Thanks to the Snowflake grooming crew for a fast and fun skate ski tonight! Good coverage. Trails were not icy and it was easy to get an edge. The fast downhill (with a sharp left turn), 2k from the start of the 10k was a little icy from sun, snowplowing, etc. Thoroughly enjoyed the ski!

(Elaine Nelson)

Late last night, as the temperatures began dropping toward freezing, we ripped out the old Classic tracks on the 5K and 10K trails and reset new tracks. If the forecast delivers, the new tracks should freeze and set-up by morning. It's a good track, but since the snow compacted with Wednesday's warm-up, the depth is limited by the available base, so the track is not as deep as we would like. We groomed the 5K Skate deck, which skied very fast on Wednesday, and it will be frozen corduroy by morning. The 10K Skate deck has seen less use and was reported good and fast yesterday, so we decided to leave it as is and lightly groom it on Thursday, if and when we get some new snow. Still excellent skiing, 100% coverage.

(John Graham)

I skied the 5K and 10K Classic trails this afternoon. The Skate lanes had been groomed up last night and looked very good. The AVM Classic tracks, set last Saturday night, had not been reset as they came through this cold week solid, well-formed, and intact. The 5K has seen the most use and is 90% good/excellent, the only washouts being predictable tight corners. I never had to step out of track. The 10K, less used, was 99% excellent/good, and beautiful to ski. Groomers set the track about 4" further to the inside, which really improves the descending turns, and the Snowflake Skate skiers have been very considerate in staying out of the tracks. Good tracks, sunshine, temps in the teens...my favorite day of skiing this season!

Photos:

(John Graham)

5k and 10k Trails, Oval, stadium, and sledding hill were skate-groomed this morning and the overnight snow made a beautiful corduroy over a hard, even base. Very nice. The classic tracks on both trails remain firm and well-formed. All skiers today report very nice conditions, though still somewhat slow due to the cold temps.

Photos:

(John Graham)

Skied classic as did the Nordic North Stars kids. It would take more than 60-some kids to do anything to these tracks, however -- they were rock hard! Tracks on the 10K were especially firm and fresh but not icy. The tracks on the 5K were more skied-in and felt a lot "looser", so I did less than one K of the 5K before hitting the 10K again.

(Sara Zimmer)

Prayers, snow dances, etc were answered today with 3 inches of beautiful snow. Many skiers enjoyed skiing through the fluff, and the classic track saw enough use to remain skiable all day. Tonight we have groomed the skate lanes on all trails, resulting in soft corduroy over a hard base. Lovely! The new snow also allowed us to rip out the "mature" classic tracks, and set new tracks on both the 5 and 10K trails. These tracks are well formed and we hope they will firm-up in the sub-zero temps tonight and tomorrow. The low temps have cancelled tomorrows Kidski program, so the trails will be wide-open to skiers willing to layer-up and summon their inner-Amundsen. It will be slow gliding, but easy to kick-wax.

(John Graham)

All trails, the sledding hill, arena, and oval loop are groomed for skate and classic skiing. All skate lanes were regroomed this evening. They are hard-set, and we set the knives to put a nice corduroy on the surface. Today's skiers reported good skiing, a little slow due to the cold temps. The classic tracks on the 5k are skied in, and 95% intact. Sections that hadd been drifted over by snow and wind have been cleared and reset. The 10k classic tracks are also old, but skied in and 95% intact. Tonight we reset several sections that were washed or blown out. We have not completely reset the classic tracks for two reasons: the base is thin and rock hard following last week's warm day. If we set the knives to break-up the existing track, we find the snow peeling off to bare ground. Secondly, the low humidity and dry snow combined with consistently cold temps means that if we reset the track it will not firm-up and give us hard walls. We have decided that the existing hard track is better than a soft, fragile track. I skied the entire classic system this afternoon, and found the tracks to be very good and enjoyable to ski. I don't skate ski and will ski my 18th classic birkie in three weeks, so I have a vested interest in providing the best classic track possible, and that's what we have right now. We have reopened the 10k to member-owned dogs and thank them for their cooperation this week. We will be open 8 A.M.-9 P.M. On Saturday and 8 - 8 on Sunday. Bring a headlamp if skiing after dark.

(John Graham)

Nicely groomed natural snow to ski on, good glide, blue sky and comfortable temps! Glad we climbed the hill from our visit to Canal Park to ski at Snowflake! The 10k loop had just been groomed and was slightly better than the 5k loop. There were a couple of slightly thin spots with some ice underneath...but not a problem at all.

(Mike Flynn)

A fine day of skiing, as 100 "kidski" participants swarmed the trails in pursuit of perfect technique. All trails are open, groomed for both classic and skate. Today we set a new classic track on the 10k. As this required ripping up the solid base, and given the cold temps, the new track is soft and has not been through a freeze/thaw cycle to firm-up. Because it is fragile, we are prohibiting members from taking dogs onto the 10k until further notice. Once the track gets solid, we will remove the "no dog" signage and announce that restrictions are lifted. With the birkie events less than 4 weeks away, it is important that we keep all trails in good shape so our many birkie and kortie skiers can train. Dogs are permitted on the 5k and oval trails. The skate lanes were groomed again today, and the 5k classic track remains rock solid and fast. B-skis recommended due to some thin areas with ice/dirt mix.

Photos:

(John Graham)

Lots of positive feedback from skate skiers today, who found the 5 and 10k trails firm and fast, and groomed enough to get an edge. Classic skiers found the 5k track solid and rocket fast, and some suggested taking the downhills out-of-the-track. Blue extra worked today; waxless/fish-scales had trouble getting kick on the hard track. My r-skins worked well. We re-groomed the skate lanes on the 5k (including special k), the 10k, and the oval this afternoon. The warmed snow has frozen deep now, so we are trying to give depth to the loose surface. Tomorrow we will set a new classic track on the 10k, and I will update when it is in. Kidski happens from 1:30-4:00 Sunday, but the trails are open to members and day-passers. B-skis recommended due to some mixed ice/dirt in a few areas, but these spots are visible and can be skied around.

(John Graham)