To say French was soft and slow would be an understatement (see pics, ROFL :) Ok, seriously, I arrived at French around noon, shortly before they started grooming. It was understandably soft and slow but the groo.ers were working on it. Skating was like trying to run through mud in track spikes but heck, it was fun trying.

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(Leif Irgens)

Skiing good with lots of people out enjoying the natural snow. Trails packed with shallow and sometimes funky tracks. Challenge Hill Trail not open.

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(Mindy Benton)

Started skating at 9 am this morning. The skate deck appeared to have been groomed sometime early this morning as there was fresh corduroy with a few sets of strides most places. The deck was firm and, oddly enough, somewhat uneven and a bit rutted (to the point of hanging an edge and taking a couple of diggers but - full disclosure - that's not that rare for me). The classic tracks, however, did not appear to have been groomed since maybe Saturday morning as they showed way way way more traffic than the skate deck and were thin and/or washed out in several places. As time progressed and light snow fell, the skate deck softened up a bit and became more palatable. Ongoing skate traffic seemed to help soften up the deck and smooth out some of the ruts. By noon, it was pretty nice.

(Leif Irgens)

Trail are in incredible shape. I had a great ski and it wasn't loop and found the conditions near perfect. The classic tracks look to be in great shape.

(Steve Dolan)

French had fresh grooming for both skate and classic this morning. The trails were in very good shape, a little soft, but still a lot of fun. It was just nice to have a groomed classic track in real snow. Because the conditions were so good, I had to go twice today--morning and then afternoon! Also, Challenge Hill has been redesigned this year. Instead of the steep uphill and big downhill, the trail winds to the right and around going down about three medium sized hills before returning to the regular trail. Challenge was only packed and not tracked.

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(Bill Lundberg)

Skied Lakeview and Skyline trails. Excellent grooming of classic track. Skate lane looks perfect too. Not many skiers out. 10 degrees, not much wind.

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(Wayne Nelson)

Skated at French starting at 9am. Groomers were out but the skate deck was still pretty soft from the new snow. No sign of classic tracks by the time I left at 10:30am. However, by the time I left, the groomers were starting to make some progress on getting the skate deck packed down.

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(Leif Irgens)

French was groomed for skate and classic this morning before it started snowing. I started skiing just after it started snowing. The skate deck was a little more firm than last Thursday but, with 1-3" of new fluff on top, it was still pretty slow going. Classic tracks appeared to be set everywhere except the opening stretch of trail next to the parking lot. Based solely on a visual appraisal, they appeared to be not so firm and washing out in places from the traffic (although there appeared to be only a few skiers present mid-morning). Still, a beautiful day. One word of caution - a number of skiers are failing to detect the new "do not enter - one way" sign at the top of the hill near the Chalet on the Lakeview trail. There were plenty of tracks indicating people were descending that hill. So, take that blind hairpin at the bottom cautiously as there may be someone coming down the hill and around the other way.

(Leif Irgens)

Skated at French mid-morning. I decided the 2-3" of new snow (so far) this morning justified my good skis and I didn't regret that decision. Skated everything except the Challenge trail. Plenty of coverage but, as expected, it's soft and slow. Groomers were out rolling the trails as I skied but they weren't able to keep up with the ongoing snowfall. I spent most of my ski in 1-3" of fresh fluff over a soft skate deck. No signs of classic tracks yet.

(Leif Irgens)

French is again has a beautiful covering of fresh snow. Technically speaking, it's soft, slow, and a little thin, but it was a beautiful day to be out in the fresh powder. Groomers were working this morning. They attempted to set classic tracks but their initial attempt hit bare ground over more than half of the way around. By the time I finished my ski, it looked like they had made a second attempt with the classic tracks that produced more coverage. I'd still recommend not trying any pole plants when skiing over the concrete bridge on the Meadow trail as it's really thin there. I had a couple of reminders that there's an icy surface just below the fresh snow as I hit hard, slick spots in two locations, one on the meadow trail where it splits northbound or southbound back to Skyline, and a second when trying the new route from Lakeview left to Lagoon. Regarding the new route, when I last spoke with the park staff, they indicated part of the thinking behind the rerouting of Lakeview through the lodge area is that almost no one goes from Lakeview to Lagoon. it is certainly groomed that way with the downhill from the lodge now following a sweeping right hand turn southwards towards the bottom of the Lakeview hill that is now one way up only. If one desires to make the left towards Lagoon, it's an approximately 120 degree off-camber left. I found it manageable in these soft, slow conditions but I suspect I'd end up in the trees if I attempted that turn in harder, faster conditions.

(Leif Irgens)