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.

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(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)

Hey, it's a 2-fer Friday. Bunkie wanted to preview the big hills on the Korte course as we most often ski the North End of the trail. So this afternoon, we skied from Mosquito Brook to highway 77 and back. This section of the trail is not groomed to it's full race width yet but is otherwise in very good shape. There must be some regular hikers at Hatchery Creek as the little loop into the aid station is is kind of post-holed. But there's no real reason to ski that until race day anyway. Lots more skiers out this afternoon. This morning, I had the trail all to myself.

(Andy Schwartz)

Squeaky cold Styrofoam snow but flat and firm so good skating. Full depth classic track everywhere I skied. I skied South from OO to Gravel Pitt and back while Bunkie did the Ski & Tea workout. Snow coverage is very good and the skate deck is as smooth as it gets. The snow is super dry and a well fed male like me can still feel it crumble underfoot. So it's not race ready yet but getting there.

(Andy Schwartz)

Skied from around the new hills by Hatchery as well as to the Brook and back. Skate deck is groomed nicely, the skate deck is a bit soft on the edges. The middle is more skied in and a bit more firm. Great skiing, beautiful day. I used my best skis. Classic track looked good too.

(Gunnar Fontaine)

Perfect classic skiing on a windy and cold afternoon on the Birkie Ridge ski trail. The skate track looked equally perfect. The south loop section also got the perfect treatment. Is there anything better than the downhill finish from the Dave Nelson memorial overlook? Thank you Ned for this picturesque gem of a trail.

(Tom Dunaway)

The route was OO south to Gravel Pit and back on classic skis. I found fresh grooming from overnight including new classic track. A skis suggested. I skied Atomic Skin Tecs, the citizen racer "Pro" model. Glide wax is Fast Wax HSF Tan as the top layer. All the time on the heavy wood skis should make this 18 k route a cake walk. Wrong. The Xcellerator bindings kick totally differently than standard bindings. It looked like I was the third skier in the track headed south. Knowing nothing about how the bindings and skis behaved, it was deliberately slow going south. There are some pieces of branches left in the track from clean up. Track was generally very good. More set up time and traffic will help it. I messed up and crashed once on a fast downhill turn. Three classic skiers passed me. Four of us on classic skis headed north from Gravel Pit. I was quickly out distanced. The track was much better following the three skiers. Kick became more predictable and glide seemed within the expected range for the skis and wax; call it average. The trip north, with all the elevation gain, was faster than the learning experience south. Headed south, track swithes sides on the picnic table hill. Switch left for track before the action starts or run right out of track. Time will help the skate deck also. Both styles of skiing are very good now with great to come.

(Jeff Bolte)

Skied from North End cabin to the power lines and then to the high point on the Classic Trail. Pristine grooming on both Birkie and Classic trails. Only one skater and two striders ahead of us on the fresh grooming. Checked Birkie trail at the high point and no one had skied on the freshly groomed and tracked trail as of noon. Thanks grooming crew for your big effort last night!
Photo is at new Timber Trail cabin.

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(Carolyn Senty)

Early morning ski from Fish Hatchery trailhead to Mosquito Brook was fantastic. The groomers had been out the night before so it was fresh corduroy. Approx. 6" of fresh clipper snow was a little slow, but great coverage. Classic track looked to be full depth and in good shape too.

Photos:

(Ben Popp, American Birkebeiner)