The groomers worked their alchemy on the trails at Phalen and turned them into white gold! They worked the new snow to perfection with only a few small trouble spots in the skate deck and some easily avoided spots in the classic track. The course has been shorted on the south end to avoid areas that were of particular problem. The course is fast and very enjoyable. I tend to be very conservative on ski ratings so I am probably a bit too cautious with my B ski rating. In short, the snow is great, be careful of small trouble spots but enjoy!

(Greg Loper)

With the thaw and subsequent freeze, Phalen is quite icy. There are spots in which the skate deck is translucent ice and others where bare ground is visible. The classic track is very fast (except where you run over oak leaves that have more adhesion than klister.) Overall there is good snow cover just be prepared for icy conditions and bare spots. I may be cautions in recommending rock skis vs. B ski so use your judgement.

(Greg Loper)

Skied the full Phalen loop as part of the excellently run King Boreas Winter Tri. All 7k are still skiable, but it's thinning out and freezing down. There are some icy patches and narrow/thin patches amidst what's about 90% in good shape. The freeze-down should preserve what's there, but it will take fresh snow to bring the few iffy sections back into form. It remains a viable natural-snow option, including for HS teams. Classic tracks looked very mixed.

(David Moore)

The warm weather is impacting the course at Phalen. Much of the skate deck is soft with icy patches and two places where sections where the deck was bare and showing grass. The classic track was in similar condition. Hopefully some cold conditions will improve the skiing.

(Greg Loper)

Classic tracks set beautifully, thanks Groomers! Some grassy spots at the top of hills, an a couple of icy spots. Blue kick wax; snow was still fresh and nicely packed. There were several curves where the freestylers had broken down the left foot track. All and all, a fabulous ski!

(Ann Gerold Stibal)

Phalen has very nice coverage. The track is set and is nice and firm. Skate deck is still very soft but who cares when you have snow!

(Bill Stuber)

Groomers were out on the course today both rolling the skate deck and setting classic tracks. Snow remains soft but is beginning to firm up. For the most part the course is slow but well covered. Watch out for two icy patches at the crest of hills where the snow has blown off as well as a small amount of grass in the classic tracks. As usual, the groomers have done an awesome job preparing the course.

(Greg Loper)

I skied for 1 hour and 20 minutes. It was slow going as the snow was soft and deep, with no classic tracks. Frustrating as I've been waiting so long for good snow, really hoping for classic tracks to be set before this snow disappears! In addition, there's no clear way to get to the trail from the parking lots and it's confusing which direction to go once a person makes their way to the trail.

(Ann Gerold Stibal)

The groomers are out at Phalen this afternoon. At the time of writing, they had made several passes of the course. It was still quite soft when I skied and the classic tracks had not yet been set. Even with the large snowfall we received last night, there were still two icy spots on the tops of hills that had minimal coverage. If you ski today, expect it to be soft and slow. As always, a huge thank you to the groomers!

(Greg Loper)

A few bare patches where you have to walk a couple yards, but otherwise not too bad for thin -snow skiing. Pretty safe for skis because mostly grass is showing. I was striding at noon with grip tape which worked well on the fairly icy, shallow tracks. Trail was solid enough so skating did not slash through the deck.

(Pete Thurmes)