There's plenty of good skiing available at the north end. The core snowmaking loops of course have the best conditions. They were freshly groomed, fast, and almost perfect. I branched out to explore a variety of natural snow trails around Mount Telemark. The natural snow is more of a mixed bag, but mostly good for skating. The base is getting very firm. The powerline and nearby trails are in good shape. Others are more questionable with thin spots, etc. I did see some rocks but don't think i hit any. Off the beaten path, you can find trails that have been groomed but few are skiing. Very enjoyable day! Think snow.

(Louis Muench, CASTA)

I skied the entire Birkie Trail this week. I tried to take pictures to give a representative sample the the current trail conditions. Here are my pictures from Birkie Ridge to OO on Tuesday. Conditions we variable most had at least one skiable route.

Photos:

(Jack Burns)

I skied the entire Birkie Trail this week. I tried to take pictures to give a representative sample the the current trail conditions. Here are my pictures from Start to Birkie Ridge on Monday. Outside of the trailhead (snowmaking) conditions are variable from still untouched grooming to bare ground. This section of trail was well used from the tour.

Photos:

(Jack Burns)

First time on the Birkie trail system aside from last years looped manmade snow event. I skied from base camp at Mt. Telemark out on the skate trail to the Timber Trail access and back on the classic trail. The tracks set on the skate trail were were in varying condition with many areas thin/washed out or filled with debris (leaves, twigs etc.). Classic trail was in much better shape with apparently only skier made tracks. The area needs more snow for quality tracks to be set and the skate deck was better but still a thin base. Based on my experience, B skis would be fine on the classic trail; rock skis recommended on the skate trail.

(Ben Ruhme)

Dropped into OO for a quick visit to the Birkie Trail on the way home from Mt Ashwabay. Skated north to Boedecker on the skate trail and back on the classic. There was quite a bit of grass and leaves to work around on the skate trail, especially closer to OO - it got better as we went further north. Classic trail on the way back was better, you could use good skis there without worry - a lot less debris and thin spots to avoid. There was one set of classic tracks set on the skate trail but they looked pretty much unskiable - frequent grassy patches that you would have to jump out of the tracks to avoid. Ironically, there was no track set on the classic trail, but there were skier-made tracks most of the way that would be far better than the groomed track on the skate trail. Definitely need more snow, but there's a base there.

(Jay Lyons)

Skied classic from Hatchery to Mosquito Brook and back. The trail had been groomed since the limited snowfall on Saturday but conditions seemed no better than the week before and the trails are probably even worse than they look based on the gouges I found in my skis after I was done. The base is too thin to set tracks in with a lot of leaves and grass showing through in places, and those bare spots aren't so easy to avoid on the downhills. I wouldn't recommend skiing this segment until we get more snow.

(Wade Pearson)

Skied from mosquito brook to hatchery and back. Bitch hill well covered and fun! 35% covered trail easy to to navigate to skate skis. Worth the trip and adventure.

(Audun Mikkelson)

Classic skied Friday, skate skied Saturday from Birkie start area both days. Classic tracks very good on snow making loops near start but debris interruptions once past power lines requiring frequent step outs, so I stayed closer to Telemark on Friday. Saturday chose to skate and skied from start to OO. Lots of friendly people of all ages and abilities out skiing the recently groomed Birkie skate trail all the way. Recommend B skis after power lines due to debris and thin snow. Was glad we were skating due to the low snow tracks and had a very enjoyable ski.

(Paul Wagener)

Skied south from OO today. The classic track is very thin with grass/leaves showing through every 20-50 feet or so, so you have to constantly hop in and out of the track. The skating lane looked better. Still a few brown spots but easier to avoid those. Thursday I skied the section from the trailhead in Telemark to the power line - that has better classic tracks and very little leaves or ground showing through.

(Michael O'Connor, Rochester Active Sports Club)

Birkie Ridge: Wonderful skate skiing this early afternoon. Inch or more of fresh fluff covering the Birkie's new corduroy and periods of heavy snow while we skied. Some dirt and leaf caution still required but better all the time.

(Tom Dunaway)