Battle Creek was a big surprise this morning. Temp was about 31 degrees. Plenty of snow for a good edge in most places. Up hills are very good but getting down is super fast, almost uncontrollable. The only bare spot was on the WC/Gold trail at the top of the long climb along Lower Afton. Wood chips are showing at the top. The Ski Games trail maybe the best right now. Classic tracks are still in good condition and there is plenty of snow in the skate lane. It is bumpy and has two bare spots to step around.

(Bill Stuber)

Re-groomed all skate trails at Battle Creek West except ski games. All trails fully covered and deck very firm.

(Doug Schumacher)

All skating loops regroomed; classic track in great shape except the Gold trail which does not have tracks set.

(Bill Kosfeld)

Skated the entire trail system, including Ski Games section. Pretty good skiing everywhere. Ski Games a little soft on the left side of the lane but had mostly nice solid-looking tracks. There was enough loose snow for decent control (including snowplowing partway down the 2 huge descents on the WC trail.) Some dirt and twigs showing so hardly mid-winter conditions, but as usual, excellent grooming made the most of the thin snow cover.

(Pete Thurmes)

Went out under the lights on the bronze trail tonight. Within the first half kilometer the classic track has bottomed out, but it's easily avoided. Right now about 80% of the course has well-set, fast classic track. As typical for this trail, some of the tight corners have washed out on the outer side of the turn. I had some trouble on the uphills, but this was using older skis with mismatched wax pockets -- I'm inclined to blame my waxing more than possible icing. Looks like skate skiing would be really enjoyable, as it's well-packed and really fast outside of the track.

(Lindsey Tuominen)

All trails were combed again this afternoon. No tracks set yet. Ski Games trail is combed and classic track is set. Conditions are a bit soft but seem to be firming up quickly.

(Bill Stuber)

All trails were groomed this afternoon. A classic track was set at the bottom of the first uphill and continued on the lit loop. This track is shallow and in some cases set on top of ice. Ski Games trail was packed with one pass. Trail is pretty flat with parts of the skate deck being excellent but there is not a lot of base. Once this base sets up, skiing will be very nice. With the forecast snow tomorrow there could be a big improvement and we will attempt to set more classic tracks.

(Bill Stuber)

Mostly icy conditions this morning. It looked like the groomer was out this morning and tried to make some courdory. The best conditions were in the woods. A few debris spots but easily avoided.

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(Ethan Knuti)

The freeze and thaw cycle of the last few days has been hard on the trails. It's getting thin in the sun and rock-hard in the woods due to frozen ruts. Classic tracks are so-so to poor. Maybe grooming can help but we'll probably need more snow to freshen them up. Pretty hard to get an edge for skating, but just soft enough for it to not be dangerous. I'd only recommend going if you don't mind hard/icy conditions.

(Adam Ruhland)

Silver trail was groomed after lights out and snow temps went down below freezing. Minimal damage was down by warm temps the last two days. Skating area has some easily avoidable small bare spots but is very good otherwise. There is a high school meet scheduled for 2:00 pm Thursday. The classic tracks vary from pretty good to pretty poor. Mostly still skiable but expect to step out to avoid bare spots. The Gold, World Cup, and Ski Games trails have not been groomed since Monday but appear to be in similar condition but with marks made by skiers the last two days.

(John Fitzgerald)