Skied classic Bs on the orange and red, tried the prairie loop but turned back as it was too thin and squishy. Very mushy today with the warm weather, track depth varies, there's a lot of grass sticking through in the open areas. I left a rolling body print on the bigger downhill on red working around a downed branch. Brown and yellow more of the same - good but soft under the trees (very light under the pines), and light in open spaces. A few others who were out echoed the slow ride conditions but everyone was just happy to be outdoors and on skis.

(Sarah Hartung)

I skied the Purple and part of the Silver Trails today. The skate deck and the classic track both had set up well after yesterday's grooming. The base is still thin in spots, especially in the classic track where you will find places where the tracksetter dug into the dirt. The skate deck has a few dirty spots as well and I suspect there are places where you could punch through and hit some gravel. Overall, the skiing was most enjoyable in spite of the cold. Bright sun and no wind go a long ways in mitigating the below-zero temps.

(David Thofern)

All of the trails were groomed and tracked this afternoon and into the evening. Hopefully the snow will firm up with the coming cold weather, it's pretty soft right now. Although everything is pretty well covered, there isn't a lot of base so there are spots where you might encounter underlying gravel. As usual, areas under the pines are thin.

(David Thofern)

Happy to be out on cold day. Skied orange, red with prairie loop and had a ball. Thanks to the Willow groomers!

(Michelle Aaron)

There is maybe 6-7 inches of snow down in the area. The roller is out this morning with the plan to pack only to capture as much new snow as possible. Jeff was out early and reports packing the Red and Purple. Dave should be out by 10 am to do the rest. The general plan is to pack trails first, let it set up, then assess the results for track setting. Cutting a track now would likely leave decent looking results but the side walls would be mush. Mushy track track has a tendency to blow out, especially when you need it in a downhill turn.

(Jeff Bolte)

Cold. Thin base. No track. I skied out the Orange to the Red Prairie and back on the Orange. Yes, one link of that was wrong way to stay on turf trails. Skis were wood touring width. Glide wax is Start Black Tar roto-corked in. Kick wax is Toko binder. It was fast today on the woodies. The rolled and combed base has firmed up well in all areas skied. I wanted the open area route since the wind was down. The sharpened edges on the wood skis bit in and made the turn when it looked iffy in down hill turns. Anything spooky was easy to avoid. Obviously the Prairie held more base than in the trees. The base is excellent for the snow to come. There is still time to hit it tomorrow. One more. The base I skied today is still base; not boilerplate. It looks like one skate skier was the only other to ski the Red Prairie.

(Jeff Bolte)

Night prowl to Willow Falls under a full moon. Skied classic from the 300 camp entry to the Falls. Took rock skis. No track and no chance there will be any. The base is very shallow. Pole baskets were useless. B skis would be okay on the firm base. Wax is Fast Wax Sport Blue. Its cold enough for Green. Skate marks indicated a gentle stroke yielded 10-12 feet of glide on the flats. Its the usual early season stuff: sticks, lumps, gravel, all easily seen and avoided. The campground loop is as good as it gets for early season grooming. The Blue trail is a mixed bag of all of the above. Remember the crews doing brushing work? That stretch of the Blue has gained three feet of width. The grooming team grabbed every bit of it. Best guess is its a full 12 feet wide. Willow Falls under a full moon is kind of hard to see... Ski gently at Willow this week and enjoy this early season!

(Jeff Bolte)

I can tell you that as of 9pm all the trails have been rolled. All are snow covered but a bit thin under some of the pines. Not bad though. We will make a decision in the morning on whether we can track or not. Happy skiing.

(Ted Bliven)

Ungroomed. I skied short on the widest woodies I own. The route was the Purple Trail. I walked the small hill out at the end since it has pebbles to rocks year round. The skis took minor, easy to fix scratches in the kick wax area. Toko Binder worked fine for grip. Remember, most trails have gravel. Classic rock skis suggested.

(Jeff Bolte)

The park received around 6 inches of new snow overnight on top of bare ground and all 26 km of trails are snow covered and skiable. However, both our snowmobile and tracked vehicle are down with mechanical issues. Therefore, no grooming will take place until at least Monday. Ski trails are open to hiking until we are able to groom. Also be aware that today is the last day of the firearms deer season. You are advised to avoid trails open to deer hunting and wear blaze orange if you are in near areas open to hunting.

(David Thofern)