Skated the trails today and things are looking great! Very good coverage all around, definitely good skis and pretty smooth surface. The skate deck was soft in some spots, but not too bad, the main trail out and back areas are firmest, Circle of Willis seemed softest. Classic tracks looked similar. Overall good skiing, thanks to the groomer for getting it in shape so fast! I ran into him skiing out on the trails and he mentioned that they may try to make a few more passes over the weekend.

Photos:

(Paul Belknap)

Classic skied 10 km this afternoon. Had first tracks on most trails in 8 inches of fresh snow. Currently, being flat dragged, groomed, and tracked... I expect awesome conditions tomorrow! Thanks for grooming Andy!

Photos:

(Kevin Grand)

Classic skied about 15 km tonight to decompress after a 12 hour nursing shift. The trails are in great condition for the amount of snow. The tracks were solid, super fast glide and great grip for kick. Double poling was excellent. Skate deck was solid. It was a super fast headlamp ski so I can't comment on bare spots on the trail. Thank you very much to the groomers for an awesome job!!

Photos:

(Kevin Grand)

Ashland hospital trails were groomed and tracked tonight. Should set up well. Starting to smooth out, although the classic only trails are a bit bumpy. Overall conditions are good.

(Andy Goyke)

Skated all of the trails today and they were in pretty good shape. They had been groomed overnight and set up reasonably firm, classic tracks looked pretty good too. There were a few spots where brush was poking through, but I didn't see much that would really damage skis, probably B skis would be best. It was snowing while I was there, about one inch so far.

Photos:

(Paul Belknap)

I skated a couple of quick Christmas laps, the trails are skiable after the meltdown, but some bare patches and very icy and thin overall. There are better options nearby until we get more snow. Photo is one of the better parts of the trail.

Photos:

(Paul Belknap)

We got about 3" of snow today, so I got out for a quick classic lap of the trails, and conditions are much improved. I would say all of the trails are fair rock skiing, except Double Doodle, which is still pretty rough. The groomer made a quick pass on the main trail while I was out, but didn't look to be continuing, so there is only a bit of trail that would be good skating. Skied in classic tracks on all other trails.

Photos:

(Paul Belknap)

Poor conditions. I classic "skied" all of the trails today and would not recommend it. There's only about 1/2" of fresh snow on the trails, and less pre-thaw base than I was hoping, probably only 10-15% of the trail.

Photos:

(Paul Belknap)

Ashland trails have been rolled and have a very thin base. Conditions are poor, although skiable with no-wax classic skis. Lots of leaves and sticks mixed in the snow. The snow that the rest of northern Wisconsin received pretty much missed us.

(Andy Goyke)