Honestly, I wish you could have skied with me today. It was that amazing. Conditions aren't been good enough for a Birkie start to Hatchery ski like years past, so this morning I took advantage of the Birkie man-made snow loops. Conditions were absolutely perfect! Classic skied 11 full loops with all the hills and three smaller loops. I want to say somewhere in the 40 something km range, but I'm not exactly sure -- 3 hours 16 minutes. The temperature was about 35F so the man-made snow was firm but softened up. The tracks were solid, deep and bobsled fast with ample kick. Hill climbs were firm with give for traction. Downhill sections were fast, well groomed and controllable. This was the best training ski I've had all season. I'm so thankful for the entire Birkie team for this gem in the northland! Enjoy the ski.

Photos:

(Kevin Grand)

Attempted a ski from OO to Boedecker (out on ski trail and back on classic). Amazing what a day makes. Yesterday was in the tracks almost 95% of the time. Today spent over 50% on what is left of the skate trail. Unfortunately, on one southern facing down hill had experience of trail narrowing to less than 3 feet wide of snow left - will be gone soon. OO to Boedecker is not a recommended loop in my opinion (sadly).

(George Larson)

Strided starting at Hwy OO Classic to Boedeckker and back on Skate trail couple times. More grass organic popping up but still fun. Have to hop out of tracks once in while for the white stuff. Now, if we could get those Birkie snow guns freshening it up the Boedecker loop a bit, we'd really be cooking!

(Audun Mikkelson)

I was out this morning at the start (in Cable) but didn't ski the man made snow. I did the trails with "natural" snow that were groomed. There is a skied in classic track going up the skate trail to the powerlines. It ends where the trail veers off the powerlines into the woods. In places it is pretty good. The skate deck is surprisingly good given the conditions. Everything is getting hard packed and icy. I took a quick look at the loops of man made snow and they were excellent but those were getting hard packed too. The Birkie groomers are miracle workers given the conditions.

(Steve Thon)

I skied a bunch of the Birkie trail over the weekend, here is a summary of what I found for grooming. South of OO was packed, but there was approximately 1/2" of powder on top. The farther south I went, the thinner it got, approaching rock ski conditions. The grooming stopped a couple of K northeast of Mosquito Brook. The skate and classic trail were freshly groomed between OO and Boedecker on Saturday morning, there was a decent looking classic track. The trail was groomed north of Boedecker, I only made it to the high point, but the grooming continued on farther north (I don't know how far). There wasn't a classic track north Boedecker. The ABSF regroomed the skate trail Saturday night, the skiing Sunday morning was very nice! I used B skis, I would not recommend good skis, but you also don't need rock skis if you keep your eyes open.

(Matthew Ryan)

Classic skied a good 20 something km this afternoon on the snow loops. Conditions are fabulous and the ability to link together multiple loops options with awesome hill climbs is exactly what I needed today. Tracks were solid and fast, with great kick. The skate deck was firm and easy to control downhills and edge. Just a huge thank you to the Birkie team for keeping the dream alive and giving such an awesome experience. And thank you to New Moon for helping me fix my boot problem so I can keep on skiing when I'm not working my tushy off. Keep rocking on and enjoy the skiing.

(Kevin Grand)

Skied an hour from the Boedecker TH. The trail south from there had been reported groomed, and tracked and it was. I was happy to see grooming now to the north as well. The first picture shows how deep the skied in tracks were before grooming. Now the base ranges from 1-4" and conditions are good despite some thin spots and leaves. The second pic shows the trail heading north toward OO. Also good. The only dangerous spot is on the skate trail. Partway up the last hill before OO there is a 6-8" hole in the trail from last summer's erosion. Lots of happy folks out enjoying being able to train on the Birkie trail.

Photos:

(Tom Detzner)

Skated north from OO to Fire Tower on the classic side and back on the skate side. Skate deck was firm up to Boedecker, with some grass sticking through and a couple of dirt spots at the top of hills. Softer from Boedecker up to Fire Tower, guessing it was groomed more recently. Maybe a few more grassy spots to go around. Not too much that could hurt your skis other than the dirt spots (only a couple over the course of 20K) and a few bigger sticks, easily avoided. We used B skis but you could use good skis if careful. As others said, it's good for the soul to be back on the Birkie Trail!

(Jay Lyons)

I strided from Bodecker to Hwy OO on the classic trail, then returned to Bodecker Trailhead in the Birkie skate trail. Both trails had a firm track. The skate lane was groomed and offered very good control when out of the tracks. There were some thin spots and I used my B skis. With the cold temps, the kick and glide were very good. Bundle up and enjoy!

Photos:

(David Martin)

Strided from OO to Boedecker on classic trail and strided back on skate trail. No tracks at that time but terrific solid white corduroy, made for easy double pulling and kicking. Restored my skiing soul, to move though the beautiful sun lit woods with no skiing turnabouts. Little bit of ground up oak leaves, easy to dodge. Skied over Key Log Crossing bridge but not corduroy or as smooth going. Great to be back on the Birkie Trail again! The shorter ride to OO was nice too!

(Audun Mikkelson)