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)

Skied the manmade at Battle Creek this afternoon. Trails were a little icy and pretty sugary with the temps cooling. We previewed the Hiihto relays course and then filled in the rest of the map. All of the manmade is open.

Photos:

(Adam Mahar)

Artificial snow trails are open (about a 2+ mile loop). Snow is definitely faster than yesterday! Some icy spots, but still decent.

(Josh Leonard)

A nice mixture of skiable and laughably deep and sugary (especially on steeper up and downhill sections), that kept a smile on our faces as we explored the lit trails across Battle Creek. Plenty of man-made snow throughout, and not too busy in the early evening hours. Best to know what to expect at these temps and after recent weather events, more effort is required to maintain a tempo than a firmer deck would provide. Many thanks to the groomers!

(Pieter DeHart)

The manmade snow has held up really well. It was a little slushy in places this evening, but very fast and fun. Skied the Battle Creek Fifty K course and scoped out the Hiihto course. Classic track was icy and fast, fishscales were kicking pretty well. All of the manmade is open.

Photos:

(Adam Mahar)