It was a short trip at Gravel Pit on the classic skins. I skied north and south. The trail looked prepped for racing; rock solid track and a very shallow combing on the deck. The deck was firm but pliable for freestylers. It was not squishy. It was good on the deck for the classics also. Yesterday's run left enough soreness to limit my climbing ability in track or screamer downhills on the deck. The skins took most of the shallower hills in track well. There were more skiers about than expected. Have fun racers! The trail I saw today was perfection.

(Jeff Bolte)

Purdy nice. Maybe 6-8" new snow in the last ten days. Grooming is fresh and nice. Classic track is deep, skate deck is fresh cord firm powder. Skied Hatchery north. Cold on the downhills! Maybe 10F above in the sun, 10F below in the shade.

Photos:

(Joel Harrison, New Moon Ski Shop)

skied north end and a few K's of nearby Birkie trail. North end had just been groomed, Birkie trail seemed to be groomed recently also, but just a little slower(and a lot hillier). Beautiful sunny morning skies. 10 degree temps. Wish I had applied face cream, face felt a little raw afterward. Tracks in great shape.

Photos:

(Brian Ciske)

Cross country ski heaven! New snow, freshly groomed, cold 10 F with no wind. Perfect! Both classic and skate trail in excellent condition. Skied 00 to North of Boedecker and back.

Photos:

(Ken Kuznia)

Birkie trail coverage is great! Good skating and diagonal with light fluff on top of hard base. Not a racing surface by the event standards but a great surface for control. Skied from OO to Timber Trail and back. New warming huts are really placed nice, a sharp addition to the system. Stopped at Tony Wise Museum to make for enjoyable day.

Photos:

(Dean Kleinhans)

The trip went from Gravel Pit south to Mosquito Brook and back on the new classic skin skis. The air temp. was teens with no wind under a clear sky. The classic track was deep and solid with a fuzz of new snow down and some wear on it. Perfect! I took a "go slow" attitude headed south to work kick and in track hill climbing skills. There was some work on downhill turns in track, an inexact repeatable skill. I chose out of track a few times including one fast run down to a snowmobile trail crossing. It was somewhat steep on the run down with a bouncy crossing. Headed north, it was time to test the findings and watch the clock. The clock added some time with a crash in a fast downhill S turn. I did everything I had learned. The outside ski popped loose from the track and it was over. No damage. Hill climbing improved. It was a fun trip on the Atomic Skin Tecs. There is still a learning curve in progress. The Xcellerator binding kick stroke on the skins does not roll off the heel in my experience. Its ball of the foot only with an aggressive forward lean or the ski slides out. Glide wax is Fast Wax HSF Tan. Lots of happy skiers on the trail today!

(Jeff Bolte)

Skied Sunday morning from Fish Hatchery to Gravel Pit and back. Had about 1/2-1" of fresh snow overnight and conditions were excellent. Beautiful, quiet sunny morning and a great day to ski on the Birkie Trail. Hopefully conditions will hold up for the Hayward Lions Club Pre-Birkie on Saturday.

(Mike Maiers)

Skied this morning from 77 almost to 00 and back. The trail had fresh cord (on one side) and good tracks. Lots of people enjoying the trail.

Photos:

(Tom Detzner)

Skiers will find very good to excellent skate skiing at Mosquito Brook Trail Head. I skated north to OO and back, enjoying the recent grooming that provided fresh corduroy. The trails offered great control and were level with good coverage. There was a good firm track as well.

Photos:

(David Martin)

Possibly some of the best conditions of the year so far on the Birkie. This morning I skied from OO to Hwy 77. As advertised, the trail crew groomed about a half width of the skate lane. Warmer with a little humidity in the air so the snow was much faster than yesterday. And the classic tracks were lightning fast. I classify the skate deck as 'forgiving'. That is, it was plenty firm but just soft enough to provide good edging. The OO trail head was a mad house when we finished up. Lots of smiling faces.

(Andy Schwartz)