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.

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(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!

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(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)

The trails at Telemark with man-made snow have been open from 6-10 AM on these days with warm afternoons. Conditions yesterday and today were wonderful! Tracks are very firm but not so icy that you can't get good kick. Today was quite fast. Using both my skins and waxed skis worked quite well. Buy your snowmaking pass and get out there!

(Craig Fischberg)

The Birkie web site states the snowmaking trails up at Cable are closed. They will be open Friday morning for a short while and will close again once temps rise above the freezing mark.

(Michael O’Connor, Rochester Active Sports Club)

Skied at the start line. Definitely not the best conditions. Snow has some debris on it but is overall clean. Uphills are at times grainy and you have to lift your feet, and downhills are rutted. Getting icier.

(Anna DeMers)

I skied the Birkie Tour today: I did the loop to Timber Trail and back on natural snow. What a change from Wednesday - I skied the natural snow trails then and they were thin, but actually good skiing. Today they have deteriorated a lot and won't be skiable for much longer. They were thin with bare spots and a few rocks. It was slushy and not recently groomed (for obvious reasons). I'm happy they kept the Timber Trail aid station open for us adventurous ones. I enjoyed it! The snowmaking loops have a great snow base and were groomed last night. With heavy use and warm temperatures today, it was mashed potatoes in some places and springlike conditions. But I'm not complaining - they are miracle workers and they have a lot of snow stockpiled for the big event.

(Louis Muench, CASTA)

Skied at the Birkie Trailhead. Skate deck was firm but starting to get slow and sticky. The downhills (especially elevator shaft) were icy and fast. Some dirt and tree debris starting to show with the worn trail. Birkie staff has done an absolutely incredible job given the recent weather. Looks like they've been working on piling snow near old Telemark to work even more magic.

(Ian Boylan)