Groomed Essex park this morning for both classic and skate. Reset the classic track, first grooming over with ginzu knives, then laying down fresh track. Should be in good shape for the weekend.

(Wayne Sadecki)

Great skiing for both skate and classic. Classic tracks are firm on the whole course. Good skate deck but getting a little soft with the new snow falling. Wonderful day of classic skiing!!

(Andy Wood)

Essex was freshly groomed and tracks set this morning. All trails are open. Some soft spots where there were drifts and deep snow. Should be excellent skiing for both skate and classic.

(Andy Wood)

Skate deck was refreshed this morning and is in excellent shape. Tracks are solid but thin with some icy spots. Should be great skiing.

(Andy Wood)

Groomed Essex for both skate and classic. Good teamwork today with the drag going first to break things up, followed by ginzu blades. Trails should be in good shape.

(Wayne Sadecki)

Trails were groomed this morning. No classic track set yet. I classic skied on the skate deck which was firm enough to work ok. More snow than I expected to see but a few bits of ice here and there (not icy sections) so B skis maybe. All in all, sun was shining and a good ski. Thanks groomers.

(Tim Block)

While out running errands, I dropped by Essex Park at 11:50 am. The trails have not yet been groomed after the snowfall we had last night.

Photos:

(James Martenson)

Groomed Essex this morning for skate only. No classic track set, waiting and hoping for good snow totals from upcoming storm. There is some debris (leaves and small sticks) in wooded areas but should be skiable. Also probably stay clear of far west wooded hill, as I lifted up the grooming knives when I noticed some thin places.

(Wayne Sadecki)

Overall decent conditions mid-morning today. Trails are fast and icy due to recent warmer temps followed by temps in the 20s. Only saw a couple of hints of grass poking through in the fields. Scattered debris throughout the wooded trails but nothing too problematic.

(David Sas)

The trail is in excellent condition, thanks to the work of the grooming team. The snow is fast and with good texture for edging on more than 95% of the trail sections that I skied. In a few places, the snow is harder, bordering on icy, but I was able to ski these sections without difficulty by using a little extra caution. The amount of debris on the trail is minimal. I used one of my best pairs of freestyle skis and had no damage to my bases. Most of the trail also had an excellent classic track.

(James Martenson)