From the Deeryard trailhead, skied around the loop including fire tower and the short loop. Waited until the snow was done in late afternoon and expected to break trail. I did, but was surprised that some rolling and packing but not tracking had already been done. So with a relatively firm deck underneath new snow that was still blowing and drifting, I put in some shallow skier tracks which I am sure did not last long given the ongoing snow and wind. It was beautiful with the new snow in the trees and the air. The glide was slow with polar wax and soft new snow. I suspect groomer would be back after dark to put in tracks and repack for the holiday weekend and the grooming report just in indicates that tracks were set on the main loop.

(Tim Nelson)

I skied the Main loop around Deeryard counterclockwise from the parking lot off the Pike Lake road. I took the Short loop on the way around. Plenty of snow everywhere including an inch or so of new snow in the machine tracks. The Short Loop had no machine tracks but has been skied recently and the deck underneath was packed and plenty firm enough for pole plants. Without machine tracks and some drifting on the trail, the Short loop provided a fun challenge. The recent winds also left lots of debris and large sticks on the trail (which I cleared as I could on the flat parts and just ran straight through on the downhills), hence the B ski rating. I think wolf tracks messed with parts of machine tracks in two places around the loop. Beautiful ski and I always love the cedars and maples and the glimpses of the big lake on the Short Loop.

(Jeremy Lopez)

From the snowmobile parking lot on Hwy 61, I skied up the west pioneer loop, over to deeryard, up to the fire tower and down, around the short loop, then the rest of deeryard and back down east pioneer. Plenty of snow everywhere including an inch or so of new stuff that covered the debris. Skier tracked over older machine set tracks made for shallower tracks than fresh groomed but they were adequate to guide your skis. Swix Vr40 did the trick for all the hills. Short loop had no machine tracks but was skied in and the deck underneath the fresh snow was firm enough for pole plants. Best grooming was on the Deeryard loop, but Pioneer was very adequate with skier tracks over the groomed ones. Great day on the trails with lots of skiers out.

(Tim Nelson)

Trails in good to excellent condition. From Cascade Lodge we did Pioneer, Beaver, Short Loop back down to Ridge Run. Some tracks are a little shallow and debris here and there but no bare spots. Short loop just lightly (snowmobile?) packed, not tracked. Trail had some uneven terrain (lumps, tilted bumps) but since the snow was soft enough the downhills were fun. Great to be up here again and in decent temps!

(Janet Folina)

Short jaunt around Hall, Deertracks, Massie from the Hall Road trailhead.. Trails were well groomed and classic track was firm and solid. The connector and Deertracks had a couple of water berms, and stubble is thru out, but I used good skis with no problems, but recommend B skis to be absolutely safe. Hall and Massie classic tracks were just right of middle which was great for firm pole plants but the skate lane is narrow as a result. Highly recommend classic for now.

(Tim Nelson)

Skied Deeryard loop between 11:30-2pm today. Trails barely packed after new snow 36 hours previous. Lots of ruts and not tracked yet. Woods were beautiful.

(William Donald)

Groomed and good classic track, skiing out from Cascade Lodge. Skate deck looked a little soft. I heard from the groomers that the Piston Bully was broken down in the woods; they were hoping to get it running today, but in the meantime they were working with secondary equipment which doesn't do quite as good a job in the very deep snow they have.

(Mark Wagner)

Magical classic ski around the Deeryard loop today. Beautiful snow on Cedars and great coverage on the trail. Perfect way to celebrate Christmas Eve.

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(Peggy Hess-Johnson)

Skated Massie to Caribou and parts of the Massie Loop. Was planning to ski the rest of Massie and Hall, but turned around just a few km in because of poor coverage - lots of sticks and plants poking out of the snow. The classic track was also set so the skate deck was quite narrow, especially with plants encroaching on the edges. I was grateful I had my rock skis, though fortunately it was mostly plants sticking out, not rocks. A solid snowfall is needed! Some of my group skied the classic trails around Deeryard and said they were excellent with good coverage.

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(Julia Reich)

Skied up West Pioneer from Cascade lodge and over to and around Deeryard, including the fire tower and short loop, then back to Pioneer and down the east side. Pisten Bully has been used at least twice and the grooming was very nice. Some shallow spots on Pioneer and stubble on the short loop so I used B skis with grip tape as temps were hovering around freezing.. All trails were double tracked and this was nice to see again. Great grooming even on the lower low snow sections. Good day.

(Tim Nelson)