Weekend outlook: Yes! At least one more week of great spring skiing is still here. The trails are not groomed but the base is firm and you can easily set your own tracks since the snow gives a 1/2" or so. (Base is a minimum of a foot and up to 18", though there are a very few places where you would find bare ground. The snow is wet, crystally, but not overly slushy or soft.). There are some new small down trees or branches here and there, but nothing that can't easily be gone around. Hardly any snow top debris to speak of. All segments should be good with the exception of 18-19 where you'd get your feet wet in the swamp.

Photos:

(Mary Lawler Shedd)

Don't put your skis away yet! There is still a solid foot and a half base, with 2' still in the woods. We are not grooming any longer, but the packed trails are flat with an inch of loose snow on top that is good for making your own tracks. Skiing will be best in the morning with the below freezing temps - but the conditions today during above freezing temps were great spring skiing. Very little debris. No icy conditions.

Photos:

(Mary Shedd, Friends of Flathorn Gegoka Trails)

I never would have predicted that one of the better skis of this season would have been today. The glide was just right on my waxable skis as I went over about 1/2 inch of new fluffy snow. The kick was just as perfect. Still, about 3 feet of snow base before we see the ground.

Photos:

(Nancy Schultz)

Expect very good spring skiing conditions this weekend. Though we haven't reset tracks, we have only had about an inch of snow since last time and this helped cover some icy spots. The predicted snow from yesterday's did not materialize and temps are not getting much above 34-35. So, trails should be good with 2' base, very little ice, very little debris, packed enough so they are not sticky. As usual though, some of the tracks on downhills with curves are a little messy and dicey, so consider taking skis off to walk down.

Photos:

(Mary Shedd, Friends of Flathorn Gegoka Trails)

It was a really fast ski today, with no sticking of snow on the bottom of the skis to keep me from continuing. I had a little inconsistent glide when I went through areas of sun, but I had expected much worse so I was happy to have it as good as it was. The grooming from the other day definitely helped.

Photos:

(Nancy Schultz)

We groomed all trails this afternoon. Base is 27". Ski conditions will depend on the temps now - but we are happy to have at least packed/groomed that 6" we got last week. If you find the right wax, it should be beautiful!

(Mary Shedd, Friends of Flathorn Gegoka Trails)

Well, the ski conditions today were much better than my expectations were anticipating. About 2 inches of heavy snow fell last night and into today covering the tracks. But while not a fast ski, the snow did not stick to my wax-able skies and slid easily through the newly fallen snow. If you pick a not-so-sunny part of the day the stick factor seems to be tolerable. Spring skiing with over 3 feet of base has arrived.

Photos:

(Nancy Schultz)

Amazing day skiing around lakes and through the woods on wonderfully groomed trails. I especially appreciated the maps at every intersection we came to. A few slick spots around flathorn lake but pretty minimal. One downhill area required a short walk on the side of the trail as it was a bit steep. You can see in the photo just how deep the snow is as only half a leg is shown above the snow. The eastern loop section with three river crossings was pristine! We skied a little faster when we saw the huge claw marks in the track. See pic.

Photos:

(Karla Anderson)

All trails groomed - track set - this afternoon. We have a cold night coming so the tracks should set up nicely. Base has grown up to about 2 1/2 feet minimum now. With the big snow dump we had last week and logistics of getting packing and grooming done, we have ended up with narrower widths to the trails than we would like - in other words, the trails are just the width of our groomer. The only places this will pose a challenge is on the hills where it will be a little narrow to snowplow or herring bone. So, until we widen trails, consider taking your skis off to walk down the bigger hills.

Photos:

(Mary Shedd, Friends of Flathorn Gegoka Trails)

Spring skiing has arrived. After 10 inches of pretty light snow on Saturday, our groomers were able to pack all the trails on Sunday. We tried to then set track later in the day and due to soft snow in one area of the trail, the snowmachine got stuck and had to postpone tracking of the remainder of the trails. We did go on a nice long ski on the packed trails and experienced true spring conditions. Sometimes it was a reasonable glide and other times it was sticking to the bottom of the skies regardless if there were waxless or waxable skis. However, the waxable skis seem to perform much better. The dogs loved the conditions because the packed trail was perfect for them to stay on top without too many difficulties. All of us still enjoyed being outdoors on a beautiful winter sunny day. Grooming plans: We hope to set track on Wednesday.

Photos:

(Nancy Schultz)