24 degrees, clear skies, gorgeous. Checked out the course for the Minnesota Finlandia today. We started out trying to ski west side yet it had not been groomed after the last snowfall and was a bit more of a crust crush and we were avoiding ruts from skis that went through in warm weather then a refreeze. We opted to head over to the East side - there was some grooming and we were able to make our way around the whole east side as fresh snow was not too deep. We knew there was a chance trails were being preserved before the race groom and it was all good, we were pleasantly surprised with the great snow cover for Saturday! Great base, plenty of snow to work with and hopefully the forecast for Friday is off a bit so we can fun the full course!

(Anne Ellefson)

I went out ski ski-recon the east side trails and look for any trouble spots. Saturday was cloudy and 20s, Sunday got just below freezing with sunshine, wind. At the moment the entire 25k is in good condition with just a few thin bits on the open fields. Surprisingly we still have a foot of dry snow out in the woods, and a well bonded base that’s been flattened and smoothed in preparation of final grooming and tracksetting Wednesday or Thursday night. Will post additional updates as the week progresses.

(Mark Morrissey)

This weekend the Minnesota Finlandia trail system received many grooming passes, leveling and building up the base. Conditions are the best in memory for a full course with al the trimmings, big fast lanes for passing, great skating and excellent tracksetting. We had a big melt and refreeze a couple weekends ago, but we've enjoyed two generous snowstorms and expecting another this week. We are confident we'll be able to host the Finlandia enjoying an excellent race course. I'll pass on final course prep details/wax report as the race approaches.

Photos:

(Mark Morrissey, Minnesota Finlandia)