Snow is starting to get slushy on uphills and downhills around sunrise, but the snow is staying very clean - except for all the deer path crossings, which are getting even more busy it seems.

Photos:

(Bill Oyler)

At my 9:30 start, despite the 40 degree temperature and bright sun, the snowmaking loop was in very good condition. There was occasional, frozen cordoroy in the shade and shallow, wet corn in the sun that only got deep and slow enough on the Willow Creek outbound climb so as to not permit me to completely skate it. While I exercised caution by slowly descending the Boulder Ridge downhill for fear of suffering a "pull you out of your bindings" deacceleration upon hitting soft snow, my caution was unnecessary. Skier traffic was very light. Thanks again to the groomers for maintaining great spring skiing.

(Keith Carlson)

The Hyland Lake xc ski glacier is intact, although receding from warm temps and hot sun. The glacier was lightning fast this morning but edging for skate push-off was generally sufficient for the most part. Some icy patches to watch out for and be careful on downhills. Skate deck started getting soft from sun after 9 am in spots.

Photos:

(Ken Kuznia)

So nice to have the continued grooming done at night - thank you! Clean corduroy and deep tracks. Downhills are a little slushy as expected but use caution in the tracks as they are set wide.

(Karla Anderson)

The snowmaking loop was in very good condition at my 9:00 am start. It was 33 degrees and sunny. In the shade, there was occasional frozen corduroy. In the sun, just a light dusting of snow. No trouble getting bite. It was particularly fast on the run out off of the hill on the Frog Town return. I learned that as I was still accelerating when I entered Willow Creek. I waited too long to initiate my step turn into the 90 degree curve and seemed to be stuck in a rut and had to fall to avoid going off the edge of the trail. I had similar experience at the bottom of Boulder Ridge but was able to step out of it at the last second, before it was too late. Thanks to Three Rivers and groomers for providing such great late season skiing.

(Keith Carlson)

Perfect spring skiing conditions. Only a small section of scenic foothills had hard ice in the middle of the skate deck otherwise very nice conditions considering the weather. Found a giant chuck of metal (maybe a groomer tooth) in the middle of the trail, it has been reported and removed so your skis should be safe now.

(Matt Carlson)

Skated at noon. There was very little traffic so the trails were not beat up yet, but all trails had a thin layer of wet mashed potatoes which made them quite slow. That said, it was hard to beat 50 degrees in February.

(Philip Westover)

The Hyland glacier lives on! Rock hard base around sunrise - bring your strong push off legs and/or strong double pole muscles - or wait a few hours after sunrise for things to get a bit softer. Amazing how firm things were with overnights temps in the 40s!

Photos:

(Bill Oyler)

Did both skate and classic runs on all the snowmaking trails. The wind had blown quite a few leaves and a few twigs on the trails, which is why I rated B, but all told conditions were quite nice. The skate deck was firm and fast, and the consistently cold temps meant none of the hills had any sugar buildup. Boulder Ridge was actually in the best condition, and it didn't seem like there had been too much traffic on the further stretches of the trails. Classic tracks were deep and steady, but definitely had some slow/sticky spots due to periodic leaves. Things are looking in great shape for tomorrow's winter play day.

(Pieter DeHart)

Ventured onto a couple of the natural snow trails late morning today. North loop (photos) and Oak Knob have almost full coverage but it is a very thin base. Also attempted the lake loop, but the first climb was barely skiable with numerous twigs and wood chips exposed. Extremely grabby and I do not recommend. Snowmaking loops in excellent condition, as usual.

Photos:

(Ben Ruhme)