Can Arififical Intelligence make sense of what XC touring center trail reports? Read on and find out.

Some former colleagues in my work life had said AI was perfect for pulling information out of web pages, so I thought turning it loose on cross-country ski touring center reports was worth a try. I used Microsoft Copilot for this initial try, and for four ski areas that report their conditions in different ways. Copilot prompts were given in two ways, and the AI responses were copied and pasted verbatim below. My human-intelligence summary is at the bottom.

Prompt 1: I specify the format of desired output

Me: “Tell me the last time the ski conditions were updated, percentage or kilometers of trails skiable, trail conditions, and base depth. Summarize ski conditions for each area as good, fair, or poor” (followed by links for each of the four ski area’s conditions report pages).

AI response:

Ski conditions across these Vermont Nordic centers range from fair to poor, with limited trail openings and thin snow coverage. Only Bolton Valley currently reports good conditions.

• Bolton Valley is the only center with a solid snow base and groomed trails, offering packed powder and good skiing.
• Trapp Family Lodge has a limited soft opening in the Stadium meadow, but most trails remain closed due to thin coverage.
• Craftsbury and Catamount are not yet skiable, with Craftsbury awaiting snow and Catamount focused on summer trail conditions.

Here’s a detailed summary of each location:

Location	Last Update	Trails Open / Total	Trail Conditions	Base Depth	Summary
Bolton Valley Nordic	Apr 12, 2025	3 trails open	Packed powder, variable conditions	20–30″	Good
Catamount Outdoor Center	Jun 26, 2025	N/A (summer trails)	Mostly dry or variable (bike trails)	N/A	Poor
Craftsbury Outdoor Center	Nov 6, 2025	No trails groomed yet	Awaiting snow, early season notes	N/A	Poor
Trapp Family Lodge	Nov 14, 2025	~1 km soft opening	Thin snow, bare spots, caution urged	Minimal snow	Fair

My take: Doesn’t look so accurate. Worse, I’m not sure where it’s getting some of the information Time to try again.

Prompt 2: Figure out what I should know

Me: “Tell me the most imprtant information in each of those reports”

AI response:

🎿 Bolton Valley Nordic Skiing

• Last updated: April 12, 2025, 11:44 AM
• Trails open: 3 Nordic trails
• Conditions: Packed powder, variable depending on elevation
• Base depth: 20–30″
• Summary: Good skiing with fresh snow and solid base.

🚴‍♂️ Catamount Outdoor Family Center

• Last update: June 26, 2025
• Trail status: Reports are for bike trails, not ski trails
• Conditions: Mostly dry or variable; no snow or ski grooming
• Summary: Poor for skiing — not in winter mode.

❄️ Craftsbury Outdoor Center

• Last update: November 6, 2025
• Conditions: Awaiting snow; trails not groomed yet
• Base depth: Not reported
• Summary: Poor — early season, not skiable yet.

🏔️ Trapp Family Lodge

• Last update: November 14, 2025
• Trails open: Soft opening of Stadium meadow only (~1 km)
• Conditions: Thin snow, bare spots, icy patches
• Base depth: Minimal; snow melting from below
• Summary: Fair — limited skiing for eager passholders only.

My take: it feels weird to say it this way. but as inaccurate as the second report is, it’s a bit closer to what the reports intended to express, except for Bolton, which wrote nothing like what AI reported.

The old-fashioned method

Here’s my summary:

Bolton Valley Nordic, date unknown: No XC trails open. Alpine areas opening Nov. 28. Uphill access on Wilderness only.

Catamount Outdoor Family Center, Nov. 17: No skiing.

Craftsbury Outdoor Center, Nov. 17: 22k rolled, but no tracks. Touring Center closed until the 21st. Skier services don’t exist at present. Poor conditions.

Trapp Family Lodge, Nov. 17: About 4.5k open. 4-6″ new snow. Snow machine packing, no grooming. Poor conditions.

The variability in reporting methods and data provided takes some familiarity and individual interpretation to normalize into a single format. It took me a lot loinger to compile and summarize that information than AI, but AI was much, much faster – at creating information that can’t be validated. I was actually hoping AI would work well and save me lots of time.