5 degrees F when I got to Boulder at 10 AM and 10 degrees F when I left at 3 PM (retirement is wonderful). NW wind about 20 mph, gusting to 30 mph. But with a few exceptions, most of the trails at Boulder are pretty sheltered, and parking at the East Parking Lot, you go into the wind on the way out and with the wind on the way back (I went around several times). I both skated and strided. Trails were groomed to perfection after Monday's snow, there were not too many tracks on the skate lanes, so it must have been groomed yesterday (Wednesday). Fast Wax teal paste gave decent glide on the skate lane and good glide in the classic tracks. Special green (currently my coldest hard wax) gave plenty of kick. Skate lane was not soft at all, but not real fast with the cold temps. Classic track was drifted over in a few exposed spots, with very dry, cold, slow snow, and a bit of debris here and there but perfect for at least 95% of the system. Picture is of the super-wide access trail from the East Parking Lot. The rest of the trail system is about a third of that, but nice wide skate lane, and a classic track well removed from any "face-slappers".

Photos:

(Tim Holst)

Trails have not been groomed since last week's melt/rain. Coverage is 100%, but it is icy and rutted under a very thin layer of fresh snow. I classic skied and it was okay thanks to the dusting of new snow.

(Scott Laven)

Scoped the trail conditions for tomorrow's race going through entire course. Very wet and soft 5-6" base throughout. Some slush on the bay but not as bad as lake Hayward though at the Birkie last year.

Photos:

(Clayton Keim)

Skate deck holding up well today even in the open areas. Sun didn't come out until later in the afternoon so no melting today luckily. In preparation for the warmer weather, I spent much of the day shoveling most of the climbs on the 11 km loop to be proactive and ensure optimal conditions for Sunday's race. On average the skate deck has a 5-6" packed base.

Photos:

(Clayton Keim)

Skated the south loops today from 3-5 pm doing three laps on the race course for Sunday. Really good conditions with snow temp cold still (no melting today). Trails were smooth and solid base underneath. Will take a shovel out to the little S climb near the road tomorrow to reinforce that which is the thinner spot on the course to brace for the warmer temps coming Friday and Saturday. We expect conditions to remain quite decent for Sunday's race due to the solid base we've accumulated. Snow depth off the side of the trail ranges mostly between 8-12".

Photos:

(Clayton Keim)

The skate deck was groomed recently. It was firm and even with snow blown over it wherever the trail was open to the wind. In sheltered areas it was still corduroy. Air temp was about 15 degrees at noon and the snow was a little cold, dry and slow. Tracks looked good throughout. Skied Blue Ox, Nine Pine and Bear Paw.

Photos:

(Nic Bacigalupo)

The south side loops were rolled and groomed yesterday afternoon. We received around 3 inches of fluffy snow which we packed and groomed into the trail system. Sets are in good to very good condition and the skate lanes are looking great! There may be a few thin spots out there in the more open areas but they are very few and far between. We are receiving more snow Tuesday and forecast to continue into the overnight hours. We are going to groom tonight and see if we cant smooth things out. We will be taking the compaction drags out to cut down the high humps and ridges and blend the new snow today into the mix already on the trails. The north side will also be groomed for the first time tonight (determining snow depth). Warming shack fully opened from dawn until dusk.

(Zach Golkowski)

I started skiing at "The Chalet", which was warm and welcome for changing and taking a break. I skied the 11 kilometers "Loop" of Bear Paw, Blue Ox, and Seven Pines. The Classic tracks were very good to fair to blown in, depending on exposure to wind. The trail Lonesome Goose looked very good, where it is sheltered, but I did not ski it. The character of the trails has changed since last year. More open areas from missing or down trees (due to the wind storm last July?). It was about 0 to 2 degrees and I did see a polar bear walking across the lake! Boulder is a great place to ski.

(John Bogen)

South Trails (skate/classic) were groomed yesterday. Nice conditions, although classic tracks were drifted in in the logged sreas, particularly blue ox loop. Not sure if the north classic only trails have been groomed.

(Scott Laven)

Beautiful day for skiing! Trails not groomed, but still really nice. Other skiers did a good job of setting a track.

(Alison Oase)