2014 February Trail Conditions

I think what we’re all missing here is a live satellite feed that beams down to the trails around DC. I for one would enjoy a live shot of the trail from the comfort of my office desk or at home while sipping a night cap for the following ride’s conditions. Anyone from NASA or the NSA on the forum?

@dasgeh 77769 wrote:

I believe it’s been made clear, by mstone and others numerous times, that (1) it’s great that skiers can use the trails right after it snows, (2) after a little while (days?), the trails become unusable by skiiers and should be plowed, and (3) the NVPRA and NPS have been asserting that they won’t plow, even after that time has passed, because they want skiers to be able to use the trail. “because skiers!” is a shorthand way of calling bs on that argument.

Okay.

It’s not the nicest way to say, but it’s also not the most rude. If you read along, you’ll see what people are really getting at, and that you don’t need to always pick fights with them when they don’t express themselves perfectly. Sometimes, it’s nice to be able to just type “because skiers!” instead of making all the caveats.

I don’t think I’m picking fights. What I’m doing is pointing out that if we expect motorists not to express themselves this way – and get very made when they do – we need to be precise about it when the shoe is on the other foot. That’s the one and only quibble I have – that we not just dismiss other path users the way motorists dismiss us on the roads.

It snowed last Thursday. It’s been six days. We’re frustrated. Cut us some slack.

I’m a cyclist too, remember. But I’m also a skier. I’d like to think the paths are for multiple uses and that we all cooperate.

And BTW, I think it’s very cool that there are people who actually ski these trails. I hope there’s room for a compromise that makes us all happy (like plow half, and push extra snow into the other side = more skiing, no?).

Actually, I think plowing is better for skiers, as long as it’s done fast. There’s probably enough space along the side of most trails to ski on, and plowing keeps pedestrians off of those areas. It’s a win-win in most spots.

@baiskeli 77785 wrote:

Actually, I think plowing is better for skiers, as long as it’s done fast. There’s probably enough space along the side of most trails to ski on, and plowing keeps pedestrians off of those areas. It’s a win-win in most spots.

And this is why you come off as picking a fight instead of having a meaningful conversation. The point is that a lumpy mess of ice and pavement doesn’t serve anyone’s interests–not skiers, not cyclists, not walkers, not dogsled guy. You seem to acknowledge that, and agree that a better management plan would serve everyone’s interests. But then you keep arguing.

If I’d said, “skiers should just stay off the trail, the have no right to be there”, or “skiers don’t pay a trail tax”, or “skiers should just go off to the mountains if they want to ski”, then you’d have a point. But I didn’t, and you don’t. What I did say is that NVRPA is using a BS argument for letting the trails remain in an unsafe state for weeks on end. If they’d said that they were going to dig a big hole in the middle of the trail every couple of miles so people could go cave diving, I’d say “BECAUSE SPELUNKERS!”. It wouldn’t be because I’m anti-spelunker, it would be because the position is ridiculous. You may also be unaware that there’s a meme that’s basically “Because ____” where the phrase is a non-sequitur (this is not a phrasing invented just to pick on skiers).

Anyway, I’m moving on, why don’t you let it go now?

@dasgeh 77786 wrote:

I disagree that “because skiers!” is the same bs as drivers saying cyclists should get off the road. Here, cyclists are saying that the agencies in question are not responsibly allocating resources, and instead are hiding behind a fig leaf of an argument that they can’t plow because it would inhibit skiing. As you point out, in lots of places, trails could be plowed and skiing could actually be improved.

What we’re saying is different than skiers shouldn’t use the trails. And it’s not aimed at the skiers, but at the government agencies who are shirking their responsibility.

Okay. So would you be happy to leave the trails untouched for a few days after snow so skiers can use them, and then plow them?

o. M. G.

Somebody should invent a bike-pulled trailer plow for warm days like today to clear the slush and mess off the trails before it refreezes.

You invent/construct, I’ll test?

Anyone been on Hains Point today?

@baiskeli 77796 wrote:

I don’t know if all skiers agree.

I don’t know if all skiers disagree.

What percentage of skiers need to agree for this to be a good idea? If more than half of skiers like the idea, because it keeps the peds from trampling the entire width of the trail, is that enough? Or do we need 100% of the skiers (who constitute–generously overestimated–5% of trail users) to agree?