Generally, firm and fast though a bit noisy with each poleplant in the sub-zero snow. Some pesky pine and oak leaf debris in the tracks, especially under the conifers. Otherwise mighty fine cold-weather skiing. Crowds are not an issue.

Photos:

(Tom Rulseh)

Pretty good conditions, but the extreme cold makes things pretty slow. The southern mile or so of the trail has a fair amount of debris down and appears to have seen a bit of use. Tracks were fast and hard, great double-poling and probably awesome striding.

(Dan Mckissack)

Groomed and set track over 2 inches of new snowfall. Trail should set up nicely with colder temps in forecast.

(Patrick Willman)

Groomed 2 to 3 inches of dry, fluffy snow. Managed to cover most debris but suspect there may still be some bumps under the fresh corduroy in the skate lane. Cut fresh classic tracks which revealed occasional spots and stretches of pine needles. Overall results are much improved but more snow is definitely welcome.

Photos:

(Tom Rulseh)

Poor conditions for skating. A lot of debris was down, there were fairly good classic tracks - although shallow - but due to the previous icy conditions, everything was pretty fast. The skate deck was frozen in a very rough state, quite a challenge, with a coupla-few inches of new snow covering. The two miles on the south end of the trail were the worst. Hopefully the snow that came down - with some of the snow we're supposed to get soon - will let the groomers work their magic. The trail is badly in need of it.

(Dan Mckissack)

Classic tracks were good. Minimal debris in tracks. Skating lane is uneven with ruts from skaters during the warmup. Skate late is worse on the south end of the trail due to some trail walkers.

(Dan Statz)

Skate lane is still rutted and has several stretches of scattered debris. Classic tracks are relatively shallow but firm and smooth with a base of transformed, granular, somewhat abrasive snow. The tracks are mostly debris free. Double polling was fast and fun. Pole plants are rock solid!

Photos:

(Tom Rulseh)

Overall fair to poor due to icy surface with scattered debris. Skate lane has many rutted stretches. Several passes with the TiddTech managed to loosen a thin layer of skiable snow and clear the majority of the sticks and branches. Several fallen trees have also been removed. There are still many pine needles and leaves. Classic tracks are relatively clean but weak in structure due to cold, dry, granular snow that does not set up well. The 100meter connector trail from the Hwy 45 lot is exceptionally rough. It sure would be nice to get 2" of fresh snow!

Photos:

(Tom Rulseh)

Good snow coverage and very nicely groomed for classic skiing. People were skating. It looked a little soft with the new snow. The area receive another inch of snow after we skied.

(Alan Bates)

Full depth classical track, amazing glide, and a little soft on outside pole plants. The trail is in excellent shape! Temp was 32 degrees. The skating deck was a little soft, but skied like you were skiing on soft velvet. We skied from Sundstied RD to almost Hwy 45 trailhead and back, great coverage on the whole trail. The best classical track I have skied in all year. The groomers are doing an awesome job!

Photos:

(Greg Dahl)