Skied at 7:45. Snow was quite dirty in places, icy in a few, and sticky in others. Not too bad before the Bottineau House, and even better around the donut, but probably my last day skiing until we get more snow.

Photos:

(Andor Langski)

Already soft and turning to mashed potatoes at 9:30 a.m. Thought I would have had a bit more time to get some laps in without slipping through the soft stuff. The skate lane was not very fast, and it was hard not to overdress in the warmth. The classic tracks were soft sided and soft ice base. Still an incredible base.

(Dean Kleinhans)

Some of the best conditions of the year at 7:15 this morning. Fast and firm, but not icy. Just enough skiers before be to break up the corduroy a little.

(Andor Langski)

The track was pretty good but deteriorating in the sun. The skating was also kind of mushy in the sunny areas. Low 50s when I skied in shorts and a T-shirt.

(Mark Lahtinen)

The classic track was pretty good for the most part except from the chalet to the practice area as there was a school group learning how to ski. The upper donut also got a lot of learning use. Warming fast and breaking down. Skins were working pretty good. Skate lane looked soft.

(Mark Lahtinen)

Skied primarily on the man-made loop - went a little way down the northern lights trail - it was very thin but skiable. I wouldn't bring my good skis down that trail so I turned around. The man-made loop was in excellent condition - a good half inch of corduroy. It made a fun fast ski on Fast Wax Green.

(Scott Greymont)

Valley and Northern Lights. Sunny, 15F Late morning, little traffic, perfect day. Skated Northern Lights first; it was fine in most areas with some icy patches at the end of the lower section and the bottom of Kawabunga where you're at top speed. Not really a problem though, just fly through. No rocks anywhere except a tiny spot near the end of the high section where there's some ice, too. It was groomed today. Valley was groomed perfectly as usual, not particularly fast, gritty ice particles for the most part but no sugar, which made climbing really easy. I got up the wall with no poles, a feat for me, anyway. Been off for a week due to a stubborn cold and second time around Valley my balance completely disappeared on the wall, so that was all for today. Third year in a row of poor natural snow so Valley is much appreciated; our family has been around it thousands of times over the years.

(Steve Evans)

Just a note that hard wax (Oslo for me) was working today...no need for klister. A little slow near the top by the chalet where some newly made snow drifted.

(Mark Lahtinen)

Northern Lights was open today, no tracks set (not enough snow). I'm curious how much work they did on it because it was much better than I expected. The snow was very thin over ice in spots but overall it gave good edge. Steer clear of the big hill if you don't like ice, there's a big patch right at the bottom, perfect for sending your skis in all the wrong directions once you've reached maximum speed. I did 3 loops and somehow managed to stay up right, but there were some close calls. There are a couple other ice patches on NL but even I was able to easily double-pole over them. A couple areas had significant debris and two spots had dirt/grass showing, but plenty of trail width to get around it. Valley is packed and tracked. The skate deck is firm and fast, I had to focus to keep getting edge in many places. The tracks are in great shape and fast also. Watch out in the tracks on the donut at the NL turn-off, the tracks end on the curve and of course at the max speed location!

(Brad Johnson)

Skated the man made loop at Elm this evening. I suppose a good skier would have rated the skate deck firm and fast but, for those of us with lesser skill, I think it's fair to say it was rock hard and slippery. I just couldn't hold an edge and packed it in after five laps of flailing arms and legs, sliding sideways and fighting for balance. The top Wednesday night racers seemed to have no trouble though as I watched them scream by me up the keyhole hill with style and grace.

(Leif Irgens)