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)

Conditions: Slushy but smooth.
It sure is true that snowflake gets a little more snow than the rest of the city on that ridge. They have the deepest base in town and no bare spots. They just groomed the 5k before I arrived but it still skied the same as the 10k, slushy but good enough glide. I have swix hf8 on my skis and that is surely helping.

(Jason Mozol)

Conditions: Just groomed, soft snow on the skate lane. Excellent classic tracks.
Looking at next week's forecast spurred me out the door to get in one of the last skis at Snowflake before it warms up and the bulldozers move in to make room for a school, a track and all the parking that goes with it. Not sure how it will all pan out. I have invested so much time, energy and love into Snowflake, it is really sad to see it come to this point.

Photos:

(Dave Johnson)

Superb! Both skate and classic groomed last night... It's fast and fabulous! Still some corduroy on the skate lanes and tracks are solid. One of my nicest ski days of the season - go today!

(Lisa Graham)

Conditions: Superb for skate.
Fresh grooming with some light ice mixed into the new snow (~2+ inches) means fast, great edge and oh so smooth. Early conditions were the best I have skied on the 5K this year. The 10 K was great as well but groomed a bit more narrow in places and the left side of the deck was softer and slower (no complaints though- it was very nice). The classic track was solid and fast on the downhills. It felt like mid winter out there today, what a treat this late in the year. Is this the last weekend we can enjoy our beloved Snowflake as we have known it prior to the school construction? Maybe. Conditions may deteriorate quickly this week so enjoy it while you can. Thanks John, for the great grooming all year. It has been so consistently great.

(Tom Heinitz)

Conditions: Firm, fast, and fun.
Skate lane was very good throughout. Perhaps a bit overskied on the 5k, but that's just being fussy. Classic tracks were inconsistent on the 10k but looked well-defined on the 5k. John said he'll groom after tomorrow's snow. Should be excellent for the weekend.

(Fritz Anderson)

Conditions: Speedy! Fresh grooming today.
Skated both trails late afternoon and it was the fastest conditions of the year. MIx of the new snow and granulated transformed snow and small ice chunks. The skate deck was flat and mostly even with a great edge. the 10 K was in better shape but 5K was great too. Great coverage and base that should survive warm up. Very fun ski tonight. Get out and enjoy while its this good. Thanks again Snowflake. Hopefully they will groom until its gone.

(Tom Heinitz)

Conditions: Great. The Ginzu groomer tilled up the new powder and mixed it in with the boiler plate ice underneath. Fast and fun.
Thanks John+John!

(Eric Chandler)

Conditions: Hard base with some snow on top. Some frozen ski ruts, but not bad.
Hard, icy base (a hard fall I took confirmed that suspicion) but with enough snow on top for a pretty good ski on the 5k loop. As a beginner skate skier, I found it to be enjoyable and quite skiable. No first-hand knowledge of the 10k loop, but the little I saw of it looked similar.

(Matthew Daly)