Primo Is Now

Trail conditions are perfect now. My Blackborow DS on Marky-Mark

Well, I know I have been sort of harping on this subject here of late, but this Winter has been a very unusual one for fat biking conditions. Unusual in that they have been really, really good. That hasn't been the case since about 2011.

The snows have come, certainly, since 2011, and we have had big dumps at times. However; the consistency of that snow hasn't been any good at all for fat biking.

Interestingly, the local scene has just come around to having enough of an interest that grooming has been undertaken on a wide scale for the first time this Winter. Last Winter a very minor amount of grooming took place for the first time around here. Before that, nothing had been done at all. That's okay, because I am fully convinced that even if we had grooming back then, it would have been ineffective due to the extremely granulated nature of most of the snow we received in 2012-2015. That shifty, unconsolidated stuff was not going to firm up no matter how many times you ran a roller and sledge over it.

But this year is quite remarkably different. The first snow was like much of the past few years, but since then, we've had thaws and re-freezes at perfect times, and the snow has been of a consistency not seen in the area in a long time. This has meant that even some minor snow shoeing can be employed to result in a track that has a fast, hard surface, perfect for fat biking.

How long will it last? I keep thinking, not long now. Spring is coming, the Sun is riding up higher into the daytime skies now, and more direct light can affect snow conditions now even without a warm day. Warmer temperatures will be coming and at more frequent intervals. The best fat biking we'll have is now. 

Better get some while the gettin' is good.