Some ice in classic tracks; skate deck sloppy on downhills and one uphill near stadium. Kick moderate. Overall good shape.

(Patrick Boylan)

Thanks to the Battle Creek 50K race crew for putting on a fun (epic!) 50K race this morning at Battle Creek despite the low snow and cold temps. The volunteers who raked snow into the washed out areas were incredibly helpful, as were all of the other volunteers. The grooming crew did a good job making the best of the hard-pack deck, and it was in better shape than I expected, with the downhills being manageable. And it was great to see the sun out today - made a big difference.

(Bill Oyler)

I made it out on Saturday morning before sunrise. There were about 10 of us there enjoying the -2F weather on the trails. The classic tracks were in very good condition. There were some icy spots, especially going up some hills, so needed to step out of the tracks to get up the hills. Otherwise, the groomers have done a Great job keeping the trails in very good Condition.

(Shane Meisner)

Cold weather shouldn't stop you from your ski! Skate deck was firm and held up well. By the afternoon there was some boilerplate spots in the expected areas on corners but nothing egregious. Up hills had loose snow. Great to get out but made man snow will crystal up in the cold weather. Maximum abrasiveness so get that hard wax on. No issues with glide and I was on Blue at 10F?

(Peter Johnson)

It was cold at Battle Creek this morning, but the groomers had once again worked their magic and turned yesterday's beat-up trails into very nice skiing today. The skate deck was solid with good corduroy on the Pond, Prairie, South Tree, and North Tree loops. There was still some loose snow on the ascents, but not so much as to bog down the skis. The descents were fast, but very controllable. The classic tracks appeared to be in good shape throughout, and when I jumped into them on some run-outs, they were also fast. The only down side was the 10-knot wind out of the northwest, but I was still able to spend two hours of very nice skiing at Battle Creek this morning.

(David Sonnenberg)

Races/Meets for the upcoming week: Sunday, January 5th (50K Race) 7am-1pm, Tuesday, January 7th (SSC) 3:30pm-5:30pm, Wednesday, January 8th (IMAC) 4pm-5:30pm, Thursday, January 9th (MEC) 3:45pm-5:15pm. The trails will remain open to the public during all races, but please be mindful of the high volume of skiers expected during these times.

(Thony Thao)

Manmade loop has improved significantly with continued grooming since Wednesday. Cold temps were holding the skate deck together and I didn't notice any ice patches except for the a little boilerplate at the bottom of cowabunga. Classic tracks were quite icy and abrasive - wax for durability!

(Spencer Davis)

Put in 10 miles today on some fast snow. The trails have some extra sugar on top of icy washouts in some spots. Flats and hills were still in really great condition thanks to the grooming efforts. Hills are a little scary for me as a novice in these conditions. Slowed way down on decents but still put on my fastest mikes of the season. A and A2 climb was great!

(Brock Flowers)

I skied several laps on the Pond, Prairie, South Tree, and North Tree loops. I was hoping they would have made snow and re-groomed after the relays yesterday, but that did not appear to be the case. I found the trails to be well covered with a solid skate deck and what appeared to be good classic tracks. I found very little corduroy, the surface generally consisting of thin, loose snow over ice/hardpack. My 75-yeard old legs found climbing through the "sugar" to be challenging, and control on the downhill curves was on the far edge of manageable for me. I should point out that there were several "youngsters" (Millenials and younger) who went flying past me up and down the hills with little apparent trouble, making the point that trail condition evaluations are relative. However, I remained "vertical" throughout, qualifying my day as a nice ski.

(David Sonnenberg)

I previewed the Battle Creek 50k course today: a fine layout, with variety and challenge each double lap. There was some predictable semi-deep sugar on a few climbs, but the steep A2 climb was great. On the downside (literally) the Prairie, Horseshoe, and especially Cowabunga descents were sugar over chattering white ice. I would not take Cowabunga at anything like race speed.

(David Moore)