Base 20+ inches. 8 inches of new snow on Monday. All trails rolled and/or combed. Classic tracks set on some trails.

(Chas Curry)

The skate deck at Pincushion was still firm this afternoon in spite of temperatures in the mid to high 30's. I did not try the classic tracks but they did not look glazed. A few poles plants poked thru but other than that, the grooming was excellent.

(Tim Nelson)

Best skate skiing of the year! I was a little worried after we received some freezing rain yesterday afternoon. but not to worry. The groomers at Pincushion touched up all of the skate lanes, and skating was fantastic this morning -fast yet able to get an edge. Some of the classic tracks were also reset, and looked to be in good condition. Great snow cover here - I used my "B" skis, but would not hesitate to use my best skis.

(Timothy Lederle)

An amazing amount of snow - many thanks to the groomers for all their hard work! The skate deck was pretty soft, especially on the Pincushion Mountain and Ole Hyvaa loops. This made poling interesting, with poles regularly punching through more than a foot. I hopped into the classic tracks and double poled on especially soft sections, which helped. It began raining lightly soon after I started, which created a nice crust that sped up the deck and made pole punch-throughs less frequent. All in all - a super fun outing!

Photos:

(Alan Chapman)

Base 18+ inches. All trails were groomed and new classic tracks set during the past two days.

(Chas Curry)

Base 18+ inches. Two feet of new snow fell on Thursday and Friday. About half of the system (12K) has been rolled, combed and tracked. More will be completed tonight. Expect soft surface conditions.

(Chas Curry)

Santa delivered! All we wanted were groomed ski trails for Christmas, and the letter to the north pole paid off. This most recent snowfall was unusual in that a weak low was slowed down by weak onshore breezes creating a slow moving snow event. The snowfall totals at Pincushion were graduated from lower to higher elevation. Base: 3 inches. New Snow: 3-5 inches The entire system was rolled last night and all trails were combed and compacted. This morning the skate lanes were combed and 80% of the trails have classic tracks set. This is definitely early season skiing, the skate deck is uneven and needs to be worked when we receive more snow. Classic tracks set nicely, they are a bit uneven in places but skiable. Generally ski conditions are good. Happy holidays to all.

(Jim Shinners)

Base 0-3 inches. Due to thin snow cover, consistent sunshine and above freezing daytime temperatures, our current ski conditions have morphed into what we typically see in April. Daytime thawing followed by nightly re-freezing makes for a challenging outing; in both skate and classic techniques. Unfortunately, our limited base depth prohibits us from doing the type of grooming we need to do in order to improve the skiing surface. Caution is advised as you will encounter bare ground, ice patches, uneven terrain, ruts and scary-fast icy snow.

(Chas Curry)

Base 1-3 inches. Skate lanes were groomed on our wider trails yesterday morning. North Advanced loop was combed and tracked for additional skate and classic skiing options. Morris Maze and Hilfiger Hill were groomed for the first time this season. These two circuits are in poor condition due to uneven terrain, bare spots and debris poking through thin snow cover. They should be considered as back-country, classic style routes at this time. Warming temperatures forecast for the coming week do not bode well for our system. Although we expect skiing to continue, there will be more bare ground, wet spots and ice patches. Use caution.

(Chas Curry)

Base 1-3 inches. Skate lanes were combed on 4k of our easier trails yesterday afternoon. Although the surface is uneven, the snow consistency is dry and soft making for an acceptable early season skate outing. The classic tracks have held up well despite being a week old and are not glazed, but they have worn down to grass and dirt in a few spots. Snow depth prohibits us from resetting them. Caution is advised as there are a few icy patches throughout the trail network and an occasional protruding rock.

(Chas Curry)