Drove up from the Twin Cities and had a great ski at Snowflake today. Excellent coverage and freshly groomed this morning. The snow was very moist and a bit slow in the skate lane, but absolutely no ice and the temp never got above freezing the whole day. But it was a joy to ski and was very uncrowded unlike what we are used to at Hyland in the metro.

Photos:

(Dick Stardig)

Snowflake was excellent today. Fresh snow groomed and firm. Skated but tracks were deep and well set. No melt in spite of the warm day so should ski well tomorrow. Really great to be on natural snow.

(Dave Kallemeyn)

Plenty of snow on the trails. Skate lanes were groomed this morning, they are level and wide, still a bit soft. The classic tracks on both trails were excellent until someone took a couple of dogs on the 10k this afternoon, which tore up the track. We will reset the classic track early tomorrow, but due to the soft conditions no dogs are permitted on either the 5 or 10k trails until further notice. Snowflake members may ski with their dogs on the oval. Weekend hours will be 9 am to 8 pm. Skiers going out after sunset, bring a headlamp.

(John Graham)

Beautiful classic Tracks set on 5K and 10K last night are firming up and getting fast as they are skied-in. Skate lanes on both trails were groomed again today; they are firming-up. but still soft and somewhat slow. Snowflake open from 9 am - 7:00 pm tomorrow. The East High School team will be at Sections, so the trails will be wide-open in the afternoon.

(John Graham)

Just skied 4 k of the 5k (Darn! Had to stop and go to work). Classic tracks are nice and firm. A few pole plants are soft, not more than 2 inches depth, but not enough to destroy your striding. It is a beautiful day to ski. Thank you Snowflake!

(Sean Bedard-Parker)

Wow, 6-8" of fresh powder today! We have been running the Ginzus over both trails, all day. Both the 5K and 10K are groomed for Skating, but the deck is soft and skiing is slow. We are going to set new classic tracks on both trails tonight, hoping that tomorrow's frigid temps will firm them up. Due to the soft snow and new classic track we are close the trails to dogs Wednesday. The Oval is groomed and open to members with Dogs. Hours tomorrow are 9:00 a.m to 7:00 p.m. (Late opening due to the forecast temps). The trails may be soft and slow, but it is Winter Gorgeous out there!

(John Graham)

Skate lanes on both the 5K and 10K trails were groomed at the end of skiing today. They are superb: firm, flat and corduroy for tomorrow's skiers! Classic track on the 10K is still well-formed: firm and fast. The 5K classic track is getting a lot of use and while it is still defined and firm, we will reset the track on Monday. Our hours on Monday-Thursday will be 8 am - 7 pm.

(John Graham)

All trails groomed skate and classic. Lovely skiing. Due to the improved firmness of the classic track, members may take their dogs onto the trails again.

(John Graham)

Beautiful! Classic tracks on the 5K and 10K, while still soft, are well-formed, deep, and getting fast. Skate lanes on both trails were groomed again today; the deck is firming-up and much faster than yesterday. Still keeping dogs off the trails because of the soft classic track, but I groomed the Oval for dog-owner members. Friday hours 8-8.

(John Graham)

I regroomed the 5k skate lane this afternoon, then classic skied the 5k and 10k trails, so this is a mixed report. The skate lanes on both trails remain soft, despite repeated grooming runs. Skaters tell me that it is soft and slow. The classic tracks on both trails were amazingly well-formed, and real nice to ski in. Still so soft that we do not want dogs on the trails, yet. Since the soft snow doesn't yield durable grooming, and the 5k gets the most traffic, I recommend skiers go out and do the 10k, if you have the time.

(John Graham)