed. , so if you see me do say hello. Don't forget @teckel has all your LM snow gear needs covered whether it be skate skiing, classic XC skiing, appropriate clothing, wheel chains, toboggans and much more.
Driving up to LM for the first XC ski day of 2019, in MAY !! . There was snow a long way down the hill on the road from Marysville. It was fine day to be on planks , the sun even appeared briefly and we did not spot any other Nordic skiers or trail users. We went up to Helicopter flat, out to Woollybutt trail , had lunch at the Gap and went out and skied Panorama. Having a spill was no drama because the snow was so soft .
May 31st 2019.Lake Mtn. . More photos for snow lovers and ski forum lurkers. I lost an inner merino glove liner :-0 but found it later on
I don't suppose you got eyes onthe toboggan surface / snowboard park run? I wouldn't mind having a crack at it with my 3yo on his board on Sunday - either that or Donna Buang
As an addendum, as @Mister Tee on XC Skis headed back to the carpark, I headed over to check out the Jubilee Trail. Most of this was ungroomed. Lucky I was on the BC skis. Significant sections of it had down to 10cm coverage and had been r**n affected. Still, there was little hinderance to some enjoyable skiing towards the end of the day. It was great to ski with @Mister Tee on XC Skis. Kudos to a great day - and a free one.
I would not rely on any action here until official opening on the 8th of June. There's a whole pile of man made snow that is still piled up. Don't think you'll be allowed on the two main toboggan runs until then. The snow maker was in operation on the main tobboggan surface as I arrived back at the car park at 4:30pm
They say the toboggan runs are closed, but I'm not sure they can do that out of season unless possibly for safety reasons. I think they can keep you off the man-made snow. If he's on the board though, I can't see why he can't use the park run. (I did notice today on the cams, what appeared to be a ski lesson. Assuming it was an instructor course? So, keep out of their way) Or use Leadbeaters toboggan run (the one on the other side of the car park). It may be a little steep for a 3 yr old though?
