Sometimes things don't work out quite the way you expect them to.

Izaak Walton Inn got about 2 feet of new snow during the big storm and quite a bit more after that. I ski condition page on the web indicated that 32 of the 33 km of trails at the inn were groomed for skating and classic. The driving conditions on Tuesday looked good so I headed over to the Inn.

Upon arriving I found the place a mess. What I mean here is that the snow was a mess. I walked over to the trailhead. The snow was deep and firm. It had been warm the previous few days so the base as well consolidated and firm. There was an inch or two of fresh powder on top.

If the trails had been groomed the skiing would have been great. But instead the trails were a frozen mass of churned up snow pummeled with deep footprints. There was no sign of any grooming activity.

Stopping by the front desk I asked if the trails were going to be groomed that day. Jennifer shook her head no and continued to talk on the phone. Seemed like the phone keep ringing and folks were on hold so she pretty much ignored my question as to why the trails were not groomed. So I left.

Spending 2 hours each way in my car and not being able to ski bummed me out. Unfortunately this has happened more than a few times. What is really disappointing is that the inn sends me grooming reports and posts trail conditions on the web. I think, for the benefit of anyone planning to ski there, they should also post the fact that they may not groom the trails. Most other ski areas indicate when conditions are unsuitable for grooming, when a machine breaks down or when something else comes up that prevents grooming. The Izaak Walton Inn seems to just ignore those days. I wonder how their lodging guest feel when the trails looked like they did last Tuesday?