Yesterday evening I had a fantastic skate ski from P10 up the FP to the Champlain Lookout and east and west on Ridge Road. I was hoping to repeat this route this morning. However, as I drove to P8 the freezing drizzle was intensifying and I thought it might be better to just do a couple of exercise laps of the Doldrums. At P8 I found about 2cm of fresh snow with a light freezing rain glaze over the top. The temperature was about -2C. To my surprise there had been no grooming. It was easy to break through the crust, and the icy mix provided fast glide, but it didn't make for great skiing. It was necessary to lift skis quite a bit to clear the broken-up bits of crust. Much of the way I double poled to break open the classic track. I had to take off my glasses, which were quickly coated from the freezing drizzle. By the time I finished the two laps my jacket had a coating of ice. It was good exercise, and good to be out, but it's probably not worth the drive from Ottawa. Given the temperatures below freezing I think Demsis could have groomed this morning, at least a minimalist Parkways/Ridge grooming.

Pics and more info are at
http://musicianonskis.ca/blog/2017/01/january-18-2017-2/