Went this afternoon around 1PM. Green Meadow still closed past the roundabout. The few inches of sugar on the uphills have turned into mashed potatoes-be prepared for some leg burners. The downhill sections are hard packed but not icy.

(Toby Martin)

We just wrapped up touchup snowmaking on Green Meadow and after Coach's Corner to ensure we have enough snow depth to keep grooming those sections after the Christmas thaw. Grooming plans: We are planning to have those sections open by Saturday morning, bringing us back to a total of 2.6k of trail open.

(Robert Ibler, Loppet Foundation)

Conditions have deteriorated since Wednesday. The skate deck didn't seem to setup last night and there was a good 2-3 inches of sugar on the uphills by 9AM. Flats and downhills are fine with no ice to contend with. On a positive note, the classic tracks still looked firm throughout. They haven't opened up any new trail yet.

(John Holton)

From what I heard of the conditions yesterday, they were much improved today. The snow actually felt like snow and not ice crystals. Only the last bump coming down to the stadium was sugary, the rest just had choppy snow. But it was very busy- both Trailhead lots were full mid-morning, with some high school teams still out. Nice ski- we even got five minutes of real snow falling!

(Dan Boody)

A short loop but a good one! The Meadows trail was closed this morning while the guns were firing but coach's corner and the hill offered superb conditions. Snow was getting thick on the climb when I left at 8 am, but conditions overall are improving. Great trail maintenance work.

Photos:

(Glenn Hansen)

Jim's Hill and Coach's Corner trails are now back open after a snowmaking refresh. Green Meadow is now closed for a quick round of snowmaking to address some thin spots.

(Robert Ibler, Loppet Foundation)

Fabulous classic ski with universal klister over blue. The crowds were not there....just an average weekday morning ski (compared to the mass mania of late yesterday morning, which was good Birke practice dodging around folks). A lot of fresh manmade snow in the stadium, but it turned to glazed tracks within 50 yds and was pretty fast.

(Diane Pattridge)

Good conditions for me and about 250 of my closest friends at Wirth today. Skate deck is in good shape. The only thing to note is that there is a little bit of ice on the downhills, and mashed potatoes on the steeper parts of the uphills. Fun!

(Timothy Bontrager)

Wonderful way to start the day with a nice 15k ski at Wirth. The crew had all the snow guns working overtime with the cold weather - I'd expect more trail to be open soon.
There didn't seem to be any condition issues as of 7am this morning. The classic tracks were well set. Some sugar on the uphill necessitating a bit more concentration to get up the hill in the tracks using skins.
Maybe winter is finally upon us.

(Scott Greymont)

Great morning for a New Year's ski at Wirth! Even better conditions than yesterday for both the classic tracks and the skate lane, and the snow is much cleaner than in previous weeks. Not much of any debris to worry about. By late morning it was filling up with lots of folks having fun on skis. The snowmaking crew was busy at work - as they have been all season - so many thanks to the incredible efforts of the entire Loppet trails crew. It's a ton of work and lots of skiers were out appreciating the hard work.

(Bill Oyler)