I had the benefit of skiing in Dave Nelson's tracks from his canoe/ski adventure at French. I used my waxless skis, and had a slow but fun ski around French. I think this is my last ski of the season!

Photos:

(Bill Lundberg)

Canoed over to French with my skis. Skied the full loop and conditions were quite fun. Waxless or skin skis would be optimal, but I used an old pair of touring skis that are sort of fuzzy from all the years of abuse so they work ok. There are lots or branches mixed in with the snow but they don't really affect the skiing. It was much easier to ski in the tracks of a skier who had been out yesterday. Well worth getting out for a ski/canoe.

(David Nelson, Skinnyski.com Race Team)

Very few trails open and nothing has been groomed. Large parts of trail flooded. Had to go in by the service center and enter on the Meadow Trail. Once I got over to Skyline/Challenge area, it was decent but a bit rough. I think that skiing at French is over for 2018-19. But it was nice to get out!

(Jean Storlie)

Skated the lit trails this evening. Deck has firmed up nicely. Classic tracks looked good and were getting lots of use. I didn't realize French has over 5k of lit trails! Great place for a night ski. [ Lighted trails is a filter option in the Ski Trail listings -- Ed. ]

Photos:

(Linda Evert)

Spent the morning wishing classic was an option and dreading skating on cardboard. Finally went to French at noon to find the skate deck recently groomed and not nearly as slow as I had anticipated. Actually a really nice day. Skated everything except Challenge Hill and didn't even suffer much from the wind, except on the exposed section of the Meadow Trail out by Rockford and Northwest Blvd. Classic tracks were thin and/or washed out. I couldn't tell if they just hadn't set classic tracks or if they had tried and failed but they didn't look good anywhere. Skate deck, however, was really nice all the way around but was getting noticeably slower by the time I finished a little before 3pm as the sun angle began to decrease.

Photos:

(Leif Irgens)

Headed out to French around noon, parking lot was 2/3 full but the trails were not crowded. Just groomed this morning so pretty soft for skating but good coverage and no debris. The new Challenge Hill (Part One) was somewhat groomed but not very wide, and has been re-routed to avoid the steep uphill and downhills, although the new trail has a pretty tight left turn at the bottom of the downhill as it spills out onto the Skyline Trail. The soft conditions made for a good workout on the big climbs! Great to be out on a beautiful sunny day in March!

(Dave Carlson)

Great afternoon skiing at French today. The classic tracks were firm and in very good shape. The skate deck was pretty good, but a little soft. The new Challenge Hill trail was narrow and just packed--no classic track.
I miss the old Challenge Hill with the big uphill, the scenic ski along the top, and the reward of a big downhill. The new trail has a gradual uphill with three small downhills--not nearly as exciting. Anyway, still a great
ski today on natural snow!

Photos:

(Bill Lundberg)

Hit French at 8:30 am to find the skate deck freshly groomed on all trails, including the Challenge Hill. I found the skate deck to be that nice medium between too soft and too firm. Soft enough to easily hold an edge but not so soft as to crash through the deck. The snow was a bit squeaky and slow but overall, very nice. No classic tracks anywhere when I started but the groomer had laid down classic tracks on Lagoon by the time I left at 10:00 am and they seemed to be continuing to work through the morning.

Photos:

(Leif Irgens)

Fantastic conditions at French today! After Sunday's wind I was expecting to see lots of debris mixed in with the fresh snow, but was pleasantly surprised to hardly see a leaf on the trail! Classic tracks were firm underneath the inch of fluff that fell during the day. By the end of the ski they were well skied in by the handful of skiers out there. The skate deck was firm under the inch of fluff, but looked to only be a couple of people that had skated. Perfect conditions all around.

Photos:

(Tyler Gilbert)

French was understandably soft again today but getting better. My speed wasn't too far off of normal so it wasn't too terribly slow. Groomers were out. I even saw them go up Challenge hill for the first time in years so it would appear that trail is now open. I didn't sample the classic tracks but based on appearance and the softness of the skate deck, I would postulate the classic tracks are pretty soft as well.

(Leif Irgens)