In spite of suffering through two melt downs that have exposed huge green patches in my lawn, there is 5 to 6 inches of undisturbed snow in the woods alongside the trails. The low spots that were solid ice a few days ago have been mostly repaired by assiduous grooming and some shoveling by dedicated volunteers. The debris that defaced the trail a few days ago has been churned into the snow and there were only a few spots where I was aware of oak leaves or pine needles. It's a finely ground powder of ice crystals over a solid base. The trail couldn't get much faster. Easy to get an edge, but still some occasional ruts to be careful of. I only skied the Maples, but I was impressed by the conditions. I'd rate it "Very Good" objectively, but kudos to the groomers for making it eminently skiable. I hope we get a bit more snow soon so that tracks can be set. Meanwhile, I'm enjoying the effortless speed attainable on the lightning fast icy trail.

Photos:

(Steve Peplinski)

Since no new snow has fallen, and we just endured 2 days of temperatures in the mid 30s, the trails are very icy. They have been groomed, but there isn't a whole lot of base to work with and the groomers used a drag instead of the pisten bulley. The drag roughed up the surface a bit allowing you to get an edge. Be careful on the downhills since they are all icy. There are no classical tracks. Nevertheless, there is full coverage. I skated the Maples trail. The pine needles don't seem to slow you down too much, and the sections of solid ice are gradually being filled in with snow dragged up by the groomer. Any amount of new snow might make for a big improvement. Nevertheless, if you need to get in some time on snow to prepare for an upcoming event, these trails will suffice.

(Steve Peplinski)

Significantly deteriorated since yesterday. Getting dirty and thin. Need snow. Skated the Oaks, Birches and Hills section of Maples in 36 degree, glove-less temps. Maples Hills were best. Picture is representative of the Birches.

Photos:

(Bob Warpinski)

Skating conditions continue to improve! Skied the Birches and The Lighted Trail. Level, firm and fast! The lit trail was very clean and void of pine needles, etc. Worth driving to if you are out hunting for snow! No classic tracks set.

Photos:

(Bob Warpinski)

Wow! What a transformation from Tuesday! Early morning skate on a freshly groomed trail after last nights 1 inch snowfall. Very skate-able, a little dirty, but well worth the effort. No classic tracks cut. Thank you groomers for working hard, the results are amazing!

Photos:

(Bob Warpinski)

The pisten bully was out and we skied on fresh corduroy. I skated the oaks trail and the birches as well as the lighted loop. There isn't enough snow to set tracks and for the most part, the classical tracks are non existent. The areas that had totally melted (clear ice) are still ice. There's only so much the groomer can do. But after grinding up the surface snow and pine needles, the deck is clean and fast. A few areas are very thin with sandy ground showing through. Overall though, good skiing. The parking lot had only two cars when I left. The lights are on and the lodge is open.

(Steve Peplinski)

The trails barely survived the Christmas meltdown, but they remain fully covered. There are sections of blue ice with associated ice chunks that could put some grooves in your bases. Hikers left deep divots in some trail sections. Pine forest areas have a coating of pine needles. That's the bad news. Nevertheless, the trails were skiable yesterday and today. The groomer was out either last night or this morning. It did some minor smoothing of ruts and knocked down the "stalagmites" left by hikers boots as they pushed the slush out of the hole the boot made in the base. Grooming did not improve the deck surface of the trail areas that have full coverage and no debris. I skated and my skis tracked better and edged better yesterday. Classical tracks where they existed have melted and degraded. They were also full of debris.

(Steve Peplinski)

Poor conditions. Trails are hard, icy, deeply rutted, and covered in debris. I was hoping for marginal skiing but found conditions dangerous....skied about 2 miles and turned around. Thankful to get back to car with no broken bones.

Photos:

(Sue Freundl)

I was optimistic that "The Camp" would have survived the Christmas Day meltdown, I was wrong. Dangerous, icy, wind-debris covered conditions. Not helping matters is it looks like two violators decided to go for a slushy Christmas Day hike on a previously perfectly groomed ski trail. The only positive is we now have a solid, iced-up based. I think we will need more snow to make it groomable and skiable again.

Photos:

(Bob Warpinski)

Very good ski conditions for skating. The track is very firm and flat. It is so great to have skiing as part of our Holiday week.

(Gary Machlett)