There is still good snow coverage, though the base is covered with potholes, similar to a Minneapolis street in spring! They are doing a great job of grooming in order to keep it skiable. When I arrived at 4 pm, it was snowing lightly and the groomer was doing his best on the trails. The snow was sticky and stuck to skis and the grooming hardware, but filled in the potholes nicely. Still a good day of skiing, though slow in the sticky snow.

Photos:

(Chad Bergerson)

Surprisingly good skiing this morning, especially after a night below freezing. The skate deck was hard and firm, with a dusting of new fallen or blown snow to soften it up a bit. Some icy/soft spots in the sunny areas, but overall very nice for late in the year. There should still be a few good days left unless we get some extreme warmth or wet rain.

(Chad Bergerson)

There is still good snow coverage, but potholes and melt holes are starting to appear. The skate deck was still firm, but was covered with a layer of sticky mash potato (snowball) snow that was very slow. Conditions would be better earlier in the day, before things get too warm.

(Chad Bergerson)

Hard and firm skate deck that was very fast and full of ruts, but not icy. Still good coverage on the trails and overall fair conditions.

(Chad Bergerson)

Arriving at 9:30 this morning the skiing was very good and fast. Generally hard skate deck with thin surface of loose snow. A few stretches of slightly icy crust but definitely "edge-able." Not surprisingly, finishing up around 11 temperatures in the mid-30s and sunshine had softened the trail making slower conditions. Some evidence of thinning in places but coverage remains very good.

(Keith Brugger)

Initially (10:30) conditions were similar to those reported yesterday, if a tad slower. By noon sunny skies and temperatures around 34F the moisture content of the snow was slowing things down. Not having skied Finland in a while until today, there remains solid ice, perhaps 10 m, near the culvert just before the Isaac Lake crossing.

(Keith Brugger)

Newly scratched groomed when I arrived this afternoon (3 pm, 21F). Deck was hard and fast with enough tilled snow for edge setting. The only bad section was about 50 m leading up to the Pines and the Chuckwagon junction. Icy with lots of needles - a bad combination. Coverage remains very good (no "cancer spots") and other than the aforementioned, pretty clean.

(Keith Brugger)

Scratch grooming again post skiing yesterday. Conditions similar to yesterday as well, although the warm-up came earlier. Initially very good and fairly fast skiing, however, temperatures were in the mid-30s when I finished up around 11:45 and combined with brilliant sunshine, the snow was becoming quite moist and slow. Still, coverage is quite good and hopefully holds up.

(Keith Brugger)

Groomer went our prior to my ski and scratched up the skate lane which provided a surface of loose transformed snow. Fast when I arrived (10:30) as temperatures were in the low 30s, but slowing down a bit toward the end (12:20) as temperatures were well into the mid-30s. Snow on south-facing slopes and open areas was getting pretty moist. Coverage remains quite good.

(Keith Brugger)

Mixed bag of conditions. Firm-to-hard skate deck in shaded areas, covered with a thin veneer of high water content snow in the sunshine. Nothing bad though, moister snow is slow but not terribly so. Skied just before between 3:00 and a little after 4:00 while temperatures were 31-33 F. Coverage still quite good, but thinning in spots. Classical tracks hit or miss.

(Keith Brugger)