Birkie trail coverage is great! Good skating and diagonal with light fluff on top of hard base. Not a racing surface by the event standards but a great surface for control. Skied from OO to Timber Trail and back. New warming huts are really placed nice, a sharp addition to the system. Stopped at Tony Wise Museum to make for enjoyable day.

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(Dean Kleinhans)

The trip went from Gravel Pit south to Mosquito Brook and back on the new classic skin skis. The air temp. was teens with no wind under a clear sky. The classic track was deep and solid with a fuzz of new snow down and some wear on it. Perfect! I took a "go slow" attitude headed south to work kick and in track hill climbing skills. There was some work on downhill turns in track, an inexact repeatable skill. I chose out of track a few times including one fast run down to a snowmobile trail crossing. It was somewhat steep on the run down with a bouncy crossing. Headed north, it was time to test the findings and watch the clock. The clock added some time with a crash in a fast downhill S turn. I did everything I had learned. The outside ski popped loose from the track and it was over. No damage. Hill climbing improved. It was a fun trip on the Atomic Skin Tecs. There is still a learning curve in progress. The Xcellerator binding kick stroke on the skins does not roll off the heel in my experience. Its ball of the foot only with an aggressive forward lean or the ski slides out. Glide wax is Fast Wax HSF Tan. Lots of happy skiers on the trail today!

(Jeff Bolte)

Skied Sunday morning from Fish Hatchery to Gravel Pit and back. Had about 1/2-1" of fresh snow overnight and conditions were excellent. Beautiful, quiet sunny morning and a great day to ski on the Birkie Trail. Hopefully conditions will hold up for the Hayward Lions Club Pre-Birkie on Saturday.

(Mike Maiers)

Skied this morning from 77 almost to 00 and back. The trail had fresh cord (on one side) and good tracks. Lots of people enjoying the trail.

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(Tom Detzner)

Skiers will find very good to excellent skate skiing at Mosquito Brook Trail Head. I skated north to OO and back, enjoying the recent grooming that provided fresh corduroy. The trails offered great control and were level with good coverage. There was a good firm track as well.

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(David Martin)

Possibly some of the best conditions of the year so far on the Birkie. This morning I skied from OO to Hwy 77. As advertised, the trail crew groomed about a half width of the skate lane. Warmer with a little humidity in the air so the snow was much faster than yesterday. And the classic tracks were lightning fast. I classify the skate deck as 'forgiving'. That is, it was plenty firm but just soft enough to provide good edging. The OO trail head was a mad house when we finished up. Lots of smiling faces.

(Andy Schwartz)

Hey, it's a 2-fer Friday. Bunkie wanted to preview the big hills on the Korte course as we most often ski the North End of the trail. So this afternoon, we skied from Mosquito Brook to highway 77 and back. This section of the trail is not groomed to it's full race width yet but is otherwise in very good shape. There must be some regular hikers at Hatchery Creek as the little loop into the aid station is is kind of post-holed. But there's no real reason to ski that until race day anyway. Lots more skiers out this afternoon. This morning, I had the trail all to myself.

(Andy Schwartz)

Squeaky cold Styrofoam snow but flat and firm so good skating. Full depth classic track everywhere I skied. I skied South from OO to Gravel Pitt and back while Bunkie did the Ski & Tea workout. Snow coverage is very good and the skate deck is as smooth as it gets. The snow is super dry and a well fed male like me can still feel it crumble underfoot. So it's not race ready yet but getting there.

(Andy Schwartz)

Skied from around the new hills by Hatchery as well as to the Brook and back. Skate deck is groomed nicely, the skate deck is a bit soft on the edges. The middle is more skied in and a bit more firm. Great skiing, beautiful day. I used my best skis. Classic track looked good too.

(Gunnar Fontaine)

Perfect classic skiing on a windy and cold afternoon on the Birkie Ridge ski trail. The skate track looked equally perfect. The south loop section also got the perfect treatment. Is there anything better than the downhill finish from the Dave Nelson memorial overlook? Thank you Ned for this picturesque gem of a trail.

(Tom Dunaway)