Just coming in from grooming with Snow Cross. We groomed up 20-25 km this morning including setting new tracks. The new 3 inches of snow changed us back to mid winter conditions. Grooming plans: Full crew scheduled to groom in the early morning.

Photos:

(Eric Anderson, ABR Trails)

Wow! What a difference 24 hour can make! At 8 am today the rain stopped and the snow started. A total of 4 inches fell. Groomers were able to groom the combi trails. Single track classic trails were skied in by skiers. Additional snow fell after grooming, but no one was complaining. It was a beautiful day at ABR!

Photos:

(Ron Fabrizius)

Arrived at trails at 9am. Only the skate deck had been groomed on all combi trails due to the impending rain. Classic tracks were fast and a little icy, but it was easy enough to jump out of tracks onto groomed skate deck to reduce speed, if needed. Ended up going a lot of double poling while in tracks. Overall a very enjoyable ski. Many thanks to groomers for their hard work!

(Ron Fabrizius)

Fantastic conditions in the morning at ABR: fast reconditioned snow with corduroy offering nice edging everywhere. The classic tracks were solid and very fast, but I was only on skating trails. Around 11:30 the air temp finally started affecting the snow, making it softer and slower, but still very skiable and enjoyable.

(Charlie Dee)

I had fun grooming with wully bully this morning. We hit all the skate lanes except Ridge Runner and Peltonen. The skate lanes groomed up well. The track set by the Pisten Bully three days ago was still firm and well formed but a bit glazed. The classic tracks on the single tracks was hit and miss and was more glazed, borderline icy. The shaded trails are better than the sunny trails for glazing. Classic tracks became more skiable about 11 am skating was great until about 2 pm and it started to slow way down. Two of us plan to groom with light equipment in the morning and I expect the same ski conditions for Tuesday. Tuesday night looks like rain and changing to snow Wednesday morning....grooming will be interesting. I will keep the reports updated but I do not see any major issues other than Wednesday morning skiing may be tricky until we get the grooming going...timing and temperature is everything.

(Eric Anderson, ABR Trails)

With the weather we've been having and the Birkie so close today I needed to ski at an area with the sure thing, beautiful, fun, and inspirational. This ski was it! Classic skied that same 40 km Birkie trainer of trails the morning, with double Highlands. Conditions were so good. I'd say better than Thanksgiving dinner. Snow was just softening from icy. Tracks were solid: kick was good, but you didn't need it for anything but some hillclimbs, glide was like butter on a hot biscuit- so fast, downhills in the tracks was super fast and reliably groomed. Skate deck was firm, with soften give from the rising temperatures. The fastest I have ever ski that 40 km. I'm enormously thankful for this grooming team! Wow.

Photos:

(Kevin Grand)

Classic skied 40 km this early afternoon, with double Highlands. I'm in awe. Conditions are exceptional! Skied all the usual hill climbs for Birkie training and double-poling areas. Tracks extremely consistent: deep, firm, not icy, kick was great, but glide was liquid fast with swix turquoise.The skate deck was firm, with a little give for herringboning. Hills are kickable in the tracks, but this is my third day of long skis. Downhills were phenomenal in the tracks and easily controlled on the skate deck. What you see at the beginning of the trail system is how it is everywhere... simply perfect conditions. Thank you groomers!

Photos:

(Kevin Grand)

The groomers were out early this morning powertilling and renovating the trails after yesterday's thaw. We groomed up about 81 km this morning, make sure you check what was groomed, the ungroomed 20 k is icy.

Photos:

(Eric Anderson, ABR Trails)

Wow, perfect conditions and super fun skiing on Ridge Runner, Coyote, and the Highland. Lots of virgin corduroy and solitude, with peaks of sun.

(Sue Schroeder)

Classic skied something around 40 km in 2 hours 57 minutes, this late morning and early afternoon. Alot of hill climbs, double-poling included. Tracks were perfect everywhere I skied: deep, firm, great kick, glide was unreal. But in the Highlands area tracks have been neglected. I love the groomers so I hate to point that out. But, in that area they were beyond poor. Almost dangerous coming through it with speed. I made two loops through it anyways for the unbeatable hill climbs. Skate deck was firm and fast everywhere. It was a very awesome training ski otherwise. You're making me an awesome skier!

(Kevin Grand)