Cold temperatures meant nothing to the eager lot  that came out for our first bus of the year.  Our protective shells protected us from the wind most felt when in the open,  the apt use of age-old technique got us up the  steeper grades under the cover of trees, and fresh powder made for easy descents.  We stayed off lakes and marshes for the most part, but icing up was not a concern on trail and in the bush like it often can be this early in the season.  A great day was had by all.  Wipe your Sunday slate clean and join us for the 14th.

With sadness in my heart this new comes as a dart The numbers are few. Making the bus not due. Its been a good year, The season a must, But hold back your tear The bus season is bust. IF, HOWEVER, YOU WISH TO CAR POOL, THERE WOULD STILL BE SUFFICIENT SNOW ON HE SOUTH SHORE OF GIBSON RIVER OR ALONG MOON RIVER.  LEAVE A MESSAGE ON THE WEB SITE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CAR POOL, AND IF YOU CAN PROVIDE SEATS.  I WILL LET THOSE INTERESTED KNOW BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON WHO THEY ARE AND HELP FACILITATE THE DAY. BRAD A.

Don't miss out!  CROSS OVER IS ON FOR THIS SUNDAY.  Special dispensation...NO LATE FEE FOR THOSE SIGNING UP BY 10:00 a.m. Saturday.  I want to be organizing an absolute crowd for Sunday's bus.  At least two non-cross over groups.  There are going to be a lot of happy people  this Sunday...believe me...I know.  Everybody is saying it.  It will be great.

Reports have it that our base did not get hit as hard with rain as was anticipated.  Nevertheless, the snowshoeing contingent has cancelled for tomorrow.  This leaves insufficient reservations to justify the bus.  Extended forecast, though calls for a  conflux of good conditions for skiing next week.  So have, faith, brave-hearts!

IF ANYONE WANTS TO CAR POOL FOR TOMORROW, MAKE A RESERVATION FOR 26 FEBRUARY REMARKING THAT YOU WANT TO CAR POOL FOR SKIING AND IF YOU CAN PROVIDE A RIDE FOR OTHERS.  JOIN UPS WOULD OCCUR AT YONGE AND YORKMILLS AND AT MAJOR MAC AND 400..  A FURTHER ANNOUNCEMENT WITH FINAL INSTRUCTIONS WILL BE MADE ON THIS WEBSITE THIS AFTERNOON AT 2:00.

Another fantastic ski day. Our bus went to the top end of our trail system. The Gala Lake area has some excellent terrain to ski over. We found almost three feet of snow but it had compacted and was very stable to ski on. The deep blue cloudless sky and strong sun made for amazing spring skiing conditions.  Next week we will have 16 Bruce Trail snowshoers so make sure you reserve your seat early.

Sun and spring ski conditions should make for a fun day.  We will be going up highway 400 and hope to go to Galla Lake area for the first time this winter. There are still seats on the bus so you are welcome to join but will have to pay the late fee. 

At 6:45 in the morning the bus organizer got a call from Canada Coach saying the bus had a problem and would be 45 minutes late. Well that set in motion calls to various people at each stop asking them to tell other waiting skiers of the problem.  All worked well and as is usual for Fivewinders no complaints.  Because of the late arrival of the bus and snowy conditions on the highway and not knowing what the snow conditions would be like on our trails Gord and Judy were ready to can the bus.  However, our eager skiers all voted to continue North.  We did change our route to continuing up 400 which would cut 1/2 hour off our trip if we had gone to Nine-Mile Marina. Well, what a surprise when we got on our trails.  The above freezing conditions the day before had consolidated the snow and the ice crust on top.  We also had at least 5 cms of snow and it continued snowing for the rest of the day.  Dry snow, no wind and mild temperatures below freezing made for an amazing ski day in a winter wonderland.  Skiers who decided to not come on the bus missed one of our better ski Sundays.  Next week we will have a ski and snowshoe day.  

We will be going to Nine Mile Marina this Sunday.  Right now conditions are somewhat difficult with a hard crust and deep snow underneath and a skier can break through this crust.  We are to get some snow on our trails over the next day and also melting conditions on Saturday which will hopefully firm up our base and then Sunday brings minus temperatures again and more snow. There are still seats on the bus. 

We had members from the Alpine Club of Canada to help fill our bus.  They were a great group of 5 people.  It was not our best day of skiing this winter since we were plagued with slush on the ponds and marshes.  And we can't complain about the deep snow because it was needed after the two weeks of melt.  However, it did make for tough going and burning thigh muscles. It was a winter wonderland and we had snow flurries most of the day. As usual everyone came back to the bus with smiling faces.  How could we not after spending a perfect day on our trails in quiet solitude. Gusty winds on the ponds and lakes but perfect stillness in the woods.

Take a look at the weather.  It looks like we are going to be getting at least 20 cm of snow squalls over the next few days on our trails.  Be prepared for tough breaking of trail.   But hey, we need the snow!!!! We decided to return to Potter's Landing because we have a lot of trails to choose from. Due to the continuing problem with slush and having to scrape off hunks of snow from our skis we decided it was best to choose an area with trails and ponds and lakes so if it is possible we can do both but have the choice. We will be picking up people at Waubuschene and Essa.

It should be another grand day on our Fivewinds ski area.  See you on the bus.

Judy Finlay, Bus Organizer