We rolled all of Eloise Butler and Quaking Bog, then down to Brownie Lake Wednesday night in effort to pack snow before the winds pick up. We also rolled the Anwatin Pond in Butler, so the full, "official" route is now open. Grooming plans: We plan roll again Thursday morning, then wait out the wind and come back in with rollers or groomers when conditions allow. Snow is soft, light, and fluffy.

(John Daniels)

Lots of new snow in Butler and Bog. It should groom up nicely. The pond in Butler is frozen enough to ski across so hopefully that final section can be groomed soon.

(Andrew Brown)

Skate deck was groomed in bog and butler after dark. The trails got a lot of use this weekend but they should now be freshened up for the new week. No classic tracks were set in bog and butler. The trail bypasses anwatain pond which as of today still had deep slush under the snow. The previously noted damaged trail at the top of pavilion hill, as well as the section of trail in JD gardens on which a pickup truck was driven until it got stuck this morning, were both repaired tonight by the pisten bully.

(Zachary Handler)

Midwinter conditions in bog and butler. Very wide skate deck. No dirt or ice. Conditions right now are better than they ever get many years!

(Zach Handler)

Beautiful fresh corduroy this morning on the Eloise Butler/Anwatin School and Quaking Bog loops. Much faster snow than I expected for skating - just perfect! No official classic tracks, but a few skier-made classic tracks. Just a reminder that the Eloise Butler/Anwatin School loop has reversed its direction to "clockwise" (the old-school direction from several years back). Climb up the hill by the Glenwood Pavilion and proceed clockwise. Also use caution on the first big downhill -- there is a low hanging branch crossing the whole trail - be sure to tuck on the downhill. No ski damage to worry about, B skis to be safe but could also use good skis with caution. Only "bummer" is someone plowed away the trail at the top of the Pavilion hill, so you must remove skis at top of hill. Otherwise just a perfect course all the way from The Trailhead to I-394!

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(Bill Oyler)

Skyline and Tornado Alley were rolled but no tracks set. Soft but nice deck. Went across Glenwood and the groomers had not been through. Wrestled through a lap of the big including the spur up to 394 crossing. Plenty of snow! When I got back to the trail crossing the groomers had gone through so I did another lap and it was an amazing transformation. The snow isn't as deep in the woods. So the deck was reasonably firm. Followed the snowmobiles around and really enjoyed it! Perfect time for newer skiers to try out those trails... no icy corners, no high speed descents, but beautiful snow on the trees, good coverage, and moderate temps! Thanks groomers!

(Bill McKinney)

Beautiful skate ski conditions thru the woods at Eloise Butler and the Bog! Continuous skiing from the Trailhead down to I-394 with just two road crossings. Very clean snow and minimal debris - but probably safest to use rock skis to be safe. No classic tracks.

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(Bill Oyler)

Skate skied all natural snow on Skyline, Tornado Alley, The Bog and Anwatin Loop. Did two laps of each. Coverage was good (thank you groomers), though early season twigs and leaves were issues in some areas. Remember it's still early season.

(David Mortenson)

By mid-afternoon Friday the Eloise Butler loop trails had poor coverage in many places - wish I were using rock skis. Happy to report there was a crew at work trying to patch the parking road that was inadvertently plowed.

(Matt Nolan)

Really excellent conditions for the first ski of the season on the Eloise Butler and Quaking Bog trails, all the way down to I-394!! There are no classic tracks, but nicely rolled surface for skating, and minimal debris to worry about. There are a few rocks and frozen branches to dodge, but they are easy to spot. I used rock skis but B skis would be fine if you are careful. The only big issue is that a snowplow seems to have mistakenly plowed away the middle of the Anwatin trail at the upper parking lot for Eloise Butler. I have never seen that lot plowed in 12 years so hopefully it was just a one-off plowing error.

Photos:

(Bill Oyler)