Skied the entire classic trail system, save for the steep uphill on the yellow loop. I used my slightly-wide metal-edged touring skis, which I think was a necessity. Temperature was about 40F when I arrived around 2 pm. Coverage was good throughout the trail system, with only a few easily avoidable bare spots. The main thin part I noticed was the exposed part of the Military Ridge Trail Access next to the prairie, where there is only an inch or two of snow on top of asphalt. I would be careful through there, since it is on a downhill. Beyond that, the usual spot under the pine grove on the Pleasure Valley Trail (orange loop) was thin and dirty. Incredibly, even though it was well above freezing, the trails on the north/east side of the mound were still quite firm/hard-packed. Pretty much no melting. There's still a deep base on that side of the mound (6"+), although all of the foot and ski ruts make it a bit of a rough ride. As a side note, I did ask park staff about their decision not to groom over the last couple of weeks, and it sounded like they didn't want to groom due to the past rain and the current freeze/thaw cycles creating a hardpack.

(Kyle Richard)

They didn't groom the entire weekend. Despite having deepest snow in region. It's nasty but passable with metal edges.

(Paul Blichmann)

What a waste of a deep snow base. It has been walked all over and frozen that way. There is no skill level to safely ski through frozen postholes.

(Paul Blichmann)

Skated the flat loop at the top of the Mound starting at 7:15 this morning. Expectedly crusty, but honestly in good shape considering it hasn't been groomed in at least 10 days. The base is deep enough, at least 6". There are some deep footprints you'll have to be careful around, and it looked like someone attempted to set some classic tracks. But the latter could be easily skated over. It was already starting to get a tad soft/slushy by 8, although I wasn't sinking in at all.

Photos:

(Kyle Richard)

Skiing at The Mound lives on! I decided to give BMSP another shot this evening. I stuck to the campground and pool trail, and honestly the tracks were in excellent shape! I almost couldn't believe it. There are a couple of spots with leaf debris, and it is still quite soft (especially pole plants), but for the most part hikers haven't trampled all over everything. If it were just a tad firmer then I would have used my good skis, but instead I stuck with my wider fish scales. The only part where it seemed a bit thin was towards the bike campground, and only where there were some footprints.

Photos:

(Kyle Richard)

Got out early and snow is solid. Tracks are icy fast. Lot of foot traffic initially near the shelter. Took the Willow Springs loop (backwards) to the campground loop. Downhills are dicey. Very skiable. Saw no one here this morning. Good job BMSP staff for keeping the trails annd shelter open!

(Eric Birschbach)

If you time your ski right, use wider skis, and poles with wide baskets (think touring/BC XC), you can have a slow but enjoyable time. I didn't really sink in on my Fischer Spider 62s. With that being said, although there is still a lot of snow at the Mound, hikers and dog walkers are actively wrecking the trails. They have pushed all the way through the base in many spots, and have done their best to walk directly in the tracks for the entirety of the yellow and green loops. The downhill into the campground was sketchy due to deep craters in the snow. Surprisingly, the campground seemed to be in pretty OK shape, although I wouldn't try to skate it. I hope the groomer is able to repair the massive damage that has been done to the trails, but the forecast isn't looking promising.

Photos:

(Kyle Richard)

I skied at Blue Mounds three times this week. Monday afternoon was glorious and freshly groomed, best skiing all year so I enjoyed 15 miles... get it while you can. Yesterday and today were still skiable but slower going. New snow plus rain covered the original tracks, but people skied them back in so that they're still usable. It's slushy in places, slick in places, and slow in places. Poles often drop through a foot of snow before hitting something solid, and in places the tracks sink a bit too.

(Matt Raboin)

I love Spring! Spreading Klister and disappearing into the mist-er. Bring your largest baskets because pole plants are soft to non-existent. I did mostly Red to cut down in road crossings, because they plowed a dam of snow across the crossings and it jammed my toebars. Suggest skis that are long and not race-skinny to stay afloat. Klister if you got it or else scales would also do great.

(Paul Blichmann)

I arrived around 11:00 am with temperatures in the low teens. There were just a few cars in the parking lot. The tracks were faster than I expected considering the temperature. Control on the downhills was good. Overall conditions I would rate as very good. The parking lot was half full by the time I left a couple hours later. Lots of skiers showed up to enjoy the trails.

Photos:

(Jim Gantz)