Perhaps due to the timing of the state high school meet, the Highland 9 survived the warmup in great shape. I used skins in the hard tracks, fishscales would be good too, but probably a little too much debris for kick wax. The skate deck looked great, and the groomer was heading out to freshen it. The groomer indicated that he was going to leave the track alone, probably a good idea. The bare spots are growing, but easily avoidable.

(John Kendrick)

This loop was solid and fast for Tuesday morning's ski. Skate lane still has a few pesky icy spots, though most have wide groomed lanes to avoid the ice. Deck is pretty smooth/even, and I could get an edge. I double-poled the classic tracks, which felt fast, but not icy. Some areas of the track are washed out, some have dirt poking through. Overall, Highland 9 has nice conditions.

(Chris Lofgren)

Skied with a few friends sunday morning. The skate deck was well set, freshly groomed and fast; I think I was 2nd set of skis on it! Very few ice spots showing through, and one area where grass was starting to poke through. Two of our party were in the classic tracks and stated they were in great condition and fast. Good kick. Keep up the good work St. Paul grooming crew!

(Jeff Miersch)

Freshly groomed. Track well-defined and firm. Overall very good to excellent. Thank you to whoever remembered to bring some pruning shears and cut those dangerous over-hanging branches.

(Bob Hartzler)

The skate lanes looked great. The classic tracks were really good with the occasional thin spot with frozen grass exposed. Easy to avoid. A fair number of leaves in the tracks in some sections. Waxless skis worked great. Great job by the groomers!

(Lou Chouinard)

The skate deck was solid and relatively flat. Minimal areas of bare ice, little to no bare ground (though I could see a bit more ice and stuff in the classic tracks). I'd say great shape and a good ski.

(Chris Lofgren)

Cold weather made for firm, hard snow. Track is well-defined in most places. Couple bare spots, a few leaves. Overall good to very good. The skating lanes looked fast.

(Bob Hartzler)

Two laps skijoring. Best conditions in three years. Skate deck firmed up nicely since yesterday. The few icy spots are easy to avoid. There were many more classic skiers out this afternoon than skaters and they seemed to be having a great time, too!

(Christian Franken)

All the "bad spots" that were around last weekend were covered with fresh snow at just before noon today - and since it's been snowing ever since then I can only imagine it's gotten even better. Lots of folks out, and the trail was good all the way around.

(Tim Stutzke)

I skied Highland very early. Tracks were deep and firm enough to ski before it was light. Trails were groomed and track reset before I left. The skate deck looked soft and beautiful. A skater could use good skis by avoiding a few icy spots.

(John Kendrick)