Skied Elm today and was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Just stayed in the south donut area - clean snow, good track, some leaves, corn snow on deck, only one thin spot, so just used my regular skiis. Definitely worth it. Thank you groomers.

(Karen Peters)

The manmade snow loop has deteriorated significantly each day this week. The biggest drop was probably yesterday to today, with the snow being some mix of mush/ice/corn/sugar. I was surprised how much dirtier it got in just a day - from a few patches yesterday to most of the trail today.

(Jason Goepfert)

Skied at 10:15 am, very few other skiers. Conditions were corn snow with tracks soft in the open areas and a little icy in the shade. Tracks were nice and deep with some oak leaves. Skin tech skis worked great. Snow is getting dirty, but not bad enough to affect the skiing. This might be my last ski of the season if we don't get an abundant amount of snow in March.

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(Earl Stabenow)

Skied the man-made snow of the Valley Trail. Shallow tracks were present. The snow was slushy but I enjoyed getting out for a ski in 50 degree weather.

(Mark Skinner)

Stayed on the snowmaking trails for both skate and classic at first light this morning. Impeccable grooming and conditions all around. While it looks a little rougher on the natural snow- trails, adventurous souls should be sure to use rock skis for that. One of the best condition mornings at Elm Creek, and little to no traffic in the early hours prior to this afternoon's activities. Amazing job and a huge thanks to the groomers!

(Pieter DeHart)

Man made snow loop was very good, but still hard and cold. Tracks very good and fast, but not icy. A few leaves, but thankfully not on the downhills. Natural areas only packed and some rocks. Thank you groomers!

(Karen Peters)

We went skijoring on the multi-use trail. It was groomed but pretty thin base. Plenty of debris and pavement showing but easy enough to avoid.

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(Kyle Benson)

I skied the outer multi-use trail, the Northern Lights and the man-made snow loop. The multi-use was a little dicey as some of the tar path was showing thru. The trail was driven by a side-by-side rather than groomed like in past snow years. Northern Lights was groomed but there were some little pebbles and dirt here and there. Manmade loop was in excellent shape! Only a few had skated on it before me so corduroy heaven! Pics are from multi-use trail.

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(Jennifer Bennett)

Bright, crisp winter sun. Whitetail deer watching warily from the brush, nostrils flaring. The rhythmic crunch of poles stabbing into hard snow. My absolute favorite ski of the season so far, particularly for classic. I was the only one on the snowmaking course at 10am, and even by 11, not a single user of the skate deck, which I don't think I've ever seen before. The conditions were fantastic (yes, cold at -5, but nothing a few layers can't counter). The tracks were the best I've seen all year - fast but not icy, grippy without being sticky, no washouts whatsoever. Absolutely pristine.

(Jason Goepfert)

It's so nice to be in natural snow again. The trail is varied quite a bit in condition with roots, rocks and grass occasionally. I was very glad to be on my rock skis. Eagle and Monarch had recently been groomed so were pretty soft. I saw a very shallow classic track occasionally on Creek but I was skating.

Photos:

(Katharine Woodman-Maynard)