Made a trip up to Hayward to ski, started at Hwy OO trailhead and went south. Recently groomed with about 1" fresh snow on top about 6" base. a few spots where ice was below. Tracks were good. Perfect conditions! 20 f sunny and tons of real groomed snow, like mid winter conditions. Should be around for awhile. Slower than the fake snow we all skied on all winter but well worth the trip. Used B skis but could have used my good skis.

Photos:

(Dan Dudley)

I skated the loops south of Hwy OO. All of the loops had been groomed (last night I think) and there was about an inch of new, dry snow on top of that. The skate deck was excellent and the classic tracks looked good, too. After a season of no snow, this was a treat.

(Don Quick)

Skied after the state meet. Plenty of icy and puddle spots and areas with leaves but was pleasantly surprised at conditions, especially the section of the loop out toward power lines.

Photos:

(Ben Fuller)

Went up to Cable and skied a couple laps on the 10km Birkie loops. Trail in the woods the first 5km were perfectly groomed with still about a foot of base in most areas. Once you got into the golf course area the trail became a bit icy with about a half inch of real snow on top making it controllable. Well worth the trip. It was closed down at 10am to prep for high school tournaments coming up. Conditions of the trail in the woods were still like perfect mid winter conditions. Hopefully will survive another warmup.

(Dan Dudley)

I couldn't believe the Birkie groomers had enough energy left after their historic week of ski racing on this now famous 10 km loop to regroom the trail today. The winds are starting to blow as El Nino is trying to reclaim control over our lost winter which created quite a bit of leaf debris on the wooded section of the trail however the meadow section of the trail was pristine. I even had a chance to ski the Elevator Shaft section of the trail today. This was my 36th Birkie and I thought I had seen every possible combination and permutation of course changes to accommodate challenging weather conditions but this 50th Birkie will probably go down as the miracle Birkie. We even had our Olympic and World Cup champions Jessie Diggins and Gus Schumacher on hand to win the mens and womens elite race. How perfect is that? I can't thank Ben Popp and the entire Birkie crew enough for making this 50th Birkie happen!

Photos:

(Gene Karwoski)

Report from the Thursday morning 30k Birkie Open Track skate. At 9am it was 28 degrees, blazingly fast, and clean. By my third 10k lap, notable softening especially in full-sun areas, some tan snow on the 6k of golf course trail, and a few slow-soft patches. Korte skiers who started at 11am reported that the softening continued. The many full-shade segments in the woods remained good. In sum: mixed under heat. Temp 53 when I left around 1pm!

(David Moore)

Awesome day skiing, what they have done on this no-snow winter is amazing. Skate deck was great with only an occasional twig. The golf course trail looks good. Fingers crossed that the weather holds.

Photos:

(Bob Maki)

Bravo, Birkie! What I could ski of next week's lap course is fantastic. It's going to be interesting and challenging, as indicated by the "Telemark Ascent" signs. Pretty much all artificial snow, but you wouldn't know by the looks of it. (did feel like it, though) Two tracks - one on each side and firm deck. Let's get this party started! Hiya Hiya Hiya and a Whoop Whoop!

Photos:

(Pamela Toshner)

Did a recon fat bike ride over to the start area. It looks like the major increase in the race route will be out on the golf course to the southeast of Telehenge, Both "snow whales" by Telehenge are now dump truck loads of snow out on the golf course. Easily several K's worth. Should be interesting. No report of skiing available on Thursday as of yet.

(Steve Thatcher, Ride and Glide Bike & Ski Club)

The Birkie organization has posted notice that the trails are now closed, at least for this week, due to the warm forecast. The statement, in part, reads: Unfortunately, due to the predicted forecast of highs in the upper 40s, overnight lows staying above freezing and possibility of rain, we are making the call to close the trails for this week, with a re-open time TBD. As we get closer to the Birkie, we need to take the proper precautions to keep our snow in as good of shape as possible, and also allow for safe and efficient set-up for race week.

(Bruce Adelsman)