I drove out to check conditions Saturday afternoon. While there was snow cover, it was very crusty and icy so I decided not to ski. Hopefully we'll get more chances yet this winter.

(Ken Braband)

Tried both skate and classic across the trails today - some fresh snow on top of well groomed base. Conditions quite fast, a bit slippery, and better than expected in many areas. Classic tracks were full depth throughout, and had only one spot of gravel that stopped me - the rest of the free bits of thin/debris were perfectly avoidable. Despite the bare look at the start, things are really nice here right now. As usual, well worth the visit. Thanks to the county groomers!

Photos:

(Pieter DeHart)

Yellow Willow Trail: They had refreshed the trail yesterday morning. Traction and glide were both great for this newbie skater. Middle of the trail was fine although there was some ground peeking through on the edges. Read on the BC website that the Oak Creek Hill had some bare spot but did not go there.

(Scott Nei)

Tried to skate all the trails today. While the start area is a bit bare, things are better once you get moving. I would steer clear of Oak Hill/Red, as there are some simply unavoidable obstructions and thin spots. The rest of the trails have periodic spots alternating between decent /"best you can expect for the little snow" areas and gravelly/debris-filled areas. The groomer did the best they could with the raw materials, for sure. Managed to skate ski some, ice skate some, and double-pole/avoid obstacles the rest of the time. Worth checking out, but plan for doing loops on blue/yellow, without going back to the parking area until the end.

Photos:

(Pieter DeHart)

Some bare areas at the start and while the trails beyond looked to have a but more snow cover, things were clearly thin and icy. Decided not to venture until either more snow or attempted grooming to get more purchase on the white stuff.

Photos:

(Pieter DeHart)

Conditions were still very good with just sparse debris in some places. Classic tracks looked good too.

(Ken Braband)

Kudos to the groomer making the best they could of the classic track. It was my fastest ski yet this winter. Thin spots but great skiing.

(Annette Kaminsky)

Skated all the trails this evening. While Oak Hill/Red is better than expected, there are a few other thin spots on common trails. A few spots of debris I was able to chuck off the trail, and everything else (very small) is quite avoidable. Conditions are moderately slow and sticky today throughout, likely due to the slightly warmer temps. It also looks like trail walkers are back- please redirect and educate if you happen to see them! All in all, worth it, but don't expect record speeds. Many thanks to the county staff for a great job with the grooming across the system.

Photos:

(Pieter DeHart)

Skated all the trails today, and was pleasantly surprised at the conditions. A bit more snow than just a couple days ago, and freshly groomed this morning. Still a few iffy spots on Oak Hill (should be avoidable), but all around good enough that we switched from B to good skis after doing a full red loop. Nice to see that it is also smoothing out on the far sections of Kings/Yellow. Especially appreciated the parks staff keeping an eye out for the errant walker who likes to tramp on Red. All in all, very nice conditions, and looking forward to many more- thanks county staff for keeping up with it all!

Photos:

(Pieter DeHart)

Skate skied all the trails this evening, using B skis. There are some places on a few trails where it's nearly impossible to avoid obstacles, so I listed rock skis here. All told, with as little new snow as we have had things are holding up well. The inevitable footprints have now appeared but they are mostly off to the side of the trail. A few tricky spots on Oak Hill/Red, and the cut-through on Blue is showing some dirt/grass in spots, but most of yellow is actually fairly well packed. Do expect little grip and a challenging finish on the last uphill back to the trail start, but an enjoyable ski is still to be had across Neshota.

Photos:

(Pieter DeHart)