Great afternoon skiing at French today. The classic tracks were firm and in very good shape. The skate deck was pretty good, but a little soft. The new Challenge Hill trail was narrow and just packed--no classic track.
I miss the old Challenge Hill with the big uphill, the scenic ski along the top, and the reward of a big downhill. The new trail has a gradual uphill with three small downhills--not nearly as exciting. Anyway, still a great
ski today on natural snow!

Photos:

(Bill Lundberg)

Hit French at 8:30 am to find the skate deck freshly groomed on all trails, including the Challenge Hill. I found the skate deck to be that nice medium between too soft and too firm. Soft enough to easily hold an edge but not so soft as to crash through the deck. The snow was a bit squeaky and slow but overall, very nice. No classic tracks anywhere when I started but the groomer had laid down classic tracks on Lagoon by the time I left at 10:00 am and they seemed to be continuing to work through the morning.

Photos:

(Leif Irgens)

Fantastic conditions at French today! After Sunday's wind I was expecting to see lots of debris mixed in with the fresh snow, but was pleasantly surprised to hardly see a leaf on the trail! Classic tracks were firm underneath the inch of fluff that fell during the day. By the end of the ski they were well skied in by the handful of skiers out there. The skate deck was firm under the inch of fluff, but looked to only be a couple of people that had skated. Perfect conditions all around.

Photos:

(Tyler Gilbert)

French was understandably soft again today but getting better. My speed wasn't too far off of normal so it wasn't too terribly slow. Groomers were out. I even saw them go up Challenge hill for the first time in years so it would appear that trail is now open. I didn't sample the classic tracks but based on appearance and the softness of the skate deck, I would postulate the classic tracks are pretty soft as well.

(Leif Irgens)

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.

Photos:

(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.

Photos:

(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.

Photos:

(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.

Photos:

(Wayne Nelson)