Conditions: "Very icy, rutted, rock", according to my daughter, but I thought it was nice!
The icy spots are growing larger on the 5k, but not by much, still no problem to ski over, IMO, but a few sections could become problematic in a couple days. As the snow was firming up this evening, skiing backwards on the 5k made for a more stable, predictable surface and was quite nice. I will try to get out again tomorrow, and keep my fingers crossed for more days after that. It is nice to be skiing on the Spring Equinox.

(Matthew Daly)

Conditions: Excellent Spring Skiing.
Skied classic on the 5k this morning at Snowflake. The wet areas crossing the trail were frozen and easy to ski across or around. Classic track was quite nice and the skate lane looked great. Lots of cars in the parking lots and everyone out skiing had smiles on their faces. Thanks John and John for the great grooming this season!

(Dave Johnson)

Conditions: 5K good to excellent - Parking lot poor.
Trails are nicely groomed some infrequent ice easily avoided. Classic tracks set hardwax would probably work. Parking lot is very rough and torn up be careful. Skiing should be good through at least Monday.

(John Jereczek)

Conditions: The 5K and Special K are groomed for both classic and skate! Skate lanes really firmed-up today and are very good. Be cautious at the bottom of the hills as the meltwater from last week has frozen and even created some openings with slush and running water, however these can be skied around. The sledding hill is groomed. The 10K trail is not groomed due to the mud and open areas in some places, however there is a man-made classic track that looks very inviting.
The 5K lights will be on until 10 p.m. tonight and on Saturday.

(John Graham)

Conditions: The 5K and Special K trails are groomed for skate-skiing! Despite multiple grooming runs, the surface remains somewhat soft, but it is a good skate deck. Be carefull for ice or exposed water at the bottom of hills. The 10K is not yet groomed, but is covered by 5-7" of heavy snow, and is good for backcountry type classic skiing. Again, be watchful for ice and/or some exposed water at the bottom of the hills, particularly when skiing the wetland sections of the trail.
A classic track on the 5/Special K trails was not set tonight due to wet conditions on the side of the trails. I'm hoping that the sub-freezing temps and drier air throughout tomorrow will freeze the wet snow, so that we can set classic tracks on the 5/Special K trails, and groom the 10K. We open at 7 a.m. tomorrow and will have the lights on on the 5K until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. The upper parking lots are wet and very soft; please park in the two lower lots for the time being.

(John Graham)

Ungroomed, about 6" new snow over soft, wet ground. We attempted to groom the 5K trail last night however the ground under the new snow is so soft and soaked that the sleds were sinking into the muck and bringing a mud snow mix to the surface. We are hoping that cold temps through today may firm-up the ground enough for us to groom a skate lane tonight...unfortunately this blanket of snow is insulating the wet ground beneath, so we will see...our wish is to give snowflake skiers at least one more day of spring skiing and will post the trail status as soon as we can open.

(John Graham)

Conditions: Hanging in there!
Snowflake still has good coverage. Only one southfacing slope on the 5K has a bare spot easily skied around. I didn't ski the 10 K today. There was a nice crust at 8:00 am, just starting to soften up around 9:00 am. Fun spring skiing!

Photos:

(Tolga Hanhan)

Still plenty of snow at Snowflake, no bare spots at all on the 5 K this morning. Hard freeze last night (24 F at my house early). Sweet spot was over by 9:30 or 10:00, though. Lots of ruts in the middle of the trail from yesterday's late skiers, but left side of the nice wide skate lane was pretty good. One pass with a groomer very early this morning would have made it the best ski of the year, but no such luck. Still lots of fun. If no more grooming, will have to go backwards on the trail against the ruts from now on.

(Tim Holst)

Conditions: 10k soft, 5k much better, but still not 'firm'.
Skied (skate)the first 1/2 of the 10k this evening. conditions were soft, but skiable. Only one or 2 very small bare spots that were easily avoided. Hopped over and skied the second 1/2 of the 5k loop and the conditions were better -- much firmer, faster, but had been skied on more than the 10k. I was pleasantly surprised and had a nice ski. Could have classic skied, especially with no-wax skis. Would have been nice.

(Matthew Daly)

Conditions: Lots of snow but soft and slow.
I thought I would head out one last time to Snowflake before our snow is gone. I skated all the trails and the coverage was excellent. I used my B skis but could have easily used the good ones. Likely would have made little difference since it was soft and slow, as expected (great work out though). I was hoping for more corn snow but temps were a tad too high in the afternoon. The pole plants were poking through in places, so are hard ,cold base is neither anymore. Base is estimated 4-8" in most places with thinner areas on south facing hills and only a couple small bare spots on the 10K. Likely a few more days of great coverage but this warmer weather it taking its toll.

(Tom Heinitz)