We classic skied the artificial loop in the late morning. There were no tracks set, but it ended up being a great ski. There wasn't much iciness since it warmed up a bit. A couple of bare spots, but they were marked and super easy to avoid. I used my B classic skis but you could get away with good skis, especially for skate.

(Kyle Richard)

A few high school skiers did some skate skiing at Grand Avenue at Spirit Mountain this morning. Spirit Mountain alpine and Nordic is officially open. As you would expect, the skiers describe fairly icy conditions, thin spots including a grassy area marked by cones in the stadium, and a pretty restricted area to ski. Hard corner also has a bald spot to avoid. No tracks. Snow guns are currently placed in hopeful locations in the stadium, let's hope the following nights get cold enough for the snowmakers and groomers to work their magic.

(Sara Zimmer)

After a week plus of above freezing temps and nearly two inches of rain over the past two days, the Spirit Mt trails look like the do in late March. Lots of ice, thin snow cover in lots of places and bare ground here and there. It looks like the hard working folks at Spirit Mt will need to start nearly from scratch to get things up and running again. Don't get discouraged Spirit Mt crew! Your efforts are and will be so appreciated by the whole Nordic community!

Photos:

(Dave Johnson)

From Spirit Mountain Nordic Center Operations Update: "Sunday's forecast of near-certain rain and temps in the mid-40s has given us the need to make the difficult decision to close on Christmas Eve in order to maintain our snow base and to provide the best product for you, our guests. This includes alpine and Nordic operations."
Sounds like they hope to open again on the 26th.

(Sara Zimmer)

I skated at Grand Ave yesterday morning and today and conditions are about what you would expect. Snow-cone corn snow that was getting mashed-potato like on some corners later morning but holding up well otherwise. B skis for sure due to debris and some avoidable dirt. There is about 1.5K open now but, hopefully, with cooler temps, they can open up some more. Everyone out there smiling and just glad to be on their skis! Thanks Spirit for staying open during this crap weather to allow us some decent skiing. Happy Holidays to all.

(Thomas Heinitz)

Spirit survived the rain and is still in fairly good condition. A few easily avoided thin spots.

(John Jereczek)

The lower machine-made snow loops are open and in great shape; no classic track was set. There was perfect corduroy this morning for skating and the sun even peeked out to say hello. Big thanks to snow makers and groomers for giving us a great local option for skiing. I suggest B skis even though I used good skis this morning. It seems like there are a couple little pebbles here and there. They are easy to navigate around (or stop to toss off) in daylight but not as easy for headlamp skiing.

(Kyle Gill)

I skied the manufactured loops at the bottom. There were about 1.5K of loop that was open, including the out and back up to the right of the lift. Conditions were good, if a little loose. No bare ground other than at the edges of the trail. There were no tracks for classic.

(Adam Schwartz-Lowe)

Good conditions. Probably only 500 meters available right now, but Spirit has done a great job with that to create a loop that is challenging and repeatable. Quite busy from 3:30-5:30p with high school teams but relatively quiet before and after.

(Jakob Wartman)

Exciting news: some trails at the Spirit Mountain Nordic Center will open this Wednesday at noon! Please allow our crew to continue to make additional snow and push out the trails that will be ready. Please remember that all users must have a valid season pass or day ticket.

(Jon Regenold)