The classic tracks were great on the 5km trail. No classic tracks on the 10km trail. It was beautiful skiing in the late afternoon snow shower.

(Louise Levy)

Stayed on the 5k for the afternoon. Freshly groomed smooth trails. Perfect snow depth made for a great edge. A little slower today because of a small dusting of snow but overall a great time here at the flake. Just a little ice patch to be careful on coming out of bee hollow. The track is still fully intact.

(Paul Haberle)

How does fresh cord and beautiful classic tracks sound for April 3? Nearly perfect mid-winter conditions on the 5 K at Snowflake this morning. 25 F with a wind (but most of the 5 K is nicely sheltered) and Fast Wax blue paste gave decent glide for both skating and classic. I was using my Fischer zeros and had plenty of kick. I used "B" skating skis because I already put storage wax on my good ones, but I could have used good ones. Why "nearly" perfect? There were 2 or 3 spots where you had to step out of classic track, including the south-facing hills into and out of Bee Hollow, and in 5.5 km there was one (!) leaf in the track on Rachel's Run, so I took a picture of it. Because of the cloudy low light, hard to get a good picture to show how good the conditions were. At the 2 km mark on the 5 K I hopped over to the 10 K, back to Spaghetti Junction, and some of the loops around there. It had not been groomed today when I was there but still very skiable, but 5 K classic track better.

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(Tim Holst)

Skated the 5K and groomed portions of 10K midday Saturday and thoroughly enjoyed both! One sun-exposed hill on the 5K was getting thin, so added snow from the woods with a shovel that was left conveniently there. Classic track on 5K was well set and good throughout. 10K skate deck only. Used good skis, with no issues at all. As was mentioned, about a 10 ft. section on Jeno's jump on the 10K has some exposed ground, so would recommend walking around that if you have good skis. All other groomed sections of 10K in great shape. Truly mid-winter type skiing. Many thanks for the great grooming! Days like today are a gift, and it sounds like there may be some more ahead.

(Gordy Mesedahl)

We didn't get the forecast 8", but we got enough to work with. The 5K trail got a beautiful new classic track, and the skate deck was regroomed this morning (photo #1 is the Special K). The only thin cover is near the trailhead, and on the hill tipping into Bee Hollow. Returning skiers were very happy. On the 10K, we groomed a fresh skate deck on all of the northern segments near Fisketti Junction including the Loop around the swamp which includes Chandra's Curve and Tims Turn (photo #2) We also groomed the outbound 10K from the 5K trailhead out to Hovland Hill, the. A connector onto the swamp loop, as well as the 10K return from Fisketti Jct via Genos Jump to the finish. Genos Jump is thin, so look before you leap. Thin/possibly exposed spots are marked with caution Tape. We don't plan to set a new classic track on the 10K, but striders are welcome on trail right. We're open normal hours, will not be grooming tomorrow (Easter), but the trails and chalet will be open, and we will groom all week as nature allows.

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(John Graham)

Welcome cold temps this morning, so we surveyed the trails to see what could be groomed. Happily, the trails came out of the warmup much better than expected. We tilled and groomed the Skate deck on the entire 5K, the 10K segments around Fisketti Junction, the 10K outbound from the trailhead to Hovland Hill, and the loop around the swamp that includes Tim's Turn. The 10k return segment from Fisketti Jct to the trailhead is also open/groomed, however Genos Jump is well exposed and should be walked. The south segments; Dave's Doom, behind the school, Anderson's Alley, Shovel Hill are exposed and were not groomed. The classic tracks are sun-worn and shallow, though defined. We recommend B skis, and ski where we groomed, which totals about 12K. The photos are of the 5K, and the river actually running through "A River Runs Through It". We are open regular hours. Sign-in before skiing.

Photos:

(John Graham)

What a beautiful ski at Snowflake this morning. High 20s F, and perfect grooming on the 5 K. It looked like John & crew had done multiple passes, and the ice was broken down to wonderful silky ice crystals, with more than enough for edge, yet really fast, maybe fastest of the year. They had shoveled in Bee Hollow hill as well. I hopped in the classic tracks and double poled a few times, but the tracks have deteriorated with the last 2 days of high temps. They are still there and skiable, but not as great as they were a couple of days ago. I did hop on the 10 K trail a bit out by Spaghetti Junction, but only did a couple of km of that loop. You could use your best skis on nearly all the 5 km trail, including Special K, but Bee Hollow hill could pose problems so I'll stay with B skis. I did walk about 50 meters from the chalet to put my skis on, as the little exposed hill up to the trail head is pretty icy in spots. Probably the best March 29 ski I have ever had.

(Tim Holst)

Stayed on the 5k for the entire morning. Another amazing ski morning at the Snowflake. Groomers were out in force and had groomed the 5k deck to near perfection. The special K was perfect and was rewarded with a bunch of extra laps. Still total coverage throughout so you can bring out the good skis.

(Paul Haberle)

I skate skied the 5k, it had a nice coating of fresh snow over some grooved hard pack, so there may be balance challenges. Otherwise, great skiing! Note: To preserve the trails they are closed from 11 am till 5 pm while the warm weather persists.

(Linda Magni)

Slow weird snow at snowflake this afternoon but ... what a great time skiing! Stayed on the 5k for all the laps and had no problem with getting an edge. The uphills were fast and the downhills slow. Full snow coverage on the entire trail. It really looks like April skiing is in our future.

(Paul Haberle)