The groomers were still out when I was there and in fact were just setting the classic tracks. Skate deck was soft but by time people are reading this it should have setup some. Northern Lights had been groomed earlier and with the freezing rain was glaze ice so I turned back.

(Don Callander)

Skied Monarch late this morning with classic skis. Must have been groomed and tracked this morning because it was perfect, with nice deep tracks and no footprints from hikers or snowshoers. Met very few skiers, had good and glide with my skin techs.

(Earl Stabenow)

I skated the outer loops from 8:30 to 9:30 this morning. Trail conditions were quite varied. Valley was near perfect for skate and classic. Lake Trail (and the shortcut) had been freshly dragged for mostly fine skating, but with a good-sized groove in the middle in many sections that tried to catch my skis; classic tracks were mediocre at best, and often had been dragged over today by the groomer. Creek Trail hadn't been dragged today, and was getting hard-packed, with a firm groomer-created mid-ridge in places. Creek had nice-looking classic tracks, the best on the outer loops! (But I didn't get a good look at Eagle or Monarch.) Northern Lights (return leg at least) had been dragged this morning, and skating was fine; the classic tracks were better looking than they had been on Friday, better than on Lake.

(Ron Refsnider)

Skated the outer loop trails around 11am. Hard deck, slowish in some spots. 80% good tracks for classic. Very few people out. There were tracks and ridges in some spots that appear leftover from grooming equipment.

(Scott Kee)

Family and I went for a classic ski on the monarch trail by the nature center (the trails by the main parking area was insanely busy). Trail could use a little touch up grooming but was otherwise in decent enough shape for a pleasant ski.

(Cody Oaks)

Skied the manmade snow loop to the lake and creek trail back to the chalet. It was the first time I skied the creek trail and it was absolutely stunning with the snow! It was a bummer that even with all the fresh snow there is still a large rut down the center of it that makes skating difficult. Given that, the grooming on Northern Lights and the manmade trail is perfect, I don't understand why the grooming is so poor on the lake and creek trails.

(Harry Rothberg)

Today was one of the most beautiful days of skiing I remember in 55 years of skiing which is about the last time we had this much snow (16 inches) on the ground on this date (1969-70). Lots of snow on the ground and in the trees...calm wind...lingering freezing fog...magical. The manmade snow was great. I looked at the Lake/Creek start and end and there was a classic track that looked pretty good. Unfortunately I didn't have enough time to venture out to the Dark Side. The Northern Lights classic track was fair to poor to non-existent...maybe it was just skied in. When finished I talked to a couple of long-time skiers who said that the skate lane grooming on the Lake and Creek was poor...uneven and rutted. Hopefully that improves.

(Mark Lahtinen)

What a great day for skiing with great friends. We skied at 10 in the morning with hardly anyone other than us. Valley was perfect of course. Observed Lake was tracked and Northern lights was also. Looks like the sledding hill is ready to go. Enjoy!

(Earl Stabenow)

Trails are in great shape. I classic skied Valley to Lake to Eagle to Monarch to Lake to Northern Lights to Chalet. The snow in the trees is beautiful!

Photos:

(Mark Skinner)

I skated the Northern Lights Trail and the very end of Lake from 12:30-1:30 today. I was disappointed to find that Northern Lights hadn't been groomed since the 2-3" of fluffy snow that fell overnight. Conditions were very soft and slow, and I often caught a ski tip in the fluff. There was what appeared to be a fairly good, but soft-sided skier-set track. I ventured out backwards a couple hundred yards on the Lake Trail near the beach to check conditions. On that short stretch, the skate deck was firmer and the classic tracks looked better and groomer-set.

(Ron Refsnider)