Great skiing again today on the Birkie trail. Fresh corduroy and classic track running north from OO to the Firetower water stop. Skied north on the classic trail and returned on the skate trail. The warm weather has started to uncover some of the tree debris and pine cones that got buried 12 inches of snow ago. Particularly on the classic trail. But there is still a lot of great skiing to be had.

(Andy Schwartz)

Really great conditions yet on the Birkie trail south of OO. Plenty of base left and fresh grooming as of last night. It started to soften up as the day went on particularly the sections in full sun. Would have been a smart move to get out an hour or so earlier (mid-morning).

(Andy Schwartz)

Skied the loops at OO. Dusting of snow over frozen snow made for fast skiing. The groomer was heading south. Some debris on trail, but easy to go around.

(Deb Murphy)

This afternoon I checked out a short loop using both the skate and classic trails between OO and Boedecker. No one had skied while it was soft and slushy so there were no ruts. The skiing is good if you are comfortable with hardpack; ski poles did not punch through any soft spots yet there was enough new snow for control. I give it an FF rating; fast and fun. Spring skiing is the best!

(Tom Detzner)

This afternoon I skied South from the start area. Both the skate and classic trails are freshly groomed. There is a full depth double classic track on the skate trail as far south as Timber Trail and a similar single classic track on the classic trail. The snow is still super cold and there was no melting visible when I left even though the temps were in the upper 30's.

(Andy Schwartz)

The lighted loops south of OO were groomed last night for skate and classic and conditions were excellent this morning, you bet. I didn't ski the Birkie trails, so I'm not sure of conditions, but the groomers' report says the northbound classic trail was groomed yesterday.

(Donald Quick)

A small group took advantage of the fantastic grooming done for the Fat Bike Birkie by getting out before the race. Skied mostly untouched corduroy on the Classic trail to the Firetower water stop where we watched the lead bikers come through. As they continued south, we headed back north on the skate trail, again on untouched corduroy. Even at a leisurely pace we got almost back to the Start Area before the lead bikers came through. Spent the whole morning on perfect conditions and saw some fine fat bike racing. The bikers softened the trail up somewhat and some of the uphills are mashed potatoes where later bikers had to dismount and hike up the hill. But generally, the trail is still in outstanding condition.

(Andy Schwartz)

As good as it gets. Today is course preview day for the Fat Bike Birkie on the north half of the course so I skied south from OO instead. There is a dusting of fresh snow covering up plenty of corduroy. Also a full depth classic track on both sides of the trail all the way to Gravel Pit, which is as far south as I went. The trail started to soften up as the afternoon got warmer but still really great skiing.

(Andy Schwartz)

Skied North End, Birkie Trail, Tony Weise, and World Cup this afternoon. Best I have ever seen. Maybe I don't get out much?! Tracks for the most part were groomed out for the fat bike race this weekend. Skate deck was smooth and firm every where. No rollers or chatter bumps, just smooth soft corduroy. When we were leaving looks like North End groomer was setting some very nice classic tracks.

(Bill Stuber)

The trails this morning were as good as they have been all season long. Endless corduroy on both the skate and classic trails. A firm, full depth classic track on the classic trail. In addition, it looks like they ran a Pisten Bully over some of the old Telemark trails that don't normally see grooming. The old Korte trail inbound to Telmark was groomed for sure as was the old Roller Coaster section. It started to snow hard about half way through our ski so by early afternoon, the corduroy was invisible and the classic tracks were starting to fill up.

Photos:

(Andy Schwartz)