Conditions: 4F, classic tracks very good (skate deck looked very good as well).
Skied at 2:00 pm today on the newly extended man-made loop. My GPS read 3K. It's a nice track, and some of the trees that were cloaked with snow by the snow guns are really beautiful.

(Michael Kuhne)

Conditions: Quaking Bog: Fair for classic.
Watch out for the manhole cover right in the middle of the trail on the flat section of the trail (the return). Easy to miss if you're not paying close attention. Painting it red or yellow would make it much more visible.

(Dan Zenk)

Conditions: Groomed but thin in a lot of areas.
Skijored a couple of laps on the front 9. It was groomed, but the snow cover was pretty thin in a lot of places. It's a golf course so the thin cover wasn't really a problem...definitely skiable.

(Fritz Cleveland)

Conditions: Good on the man-made, poor elsewhere.
Between the wind and the heavy skier traffic this morning, the course other than the man-made loop is pretty poor. Lots of debris and basically no base. The man-made was good except for 2 spots that got scrapped thin by the race this morning.

(Elias Anoszko)

Conditions: Nice trails on a Saturday evening. Hard to go up steep hill due to nothing to grip.
Dropped my brother off at Target Center with his mini van and then skied until 8:40 pm. Shocked to find passenger window broken into my brother's briefcase taken. Awful feeling and cold ride to pick him up and tell him the news.

(Danny Tolle)

Conditions: Scattered mix; most sections are B ski quality, with a few rock ski sections. Fast on the natural snow, slow on the man-made.
Skied this afternoon over most of South Wirth, then came back up Tornado Alley to ski the Twin Lakes loop and part of the newly opened snowmaking sections. Definitely B skis on the natural snow, with a few areas that can add some stonegrinding if you aren't watchful. The curb crossings (like Eloise Butler parking lot), and the passing under the railroad bridge (Front 9) are some of the worst. Some leaves and twigs make it look worse than it actually is in places. Had a nice ski, and enjoyed the good speed on the real snow. Construction and trail disruptions still in the JD Gardens area (east of Wirth Lake) Most of South Wirth has not been groomed since the last snowfall, but it is skied in pretty well. Full snowmaking loop is now open, but a little mushy with the ski traffic today and felt pretty slow (snow is fresh -- hasn't been transformed). Lots of people out!

Photos:

(Bruce Adelsman)

Conditions: Quaking Bog - good skating conditions (it's relative...).
Skated bog Thursday after storm, the 3" fresh covered the base and had us excited for the trail to be groomed and firm for the weekend (the base under the fresh snow is thin, but solid and skiable). Went back Friday at 5pm: sadly, the groomers didn't bother roll the bog but only the two way trail between the parkway and highway...perhaps they were too busy making snow by the chalet now that it's cold enough (again)?

(Steve Anderson)

Conditions: Pretty firm 2 inch base of the snowmaking loop.
Five of us were out with shovels and snowmobiles today. We added snow to spots on the back 40 and Judy loops. I then skied the loops and added some more snow. When you leave the lower stadium and enter the woods (natural snow), you can feel tar with pole plants. We added snow to the little berm entering the woods, a couple spots on the prairie loop, and roughly five toboggans of snow the first hill (oak hill). You can also feel tar with pole plants after the hill through the woods, but the snow has set up fairly firm with the cold weather, so it's a firm track. Back to the artificial snow loop, you climb the hill, and then take a left and climb. We added snow to the top of the hill (windblown), to the next major climb, and the next minor climb. On the long downhill (heading west and you make a U-turn at the bottom) the snow is thin, but you're gliding and on grass, and the next uphill is covered and firm. The major project was at the top of that climb. We added a number of loads of snow up there since the area was windblown. Then the loop enters the artificial snow again. The artificial snow that is brand new is incredibly slow, zero glide, so fortunately the Preloppet is not on that! The main question is how much abuse will the 1.5 to 2 inch packed snow take on the back 40. Right now it's solid. I'd leave the good skis at home but guess that most will get through the race without much ski damage.

(Jay Wenner)

Conditions: Good to fair, fresh snow, rolled in most places. Skied the other side of Wirth lake, Eloise Butler, flower gardens back behind the grade school.
Lots of fun on the classic skis. The kick was good and the downhills were fast. Looks like this will be a good base for the City of Lakes.

(Kris Koch)

Trails were rolled and windblown, good coverage in the woods but windblown in the open areas. I would recommend rock or B skis. Manmade loop still not finished.

(Nathaniel Tollefson)