With the latest snowfall this week, the Slope Maintenance Department officially began their snow grooming operations for the 2018-19 winter season. We had a few cats out on the hill to begin the process of track packing some of our trails. The operators remove the tiller (the implement that creates corduroy textured snow) for these operations. This lightens the cat and reduces the likelihood of churning up dirt below the snow surface. Track packing helps to reduce sublimation, create micro windrows, and encourage bonding between snow grains. To put it simply, this technique helps retain the snow that we have while creating a surface for future snowfall to adhere to. It looks like we have some more snow in the forecast for the weekend and into early next week. Thinking positive!