We skied at 11 today, temps were in the 40's never went below freezing overnight. I expected some mushy -- what we got was hard packed styrofoam on the skate deck and very shallow tracks for classic. We barely left any trace of being on it because it is so hard packed. On another note, they started work today on the "closed" portion of the road just past Magney and there are some pretty big ruts in the road once you get past the paved portion. This will be going on for at least a few months if not longer.

Photos:

(Eve Graves)

It looks like the skate lane was regroomed sometime within the last few days, but the classic tracks were not reset. The tracks are a little shallow but still good. I skated a few strides here and there in my fish scale classic skis and it seemed like the skating was nice.

(Catherine Winter)

Groomer was finishing up on the skate deck when we started in the early afternoon. Both skate deck and classic tracks were soft and loose with the new snow. Still very enjoyable xc skiing in the Magney-Snively woods, sheltered from the wind.

Photos:

(Ken Kuznia)

Freshly groomed except for the connector to Spirit. Skate deck was a little soft and pole plants broke through often. Classic tracks were firm and deep.

(Adam Van Straten)

It looks like the groomer made a pass on the skate lane recently. It was a fun ski on firm groomed corduroy. The classic tracks were partially washed out and partly reset. It was cold with subzero temps. Hoping it will be warmer for the Birkie!

Photos:

(Elaine Nelson)

Skate deck is still pretty soft and fluffy. Looks like the most recent snow hasn't been groomed, doesn't appear to have been heavily skied in. Classic tracks were a bit faster, but pretty blown out in places.

(Dan Wolbrink)

Some of the tracks were thin and washed out. The skate deck appeared soft and uneven in places. Disappointed that the groomer did not set a track on the uphills. Except for a few of the really steep hills there isn't any problem striding up most of the hills if you are properly waxed.

(Gene Karwoski)

The trail was groomed for both classic and skate. They were in great shape and well used. The trail was busy. Thanks for grooming!

(Debra Bergstrom)

Very icy in the track and skate lane. Track is very shallow to non-existent. The base is still ok and not much debris in the track or skate lane. We just need more snow so the groomer can go back out there.

(Lori Mattson)

Skied Spirit and Magney this morning (before the warm up). Magney has good coverage with an occasional rock or thin spot. Spirit is pretty dirty in spots (I skied on the edge of the trail to get around a few areas). Be careful with the downhill at Magney just before the Connector. It is thin (from ppl snowplowing) with debris poking through. I would consider side stepping on downhills rather than snowplowing if you're not comfortable skiing down (since our snowbase is so thin!) Think snow!

Photos:

(Elaine Nelson)