44 children ages 5-13 plus 20 Marshall Nordic Ski Team athletes plus perfect weather plus new snow falling each day plus excellent trail conditions plus the wonderful mix of characters that makes up the Snowflake community equals the best ever Marshall Holiday Ski Camp! Add on top of that a sunset ski with my daughter Sarah, and our dear friend Kali and you have one happy nordic ski coach. Check out photos of the three days of camp.

Photos:

(Dave Johnson)

The classic track on the 5km was new and in great shape. The 10km track is washing out in some places from all the use this week. The skate lanes on both are getting slick, though the snow was falling nicely, giving everything a fresh feel. A huge thanks to everyone who helped groom all week!

(Bruce Bauer)

Great conditions! The 5km showed no signs of the ice. The 10km still had a few chunks. Thanks for the amazing work grooming the trails back to nice skiing! There are still a few bumps and twigs but great to be on a surface that isn't shiny from rain.

(Bruce Bauer)

John Graham and I groomed the trails from 8 am to 11:45 am this morning. We started on the 10K and then finished up on the 5k. As we all know this last storm was a lot of rain with some snow and sleet mixed in. This made a fairly thick icy crust that needed to be shaved off and turned into an icy powder. We groomed each part of the trail 2-3 times and it turned out well. I think after the next round of grooming we will be at very good to excellent conditions. The classic track is a little but wobbly due to some small grooming equipment issues that should be resolved the next time we set the track. I came back to ski the trail at 4pm today to see how the tracks skied. I was pleased with the results, the folks that classic skied today skied the tracks in nicely and it was a very pleasant ski. Looking forward to the Marshall Holiday Ski Camp tomorrow! We have 42 kids ages 5-12 signed up for the three afternoons of skiing. All trails will be open as normal during camp so come out and enjoy the trails.

(Dave Johnson)

Arrived before the groomers started. Very interesting conditions: skid left little marking the gardens alert yet edging and control was good. Conditions should improve with grooming.

(John Jereczek)

My son Cody and I skied the 5k at Snowflake. Cody skated and I classic skied. The skating was very good, fast and smooth. The classic tracks were very good, especially considering how little snow is on the ground. I was very impressed with the conditions, what a fun ski. I hope that the forecasted rain storm fizzles out or turns to snow.

Photos:

(Dave Johnson)

The track is in excellent shape, full depth, for most of the 10km trail. In some places large rocks will poke through, and the skate lane grooming wiped out the tracks periodically throughout the 10km.

Photos:

(Louise Levy)

Due to the frigid temperatures and forecast wind chill this evening, Snowflake will be closed to skiing at 6:00 p.m. tonight. We will be open tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.

(John Graham)

Classic Tracks were set on the 10K trail this morning. Both the 5K and 10K Skate lanes were re-touched. Classic track on the 5K, set Sunday night, remains firm and getting faster from being skB skis until we get another decent snow. The newly set Classic tracks on the 10K were barely used today, due to the frigid temps: Virgin tracks waiting for any hearty souls who come out tomorrow!

(John Graham)

I skied all Snowflake under a beautiful, nearly, full moon night, no need for a head lamp. The 5k is as described by previous posts, solid with a decent classic track set. Well packed in from the high school skiers. The track is a bit shallow, but pretty darn good. Special K is a little bit soft, but also nice. The 10k is groomed/rolled, but no classic track. It seems like there is enough snow to set one, but that is only by my inspection in the dark! There were only a handful of skate tracks on the 10k, so it is soft and slow! Beautiful night, a treat to ski under the moon. When it went under a few passing clouds it was as if someone turned the lights off!

(Matt Ryan)