Snow, finally...But at what cost.

Been doing a bit of skiing over the last few weeks. The snow has been slow to come and the little bits we got were often good for a parkway run but little else. Still it was nice to get out on the skis and start to tune up for the season.
  Huron sunset
A week ago we got out for our annual trip to a Lac Phillippe shelter. As luck would have it it was actually snowing as we went in so I skied in with a sled in tow. It worked pretty well but the fellas opted to just walk in as the base was solid and there really wasn't that much snow to speak of. A long night of (too much) good food was enjoyed and the cabin (The Pines) we stayed in was more than up to the task of staying warm. In fact it was somewhat tropical again - similar to Lusk cabin - so sleeping bags weren't really necessary. Sadly the snowfall turned to freezing rain over night and I had a bit of a tricky ski out in the morning. Another good trip in the books.
Des Pins
With the first official day of winter we finally got some serious snowfall. While it started as light freezing rain, by the time the storm got going it was wet heavy snow. Excellent snowman/snowball snow to be sure. This boded well for a holiday week of skiing but alas it seems too much of a good thing isn't always great. The wet heavy snow loaded up the trees pretty badly and a tremendous number have buckled under the weight. As such the trail crews have cleared a "lane" on the parkway but the side trails are a warren of broken trees and branches. Could take a couple of weeks before they are all cleared out.. and then we'll need more snow to cover all the debris left behind.
Skiing through the woodwork
Ah well, while I was hoping to get onto the trails proper, the parkway will have to do for now. Skiing is skiing after all.
A ski by any other name...