Discussion among the groomers centered on rolling the turf trails only. Concern on the gravel trails is churning up gravel with the tow vehicle. I threw some golf ball size rocks off the Blue outbound hill on a walk this morning. Turf limits the choices to the Red, Orange, and parts of the Yellow. This does not line up into a circle route without skiing over covered gravel. Red and Orange are not heavily used hiking routes in snow season. I know there is a tree down on the Orange which will take some time to clear. I should hit the trail with the roller around 2:00pm.

(Jeff Bolte)

300 Campground Loop. Enough snow to cover the pavement. Walkers and a few skiers have been through the camp. Found enough snow and a few classic tracks to make the loop enjoyable. Really hoping for a decent snowfall.

Photos:

(Ginny Ballantine)

Skated the purple and (Green?) campground loops to the waterfall. Nothing was groomed but it was "Goldilocks skiing". The ungroomed base was thick enough to cover most all the dirt/rocks (I only felt one rock) but not too thick (ungroomed) so you could skate with catching your tips in the snow. About 9 degrees out so not terrible! If these trails were groomed (i.e., rolled/packed) the skating deck would be fabulous! The extra 1" or so of new snow really added that extra layer needed. I used rock skis but could have used B skis. Let's hope the rollers get out asap to protect and form the base! If so the skating would be great and would last with no melting! Might be a little light to set tracks. Go groomers!

(John Widdifield)

Since the last snowfall was a direct miss, I walked the 300 camp road with an eye towards another buckthorn cut soon. Random pocket knife pokes into the vehicle packed snow revealed a solid, but shallow base of one inch or less. The hard pack appears to be well bonded to the asphalt. Some footprints have burned through to asphalt. There is more fluff outside the hardpack. If you wanted to call the walked areas a soft pack, that also appears well bonded. If you are just looking for some laps, and not a trip to the Falls, the 300 entrance and road will support skiing at an easy touring pace. Bring the rock skis, classic or skate, go easy, and avoid the burn throughs. Pole baskets will not be much help. Sharpen the tips or bring the roller ski poles. No other trails checked. Less than one week left on the 2017 annual sticker.

(Jeff Bolte)

Trail to the Falls has been heavily traveled by walkers. Skate tracks and self-cut classic trail barely visible. Not worth skiing yet.

(Kris Miller)

I went for a run on the Purple main stem after the snow stopped this afternoon. Not much snow fell, maybe 3/4 inch in open areas, less in the woods. Talk among the grooming team is to do nothing until we see inches of new snow. The majority of visitors presentley are hikers. Even a rolling would be sending the wrong message now. Closing trails to hiking now would put the park staff in a difficult situation. Rolling and not closing just postpones the headaches. Been there, dealt with it. Skiable areas for classic exist in the park. Regarding the 100 camp: Think turf without gravel and you probably find skiable areas on trails. You might have to walk in. Ski trail brushing work has ended for the season. The combined efforts of volunteers and park staff over two seasons have added a needed four to eight feet of trail width in a lot of the system. It may take the grooming team longer to prep this wider tread when we finally get the word to go. I hope its worth all the work, and now, the wait.

(Jeff Bolte)

Skied on the 100 upper campground loop. No footprints from walkers. There was a classic track in place. Not bad. Snow is a bit thin under one or two trees, but enjoyable enough. This would be an excellent skating loop with more snow.

Photos:

(Ginny Ballantine)

I ran the Purple Trail main stem Saturday afternoon. There was some classic track skied in along the edges. There has been no chatter among the groomers about doing anything soon to set up ski trails. I am one of the groomers. Buckthorn work for Tuesday morning is in the 300 campground with vehicles driving in. That will probably be the last work for the season with vehicles driven on trails that are used for skiing. Do that snow dance for action later this week!

(Jeff Bolte)

Just back from marking trees for tomorrow's Buckthorn Brigade work in the 300 camp. Yes, we are driving vehicles in with our cutting gear tomorrow. There was probably two inches of wet snowman snow down and evenly spread in the campground. It packed down well underfoot. There is ice under the snow in places; the two did not bond. On the asphalt campground road, the new snow might support classic skis but take your rollerski poles. Best guess would be the mowed picnic area from the dam to the beach for another possible break your own track trip. I think skate style would be risky and very hard work. Remember, a lot of Willow's trails are gravel. The howling, screaming wind came up about 3:00pm. Hunting season runs till Dec. 15. No grooming till after then and decent snowfall.

(Jeff Bolte)

The mowed grass picnic area from the dam to the beach did not hold enough snow for skiing. That is one of my pre grooming secrets exposed. Trails are no better but at least they are frozen. Ice could be an issue under the first grooming run. Trail work will continue until there is a real chance for inches of snow.

(Jeff Bolte)