Finally

First of all, the Rangers wish you all a very happy New Year.  It has sure started out pretty darn nice for those of us who ski in northern Iron County.

The past 8 weeks have had their ups and downs, victories and frustrating failures.  There's no reason to go into all the details, they include viruses, rain, sleet, slush, very large amounts of gorgeous snow, and no break-downs that took more than a day to repair.  

With the big snows, just trying to keep up and provide basic tracks was about all we could do.  It was good skiing; but not up to Rangers standards.

Last night we decided there was a chance to begin upping the quality of the ski out there, at least on Montreal.  

Gators do a great job of getting out there and setting a track quick; but only the edges get packed hardl the middle of the trail, where the track goes, is just a little too soft for good, strong tracks.  

Time for the Alpines.  Time for some volunteers to get some experience on the old prime movers.  The Alpine travels directly in front of the track sled, so the snow there gets compacted and the track sets up hard; it's so much nicer to ski on.  

But operating an Alpine for 2+ hours is no fun.  Sometimes counter intuitive, with heavy steering and a poorly located throttle placement, the driver is very tired and sore after even an easy trip like today.

Enough describing the tough life of a Ranger.  Montreal's tracks and trail are in exceptional shape; better than we've seen in a good couple- three years. We hope you can get out there and enjoy them.  We're sure going to try and Ski Freely out there.  Z