Conditions: Very windy and windblown. There was a track sometimes.
First ski for me. Classic. The track was there in the protected areas which are few and far between on the manmade. The manmade snow was pretty fast though. The freshly made and flying manmade stings the face in the 30 mph gusts. Back in the woods on the natural snow was nice but without a track. At one of the intersections I came across a nice 6 pt. buck (congrats - survived last weekend). We looked at each other for about 20 seconds and then he took off for some fartlek...me, well, not so much.

(Mark Lahtinen)

Conditions: Excellent coverage. Solid base with Winslow powder on top.
Classic skied around noon. Tracks were harder and more abrasive than expected. Windy conditions caused tracks to get filled in on several sections. Skate deck looked great and seemed to be fast without being icy. Lucky us for getting to enjoy this early season treat!

Photos:

(Sandy Schreyer)

Conditions: 2K of perfection -- for both skate skiing and classic skiing (continuous classic track throughout the 2K loop).
I stopped by around 5:45pm to check out the season opener at Elm Creek. The grooming machines were busy working on the remaining 0.5K and staff were working hard at moving the snow guns around. When I left just before 7pm there were several dozen more cars in the lot, so the word is spreading fast! Thanks to the Three Rivers crew for all the hard work making this happen.

(Bill Oyler)

Conditions: Firm, just groomed.
Very windy. 2k groomed. Looks like the extra back 1/2 k was being worked on. I was there about 4 pm, only 2 other guys out skiing.

(Jon Schaumann)

Tracks set...can't be long now. [ Elm Creek is open! 2K of the 2.5K loop is groomed out and ready to go. --Ed. ]

Photos:

(Mark Lahtinen)

They are getting close. They'll be open sometime this week but were non-committal on an exact day. Got my pass though.

Photos:

(Mark Lahtinen)

They're blowin' and movin' snow. [ As previously reported, Elm Creek has a deer hunt scheduled this weekend so there will be no skiing until sometime next week -- Ed. ]

Photos:

(Mark Lahtinen)

Elm Creek started to make snow Monday night and will continue to make snow 24/7 as long as the temps permit. Elm Creek Park will be closed this weekend as there will be a deer management shotgun hunt throughout the park reserve. We anticipate opening our ski trails next week...stay tuned for updates! This looks to be the earliest we have ever opened our ski trails.

(Wayne Iseri, Three Rivers Park District)

According to the website there is a deer hunt scheduled this weekend at Elm Creek and the park will be closed.

(Jim Smith)

Snow guns are deployed but not needed just yet. Maybe 3+ inches on the ground in Maple Grove so far, as of 10:30 am.

Photos:

(Mark Lahtinen)