Skated 1.5K on rock skis doing back-and-forth laps on the last remaining several hundred yards of intact snow on the Special K, which is always the last to go at Snowflake, for my 173rd consecutive day skate skiing -- a streak that began on November 23 at Snowflake. I also skied the dwindling snow up through May 8, on the final small patch. Now it's on to Grand Avenue Nordic Center and Spirit Mountain for the start of the man-made snow spring skiing! Thanks to groomers John Graham, Jim, and to everyone who has helped make for another tremendous season at Snowflake, with grooming all the way to April 19. Cheers, skiers!

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(Lane Ellis)

Skate skied at 3:30 PM out to the 1K mark, and did loops back up to 1K. Very nice skiing- only mildly soft snow, didn't leave deep ruts ( I'm on the light side at 150lbs though). Full snow coverage. Fun to still be out there April 22 -- what a great ski season! Thanks to John for his continued grooming (now finished).

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(Dave Arvold)

Skied Snowflake today and ran into some of the other "ski til the last drop" folks I see every year! Coverage is pretty amazing right now. Even some of the usual open places are still covered! Bee Hollow downhill was the only place we had to walk. The parallel section going back up again still had enough connected snow to stay on skis. The rest was 100 percent covered dirty corn snow. Someone did take a very large dog for a walk on the trail...and someone else wrote in the snow, "No walking on the ski trails". There were also some deep ruts from skaters. No classic track.

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(Eve Graves)

A good Spring ski prior to the rain. 6K had one burnout on an exposed hill and some thin spots, but most of the loop had good coverage. Same story on the 8K. Burnouts on Hovland's Hill and Shovel Hill, but most sections had good coverage. Obviously we are nearing the end, but for those willing to portage over some bare spots, there is still skiing to be had.

(Gordon Mesedahl)

This morning we retrieved the stuck Ginzu and were able to groom the entire 6K skate deck. Some south-facing hills are showing exposed ground and while we shoveled snow on them, it won't last. Rain and warm temps coming, so today was our final grooming of the season. The chalet will be closed beginning Thursday, but skiers are welcome to use the trails. Thank you for skiing Snowflake, have a great off-season, we'll see you in November!

(John Graham)

We had 5" of heavy, damp snow overnight. Tried getting the Ginzu thru and it is now stuck on Special K. So, I've taken the Roller/Compactor around Jane's 5K, seven times, and we have a compacted loop that should be good for skating. Just follow the grooming. We're open all day, no dogs, and please sign-in.

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(John Graham)

Groomed again and fantastic! Hard to believe how good it has been. Everyone skiing around had a comment about how it was like mid-winter and I think it really was as good as the best day of February. Great to see so many out enjoying the trail. Thanks a million for yet another great weekend of skiing on fresh corduroy!

(Bruce Bauer)

Based on the good reports I have been seeing I decided to check out Snowflake today. I started skiing at 10am with a temp of 25F. With 2-3 inches of fresh powder if felt more like January then mid April. The skate deck was freshly groomed and looked firm and fast. Because of problems with the track setter the classic track was hand set but quite good for the most part. It looks like there is at least 8 inches of base still present. This is definitely the winter that won't quit giving us the best April skiing that I have seen here in the northland.

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(Gene Karwoski)

If you see John give him a big hug...Midwinter conditions on April 16th at Snowflake?! What a treat! Skate deck was great, thank you to whoever skied in the classic tracks like a groomer would! Special K tracks were not as nifty as the ones on the 4k. Nice slippery, not sticky, not icy, but just right kinda snow. Definitely your best skis! Anyone else wonder if George is working some magic for us this spring?

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(Eve Graves)

This morning we compacted and groomed the 6K trail skate deck. Surprisingly, the 2-3" of new snow was dry and powdery! The result is a lovely corduroy deck, that is soft, despite multiple runs. We cleared the downed trees and larger debris, but there remains some small debris, so B-skis suggested. We could not set a track, as our track-setter won't drop, but we left most of an old track and classic skiers are welcome to ski the right side. The 8K is not groomed and likely has some down trees, but it is 100% powder over crusty base, and open to skiers. Thanks to the cooler temps we are open all day from today thru Sunday. No dogs, due to soft conditions. This is likely our final grooming of the season, but you never know. Happy Easter!

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(John Graham)