I'll put it simply: I have never had better spring skiing, and I have been on skis for over 60 years! Just broke freezing when I got there, about 40 F when I left, perfectly blue skies. Flat deck, no ruts, very fast, with just sufficient loose corn for an edge whenever it was desired. I skated, but hopped in the (shallow) classic tracks frequently to double pole. I stuck with laps on the 5 K (incl. Special K), as it was perfect. Not even a hint of ice or puddles. My heartfelt thanks to both the Head Groomer and The Chief of Trails for their remarkable work at what must be very late nights or very early mornings. You guys are tops!

(Tim Holst)

The 5K and Special K were scraped and groomed this morning, producing a very nice skate deck. No exposed ground yet, but southern exposures are darkening, which will increase the warming on sunny days. The classic track on Special K is in very good shape; the 5K classic track is well worn and in fair-poor condition. Temperatures are not favorable for resetting a track right now. The 10K was skate-groomed on Thursday, and seeing less use than the 5K. Studying the forecasts, our hours this weekend are as follows: Saturday 7-11 a.m. then closed the rest of the day; Sunday 7 a.m.-7 p.m.; Monday Spring hours again, 7-11 then 5-8. We will be cleaning-up the skate decks each morning.

(John Graham)

5K, Special K, and the "new" 10K were all groomed for skating this morning. The photo is Anders' Alley before our 2nd pass. Beautiful decks, and the 5K classic track remains solid, nicely skied-in. From now on, we are removing the 10K sections that were bulldozed, behind the school, from our trail system: they will be developed by the school this summer, so what we are grooming now may be considered "All Trails". We started to set a 10K classic track this morning, but the track-setter broke, so the 10K remains groomed for skating but open to pioneers wishing to ski-in a track on the right side. Best skiing will be during the morning session. Spring hours: 7-11 and 5-8.

Photos:

(John Graham)

5K and Special K groomed for both skate and classic, 10K for skate only with detour around the "river runs through it" section. Very enjoyable with great skiing on both loops. Seems like the base should hold up for a while, even with the warmer temps, especially if spring hours are observed. Thanks for the grooming!

(Gordon Mesedahl)

5K, Special K, and the "new 10K" were all groomed for skating this morning. Pretty smooth and fast. The 5K classic track is firm and intact, was icy at 7 a.m. but should improve as the day warms. The 10K does not have a set classic track. The Pulse/Dave's Doom section of the 10K was skate groomed; with the trail closures behind the school, this fun loop can be entered from the Perimeter loop cut-thru, or from a cut-thru that I opened on the 10K outbound (you'll see it). We go to Spring Hours on Monday. Trails will be open from 7:00-11:00 am and 5:00-8:00 pm. The trails will be closed from 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Only exception is tomorrow, as the Nordic NorthStars have their final practice beginning at 4:00 p.m.

Photos:

(John Graham)

A fine day of Spring skiing today, and great to have the trails re-openned. This morning we re-groomed the skate decks on all trails, improved the "deout" on the 10K, and moved/packed snow on the 30' damaged section past Wiggles. The 5K classic track set-up hard overnight. All the skiers we met coming in seemed very happy. Open Sunday 8:30-8p.m. Spring hours start Monday.

(John Graham)

Snowflake's trails remain closed through tonight, but will be open at 8:30 on Saturday morning. Today we cleared debris and made multiple runs to compact the trails. Simply put, the rain and meltwater have percolated down through the base and softened the structure; it's especially noticable in low areas, where the moisture seeped to and accumulated. After multiple passes we groomed the 5K and Special K skate decks, and set a classic track. Tonights cold temps should set them up for Saturday skiing. The 10K will be skiable for skaters, but does not have a classic track yet: the problem there is that on Thursday a D-5 Cat (bulldozer) drove through the 10K sections behind Northstar school, wiping out that section for the season, and damaging a 30' section of the 10K Outbound, just beyond "Wiggles". We can't get a Ginzu through that small section yet, but it can be trsversed on skis. We have re-routed the 10K to avoid the trails behind the school: just follow the grooming. Lastly, the Oval is closed for the season, after one of our Ginzus went through the ice today (photos). We were able to recover it. We are open 8:30 am-8 pm this weekend and will go to Spring hours ( 7:30-11:00, then 5:00-8:00 pm) beginning Monday.

Photos:

(John Graham)

Snowflake's trails are closed until further notice, due to the snow condition, temperatures, and rain which began this evening. The forecast sees temps remaining above freezing and rain through Friday morning. We have more than a foot of compacted base, under the recent soft snow; when the wet stops we need to give the trails time to drain and dry, firm-up, and then we will get to work repairing and grooming. Best case is reopen sometime Saturday. For now, our trails are closed to all activity. (Photos from Monday)

Photos:

(John Graham)

About 5" of new snow through noon today, and it was surprisingly dry. All of our trails have been compacted and groomed for skating. The deck is untransformed, predictably soft, and the 5K saw a lot of afternoon skiing, and a lot of Member dog use, which beat-up the fresh grooming pretty quickly. We set a classic track on the 5K/Special K at 4:30 which should set-up overnight. We plan to set tracks on the 10K tomorrow, by noon. Snowflake is open 8-8 on Monday.

(John Graham)

This morning we re-groomed the skate decks on all of our trails. They are firm, flat, and fast. Classic tracks set on Wednesday are hard and well formed, and reported fast. We are hosting a Biathlon Meet on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. - about 2:30 p.m. The race course includes much of the 5K trail, however we will not be closing the trail. Please obey the Biathlon signage, stay out of the Biathlon loop, and give way to racers (fast skaters in bibs) if you ski the 5K during that time. The 10K will not be effected by the race. We are open at 8:00 on Saturday, and will adjust our closing time and Sunday hours as the coming Snow Event unfolds.

Photos:

(John Graham)