Other than a few icy spots it was very nice conditions at French. The skate deck was smooth and appeared to be recently groomed with fresh corduroy on several sections, and the classic track look recently set as well. There is some ice, however, in the usual spots. The worst is marked with cones, and is the small hill dropping into Lagoon from the parking lot. There is smooth ice on the hill. There are some icy sections by the playground and on the downhill section of Lakeview under the pine trees. Stay left and you'll avoid them. The two way causeway section has some nice snow on top but you could feel the ice underneath starting to come thru, and the "step" at the end of the wetlands section of Skyview was a touch icy. Otherwise the rest of the trails were in great shape. They are, dare I say, better than the natural snow trails at Hyland yesterday. Well worth the time and effort.

(Steve Hum)

Great conditions at French this morning ca 9:30. All trails had been groomed, classic trails looked like just having been reset. Snow was firm, not super fast. No ice or debris on trails.

Photos:

(Bernard Cerles)

Trails were fantastically groomed. The trails did get a bit icy on the downhill curves in the middle of the trail and mashed-potatoy on the outside. There were boot marks where people seemed to have walked on a significant portion of the trail. Overall a great day to get out skiing!

(Calysta Rice)

Fantastic conditions, some of the best of the season. Classic track was in great shape with grippy but fast snow. The tracks were even in good shape on the downhills. Skate deck looked skated on but in great shape.

(Steve Hum)

Fresh grooming this morning, and the classic tracks were in great shape. The new snow really helped eliminate any ice in the tracks. It was a little slippery at times in the full sun, but purple wax did the trick. The skate lane was in nice shape, too. The season continues!

Photos:

(Bill Lundberg)

Fantastic conditions and grooming at French. All trails had great tracks and fresh corduroy for the skaters.

(Scott Rauser)

Trails were good mostly fast had a few inches of snow on top and were not groomed when I was out at about 10:30 am. It was a bit slower in the open areas faster in the trees. Classic tracks look good all over.

Photos:

(Gregg Johnson)

Pleasant classic skiing during the snowstorm! There was about an inch of fresh snow on top of the groomed skate deck, and snow was still falling at a pretty high rate. There were enough skiers to keep the classic tracks packed/open.

Photos:

(Craig Wiklund, North Star Ski Touring Club)

Wow! Best snow conditions in weeks and some of the best groomed tracks of the year. Snow was much faster then expected with wax less skis. Skied all the trails multiple times except the beginning loop east of the parking lot which was the only trail without freshly set tracks between 11 and 1 today.

(Dan Zenk)

There was fresh grooming when I started out this morning at French. The skate lane in the hilly areas to the west only had half a lane groomed. So, the skaters were skating into the classic tracks. Then the groomer passed again and made a full lane. The classic tracks were in pretty good shape with a little glaze in the bottom at times. Overall, a nice March ski. Thanks to the groomer!

Photos:

(Bill Lundberg)