I savored one final short skate ski of the season this May Day evening, on the very last short patch of snow at Snowflake, near the end of the Special K where the wind drifts snow the highest. From November to May makes for a fine season -- thanks to Snowflake's John G. and Jim!

Photos:

(Lane Ellis)

Skated 6K on rock skis, with the 5K having just 40-45% coverage, and the Special K about 60-65%, for my 100th day skiing of the season, in shorts at 70F. One stretch of the Special K is still quite well-covered and fun. Thanks again to John and Jim for another great season of grooming at Snowflake.

Photos:

(Lane Ellis)

After the past three mornings of fantastic crust skating on Snowflake's 10K loops, today I skated about 1/10th of a mile before determining that the ski season is over for me. Yesterday the trail was 100% covered, but today there are lots of brown places. Thanks to Greg or Lane, whoever retrieved my sunglasses and left them on the ski holder by the chalet! Since I couldn't ski, I sprayed some silicone on the bottoms of my woodie snowshoes and trekked 4 miles on parts of the 5K and 10K -- great fun on my favorite trail system!

(Janet Anderson)

We were pleasantly surprised to see 100 % connected snow on the 5k/special k today! Overall the trail was 98% covered with the majority of the openings due to doggy prints, so easy to get past. There are a plethora of skied in tracks but with the soft snow it was easy to navigate. I plan to ski until the last drop!

Photos:

(Eve Graves)

This morning I did a "walking survey" of the "figure 8" trail we groomed last Thursday. The weekend rain, meltwater, sun and freeze/thaw cycles have undermined the remaining base, and created open ground everywhere except for the powerline segment of Special K. Walking on the side of the trail, the brittle base was cracking and collapsing under my weight. The forecast "blizzard" sounds promising, however the wet snow and high winds will bring a lot of debris down, followed by a warm weekend, and rain next week. For those reasons, we will not be grooming post-storm. The trails will be open - no pass required - for skiers wanting to bust a trail. The chalet will be open, so please sign-in. We will close for the seaso when this new snow is gone. We are now planning and prioritizing our summer trail-work: if you have a suggestion, or idea for a particular segment of trail that needs improvement, leave a note at the desk, or email us. The groomers greatly appreciate the respect our skiers showed for the trails, and fellow skiers this season. Skaters, striders, and dog-owners can coexist! Thanks for skiing Snowflake! See you in November.

Photos:

(John Graham)

After skating the 5K and Special K that past nine days, and switching on Monday to rock skis at Snowflake for the first time since November today for my 91st ski of the season. I skated just the Special K because conditions were even icier than yesterday. I estimated up to 80 percent coverage on the 5K and Special K yesterday, and a large uninterrupted portion of the Special K still has abundant snow. But almost all has been very icy the past two days. Thanks to John and Jim for another stellar season of careful and dedicated grooming!

Photos:

(Lane Ellis)

Still great today! This is the best corn snow we have had in years! 99% connected on the groomed loop! Well worth the trip if you want to glide!

(Eve Graves)

Wow...just wow! It's amazing what great grooming can do for a trail. I was bummed I used my rock skis, I could have easily used the good ones! If people use good manners and avoid skating on the trails when they are soft, these could be great for awhile. We were surprised to see the trail in basically the same shape it was a few days ago! If you still have the skiing bug, this is the place to go! Thanks grooming staff!

(Eve Graves)

This morning we skate groomed 3-4 Km of groomable trail! The best route is to ski the 5K return trail out to Special K. Special K is in good condition, 99% covered. You may can then take the Perimeter Loop cut-thru to the 5K, ski it backwards toward the Biathlon Range, and continue along the powerlines to the 5K cut-thru, ski that to the Kidski cut-thru, then back to Special K. It's a big "figure 8". In doubt, follow the grooming. Sections of the 10K are still covered, but have large open gaps, so depart the groomed trail at your own risk. No charge for skiing now: enjoy it. Because getting from the garage to the snow is quite hard on the machines now, this was our last grooming. Unless we get a big snow.

Photos:

(John Graham)

Considering that yesterday's precip was not as "wet" as expected, and the cool temps today and tonight, Jim and I will be surveying the trails tomorrow at 7 a.m. and, if we can get the Ginzus to the trailhead, we will groom a skate deck on the best continuous trail we can make. I expect it to be based upon Special K and the northern trail segments, but we'll see. I will update our as soon as we decide if it is groomable.

(John Graham)