“Io, Saturnalia!”

On December 23rd, the old groomer Davinius, with a plan to put some soul back into solstice, loaded his pack with a jug of glögg, a loaf of bread and some baby cheeses and rode his yule goat out to Alturas Lake in search of a perfect yule log to burn on that night, the last of Saturnalia. Unfortunately, the old fool did not realize that he needed a wood permit and could not cut within 300 feet of the lake in any case. When confronted by law enforcement, he was given a warning citation for the yule log but hauled off to jail anyway on outstanding warrants. His goat was released. Luckily, Chadeus Maximus, his strapping young grooming assistant, had already rolled and ginzu groomed the ski trails on Friday and Sunday, to their best condition of the season. While classic tracks were still missing and North Cabin trail and a bit of Wapiti were not yet groomed, the rest of the trails were certainly fine for touring and perhaps even some skating. Park Creek was reported to be in a similar state by Adam, the first man of grooming there… rolled and ginzu flattened, but no classic tracks and the ridge on Skyrocket still ungroomed and needing snow.