I have a tradition of skiing on my birthday, and Hyland did not let me down. The spring glacier was in decent form for a ski on willow. Not too bad on skins. Only had 5 minutes after a hike, so didn't explore the rest of Frogtown. Fun way to end the season. Take the bike out later this week.

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(Diane Pattridge)

Star, Willow Creek and Frog Town were in poor but not quite impassable conditions just before noon. It was a combination of frozen corn and ice that soften up once you started the Frogtown climb. Snow was frequently really dirty. Ruts were only a problem in one or two spots; otherwise they had washed out. There was a near total break in the snow cover besides the pond on the left before the 90 degree left hand turn into the Frog Town climb. I was cautiously snowplowing on the ice to make sure I stopped before the break when a U of M X-country-jacketed young man flew by me on the sliver of snow outside the classic track. There was another sliver of snow you had to transit as you made the 90 degree turn into the southside Star climb. I was able to consistently skate that climb despite several patches of ice but chickened out and snow plowed the start of the descent because of ice beside the narrow strip of snow and I didn't trust myself to make the right hand turn back into the trailhead bldg if I carried any speed into it. You had to be desperate to ski to attempt it today. The out-bound leg with all the dirt slowing you was a real grind. In-bound was okay if you didn't let the speed and fear of catching a rut unnerve you.

(Keith Carlson)

Hyland has stopped grooming for the season according to the front desk. We were skating at 9:30 - 10:30. 41+ degrees. Just soft enough to get an edge. Tracks still intact so I double poled a lot. Fun work out. Park at Jan's place for best access. Lots of leaves and dirty snow near the visitor center. It was a fun outing. A few leaves, a bit of dirty snow.

Photos:

(Diane Pattridge)

What a difference grooming makes. Yesterday the trail was an icy, but totally skiable fast track; while today it was rutted mess. I skied one loop and then quit. There are some bare patches on the trail, so while I hope this is not true, Three Rivers may have decided to stop grooming for the season (IDK).

(Geir Johansen)

Shockingly excellent skiing in the evening. Firm corn on the skate deck and full depth hard classic tracks.

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(Zachary Handler)

Star, Willow Creek and Froog Town were groomed and in good to fair condition. It was mid 30's and grey with a strong north/northwest wind. Got to give the groomers credit for keeping the trails operating. Dirt is bleeding thru in spots on Willow Creek outbound and on the Star spur inbound to the trailhead building next to the parking lot. Probably was still ok for good skis but I had one ski/stride inexplicably stop as I merged from Willow Creek to Frog Town outbound and I couldn't see a leaf that otherwise might have done that. Portion of the spur trail south of the hill in the middle of the Star loop had lots of leaves. Willow Creek climb was mostly frozen corduroy with snert that really slowed you. On the other hand, Willow Creek inbound coming off the top of Frog Town was really fast. So despite the headwind and the slow climb on Willow Creek outbound I was able to equal my 2nd fastest pace of the season. This was my 45th ski of the season and maybe my last. Thanks to groomers and Three Rivers parks for providing the extended season.

(Keith Carlson)

Trail is now rated poor but this morning I would say it skated a little better than that. The snow is getting thin in spots and dirt is showing through but still generally avoidable and most of the trail that is still open is better than poor in my opinion. I would give it an overall fair rating for now, but Hyland probably has higher standards than some trails. With no new snow the days are numbered.

(Mark Felton)

Another great day at Hyland. The snow was was in great shape in the morning. Oddly, I saw a roller skier from the ski trail. Thank you to the grooming crew for keeping the trail in great shape!

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(Dave Bridges)

I skied at 8:30 AM. In spite of 70F temps yesterday, the world class grooming had the track in very skiable condition. There were a few icy spots to navigate but overall quite good considering the weather.

(Brad Mlynar)

Groomed through frogtown. It was very good except the wind blew a lot of leaves into the track. My twin skins worked great. The front desk said they are playing the grooming day to day. Apparently they groom at 10 pm so they evaluate the conditions then hope it stays below freezing at night and warm up in morning. The skating looked good at 10 am.

(Diane Pattridge)