The trails are in very good condition. We did some regrooming Sunday morning to re-track some areas that had been hiked. There are a few dirty spots in the classic track but you should be fine with your "A" skis. The Pink, multi-use trail was also groomed Sunday morning. Although it gets a lot of foot traffic and isn't tracked, skate skiers looking for big hills often find conditions acceptable.

(David Thofern)

Another short trip from the boat launch, past the Falls, out the Silver to the first big hill and back. That took 90 minutes on the B set of wood classic skis. Generally, the trail is soft due to the low moisture snow that fell. The classic track and the skate deck have not become really firm. It is easy to blow up the track. The Blue trail was starting to drift in where it had direct exposure to the lake bed. Track was filling in also. You will have to ski classic without track for the final link to the Falls. Ski speed on the woodies varied from little glide to some long double pole runs. Also, I wanted to see all the recently brushed areas with a groomed trail on it. Today I saw the last area we worked. We missed some minor things. The vitals: Start Black Tar roto-corked corked in for glide wax, Toko Base Binder for kick wax. Classic, take the B set. Skaters OK on any choice.

(Jeff Bolte)

I got there just as Ted was putting the grooming gear away. It was another short trip: Green from the boat launch, main and river stem of the Purple, and twice from the boat launch through the 300 camp. Classic track varied in depth as always for a first cut in not ideal snow. It's good enough for B classic skis headed west from the boat launch. I ran the B skis into the 300 on the first lap and then took the A set for the second. Both are no wax. The A set is skin skis. Track was not set up when I got out at 9:00pm. The touring poles have long tips which slid out at times. I saw dirt and other stuff in the classic track west of the boat launch. Skaters, bring the A set along. Start on the B set and make your choice.

(Jeff Bolte)

All of the trails were groomed and tracked today after last night's rolling. You're OK to go with your good skis but many of the park's trails have an underlying gravel base so you might want to use lesser skis until you've actually skied the trails yourself.

(David Thofern)

Trails were rolled today. Jon might still be out there. No track was set.
Wednesday, after the predicted snow lets up, the plan is to do a full grooming with track on most trails. The Purple Lowland loop is full of moguls. Attempting to set track is useless until after the moguls fill in at least partially.

(Jeff Bolte)

With snow in progress Tuesday morning, the plan is to put both machines out to pack the entire system, including the hiking trails, this afternoon or evening. A decision will be made then with regards to setting classic track. Trails were rock hard and accumulating tree litter last time I saw them Sunday afternoon. There is probably enough snow down now, near 7:30am, to provide some coverage to ski, especially open areas. Big wind needs to help get snow down through the pines so coverage is likely to be uneven. Use rock skis until the grooming team or other report arrives.

(Jeff Bolte)

I went out today for another trail check before the predicted snow rolls in. The Red trail had been skate skied. There is some fuzz stuck to the surface from the recent flurries. The skate strokes were beautiful. No washout or tip sliding. The downhill runs were true; no skittering, wobble, or snow plowing. The skier has top shelf skills to ski that trail condition in my opinion. I checked the ski trails for more dead fall. There was some follow up on bypassed areas from before and new finds. The MYSL loop across the river is holding up well. Since the chain saw was along, I took out a stump. That gained three feet of trail space through a slight turn in the pine flats of the Orange. Wilow trails are still a mess and rock hard. The other highlight was the stick shifter coming off the ATV. That could leave us with only one tow vehicle for grooming if parts have to be ordered.

(Jeff Bolte)

Trails are closed to skiing due to ice on all of the trails. Wednesday, Dave and I toured the entire system. We cleaned up the larger sticks and the left overs from the chain saw crew. The smaller twigs and such was left. Some were already sinking into the trail. These should disappear beneath new snow. We were out for over four hours on this clean up. Ted and Janet were out later on a couple of trails with rakes. Dave and I found every trail condition from skiable trail to dirt. Walk in on an ice covered trail to ski a hundred yards of marginally skiable snow? Write Willow off your ski destination list until the next snow event that produces more than a nuisance amount. There will be no attempt to restore skiing until then. The grooming team has decades of experience and knows when to not try it.

(Jeff Bolte)

Willow trails are not skiable so consider them closed. Trails are sheet of ice. There are no gates to shut. All the signs say "open." Volunteers will not be switching the signs. Park staff are telling people not to ski.
Park staff did the heavy lifting; taking out seven down trees today. These created full or partial blockage on various trails. Tomorrow, Dave and I will be out to clean up the aftermath. I spent two hours on snow shoes with the leaf blower on trails today. I moved around to various forest types. The blower was quite effective in moving the small stuff off the trail. What is left is a much cleaner surface ready for the next snow. Today was a test run with the blower and I like the results. There will be more blower work as my time allows; it goes very slow. There is zero we can do to put skiing back on. All we can do is prep for the next snow event.

(Jeff Bolte)

Grooming plans (if any) are under discussion at 10 am. Blow downs are a constant issue that may affect any attempt to fix trails. This much is settled, the classic track is beyond help. The only possibility is to scratch up the skiable areas of the skate deck. That attempt will not go until the wind lets up. There is a large area of mowed grass between the beach and the dam. That is one of my low snow skiing areas on classic. You can find that at your local school field and no sticker is needed. More to come later from the grooming team.

(Jeff Bolte)