I got to the trail around 9:30 am and was a little surprised that they had not re-groomed last night or early this morning with the warm temps yesterday. Surprisingly though, the trails were in great shape with very little ice or transformed/rutted areas. Really the only crusty, icy parts were the south facing hills but very skiable. The rest was nice- flat, fast, really fun skiing. As per usual, the 8K was better skiing, so I mostly stuck to doing laps on that. Their base is deep, so plenty of good skiing left this year as John and crew typically groom until its gone. Thanks Snowflake!

(Tom Heinitz)

We picked-up 3-4" of sticky snow last night. This morning we groomed all of our skate decks, then set a new classic track on the 8K (photos). It lis nice, but needs to do a freeze/thaw cycle to firm-up. The classic track on the 6K had already been skied in since the snowfall, and is still decent, so we left it until after this warm weather passes. Warm temps, full sun, and soft snow mean no dogs starting today and through Wednesday. Lights will be on til 9 pm.

Photos:

(John Graham)

Trails are firm, the 6K was groomed today and has a firm Classic track. The 8K is only groomed for skating at this time. Grooming plans: On Wednesday all trails will be closed at 5:30 pm so that we can prepare the courses for the East High ski race. Trails will remain closed until the conclusion of the race, about 5:30 on Thursday. We expect about 420 skiers at the race, which begins at 11:00 am on Thursday. The classic part of the races will be a "best line" 5K track on the 8K trail. We will leave this track on the 8K all day on Friday, so that classic skiers may experience a "best line" track. Thus, the 8K will be classic-only until we reset the trail on Friday evening.

Photos:

(John Graham)

I classic skied the 6 K loop starting before noon. The condition of the tracks varied from poor to good. About 90% of the loop would be acceptable to good. I enjoyed my time out there. Windchill was not too much of an issue.

(John Bogen)

Skied Snowflake during the warmest part of the day. 6k was well compacted and relatively fast. More snow had blown on to the 8k and it was slow going. Tracks on 6k looked pretty good, no tracks on 8 k yet.

(Afton Clarke-Sather)

I classic skied the 6 K loop in the late afternoon. The track was well defined and solid through about 95% of the loop. The other 5% was drifted over. I was pleasantly surprised with the good skiing. The temperature was in the mid-teens. I did not have any trouble staying warm after I got initially warmed up. The "windchill" was not really a factor in the thick woods. Fun time! Thanks for grooming.

(John Bogen)

About 4" of fresh pow overnight, begged to be groomed before the wind took it, so we had 3 ginzus on the 6K at 9 and compacted the skate deck, then set a new classic track. We then groomed the 8K side-to-side; could not set a track on the 8K due to a problem with the track-setter. Striders are welcome to ski-in a track on the right side. Windy conditions will likely cause some drifting as today goes on. Due to fresh grooming/soft snow, no dogs on the trails today. On Saturday we will be open 8 am-9 pm, however the desk and rentals will only be manned 10-4, due to forecast temps. We will be open on Sunday, but the desk/rentals will be closed due to extreme cold temps and wind chill. Sunday's KidSki is cancelled, due to extreme cold forecast.

Photos:

(John Graham)

I skied the classic tracks on Jane's 5K loop. I had a lot of fun. Tracks weren't perfect, but they were distinct. Weather and atmosphere was very nice. I was there in the late afternoon and the beginning of evening, when the lights were on. There were a lot of high school racers out. I was pleasantly surprised with them. Every young skier I encountered was polite and courteous to me, whether on the trails, in the chalet, or the "locker room". My compliments to the skiers (and their coaches and parents!).

(John Bogen)

Very busy weekend on our trails. Tonight we groomed the 6k deck, with emphasis on pushing the snow-berms further out, and compacting the pole-planting area on the classic track. Dropped the knives to repair dog tracks and smooth the deck. Then we crushed the old and set a new classic track. Overnight temps should yield a firm track in the morning; it looks lovely tonight. The 8K saw a lot less use, but returning skiers said that it was the best deck and track, so far this season. We also set new double tracks on the athletic field, and a new track on the Kids' Loop. Grooming plans: No need to groom on Monday. We plan to refresh the 8K and 6K decks on Tuesday. Please keep skate-skis and dogs clear of the classic tracks.

Photos:

(John Graham)

Completed recovery from this week's unpleasant weather today, by regrooming the 8K deck, then setting a new classic track on the 8K. The 6K was also groomed, and a double classic track + skate lane set on the athletic field. We're open 8-9 all weekend, but on Sunday we host our KidSki program between 1:30-3:30. The chalet and surrounding area, and parking lots, will be crowded during that period and visitors needing rental equipment will need to be patient. Trails will be less congested once you get clear of the chalet area.

Photos:

(John Graham)