The city groomed the 16 inches of new snow at Hartley! Got out at noon, low to mid 20s F, bright 8-days-before-equinox sunshine, perfect extra-blue-wax classic skiing. Lots of soft pole plants, but what a gorgeous day in the woods. With its views of the "Bald Mountain" in the middle of the park, and of deep blue Lake Superior from one section of the outer loop, these trails are always a joy. And I have been lucky enough to have lived less than a mile away for 44 winters now.

Photos:

(Tim Holst)

We skied Hartley around midday. The tracks were 99% intact and 97% debris free. There was no ice, but in between the tracks when you go from one set to the next or on uphills, it was beginning to get the hard packed concrete with no edge feeling. The temps must have remained close to freezing overnight because it was just 34 and starting to have the warm snow drag. We measured the snow on the sides and it was between knee and mid thigh throughout. If they keep grooming we will be skiing for a long time!

Photos:

(Eve Graves)

I saw several other skiers between 7 and 8 AM out already at Hartley. There was some glazing on the tracks that were fresh from yesterday, but that even seemed to dissipate somewhat during the hour. Maybe mid-day is better in these conditions at Hartley, especially with cloud cover. Tracks were still nice and deep with barely any leaves, pine needles, or bark in them. Personally I much prefer when the final downhill of the Outer Loop is groomed so that the tracks end just prior to the right turn so that you don't have to maneuver out to initiate the turn, yet the tracks continued all the way around the turn for this grooming cycle. I've never been comfortable entering and exiting tracks at high speed. But that's my only quibble.

(Sara Zimmer)

Lovely recently set tracks when we went out after work today. Firm and fast - just a tiny bit glazed in a few places. Had a nice chat with a grouse.

(Catherine Winter)

Ice, ice, baby. Tracks were pretty glazed in many places, although some of the bigger inclines on the outer loop had tracks in which the snow was still sufficiently grippy for striding with an appropriate hard wax. Often the skiing was better in between the tracks, where a thin top layer of snow covers the base and is relatively undisturbed. The final downhill into the right turn on the outer loop was unpleasant - icy with several snow type transitions and ruts around the turn. Not a lot of tree material in the trail or in the tracks, surprisingly.

(Sara Zimmer)

Full coverage, no debris. Could use a fresh groom. The last downhill on the outer loop is getting a bit chunky. Be careful!

(Dylan Chernov)

Trails were groomed this morning after yesterday's snow and are once again in peak winter condition. Enjoy!

(Amy Brooks)

We just skied the green and blue at Hartley. The green was pretty well used, lots of washed out track areas, some debris, and icy in other parts. It was softening as we skied. The Blue was in much better shape yet still washed out on many corners and tracks gone in some places too and debris. The areas in between the tracks were like hard concrete with barely an edge. If it was colder, parts would have been very icy.

Photos:

(Eve Graves)

Well groomed tracks, not many skiers have been over the trail system as of this morning. The tracks are surprisingly smooth and deep, neither bumpy nor icy. However, the snow is very aggressive, and to maintain good kick throughout my ski. I definitely needed that thin blue klister base under my hard wax that I was too lazy to put on. So I had a good initial 2 K of kick when I still had all my wax, and then a nice double pole workout after that. Corners are not yet rutted, and pine material and oak leaves in the tracks are insignificant enough to be mainly cosmetic issues.

(Sara Zimmer)

The trails are recently groomed and in stellar shape. Rock hard tracks and firm firm pole plants. Nearly enough moon light to not need a headlamp!

(Fred Sproat)