Gorgeous day, blue sky. The trade-off for the nice weather (34F) is trickier skiing, as trails get soft in the afternoon sun. We had a good ski on the core trail (12 K). Tracks were holding up fine, though we knew with cold night temps that the next day's trails would likely be icier. Lumbering was taking place in the woods near the warming house; we had to take off skis to cross a short patch where the trucks had crossed the trail. Otherwise, great conditions. Seize these last days of snow and joy at Blue Hills.

(Madeline Uraneck)

The West side skate deck was freshly groomed after Friday's wind storm. Fun curvy, hilly trail with good coverage. It was mostly firm with small areas of new drifting where the trail is open to the lakes. Less debris from the wind than I expected. Thank you groomers!

(Amanda Wieckowicz)

Great coverage on all the East Trails. Crew was still out rolling this morning. Fresh snow and cold = soft and slow, but it will ski in and setup soon. Tracks good, but not great. Love this out of the way gem of a network with great terrain.

(John Ericsson)

We haven't had snow for a while but these trails are in very good condition despite that. I skied most of the trails - far east, west, and most in between - and didn't see any bare spots. Probably the trails in the nicest condition are on the west side as they have seen very little use and the snow hasn't been worked as hard due to the late opening of those trails because of the logging activity in the area. I crossed over from intersection 23 and did L-K-J -I-H-G-F-D-C-I-J-K-L. Walked the short distance between D and C as there hasn't been enough snow to cover the road in that section (was used for the logging). In areas where there are conifers - spruce, pine, and hemlock - there can be significant tree debris on the trail. This was specially true under the hemlocks. As Hemlock Canyon has a lot of hemlock this was particularly the case on that segment - the trail was literally covered with hemlock fruiting structures. You may wish to put up with that though as this is also the most picturesque area on the whole trail system. Also noted that Washout Trail was not groomed for classic skiing nor was the upper portion of Elevator - B2 to 9 (where the trail is relatively level) nor was Rollercoaster. Cold day so very few users. Met nobody on the trail.

(Geary Searfoss)

The East side core loop and most side trails are open and in good condition. The west side is open after logging was completed last week, but there are some thin areas yet. Excelsior Road on the West side is groomed surprisingly well already past the A junction. You have to keep your eyes open for a short .62 km. Once you hit A though it was great skiing Saaturday afternoon. Edge control but fast. I didn't notice any classical track until A on the West side, but I saw plenty of smiling classical skiers coming back down Excelsior Road. Good skis on the East side, B skis on the West side.

Photos:

(Amanda Wieckowicz)

East side trails are all open--west side-some logging taking place disrupting the ski trail. Classic set nicely on most trails and skate deck is awesome all over.
Groomers should be commended for the great work.

(Dave Swanson)

Yeah, so if artisan grooming were a thing, I would nominate the Blue Hills groomers. The base is a Goldilocks exquisite not too soft, not too hard, topped with smooth as bud-dah corduroy. Awesome edge control, and balance was as easy as it ever gets. Purr-fect 32 k skate today in ideal temps. Very good to excellent snow cover throughout. Other than some leaf litter in spots, the classic track looked great also. I would highly recommend that you treat yourself to a ski at the Blue Hills. Well done!

(Kevin Potter)

I was on the core loop plus one a side trail. Very good surfaces, great pole plants. I was skating but the classic track was well set and in good shape. Outlying trails were groomed in the afternoon.

(Dave Swanson)

Trails were great--any debris was easily to avoid. Skied to the high point and back, Classic tracks --well set.

(Dave Swanson)

Went for a quick skate ski out to roundabout, then back in on roller coaster and whitetail. Last night’s grooming of the skate deck was set up nicely, very firm and fast, despite the cold temps. Good coverage, the trails are getting better every day.

Photos:

(Sam Behrends)