Very good for skate skiing. The groomers fluffed up the surface recently which made for easy edging. And by noon, even the glacier-like base had started to soften a little which together made for remarkably easy skiing. Really happy we have this amenity nearby.

(Andy Schwartz)

The December heat wave was scary — 44F at 1 pm — but the skiing was great on the Birkie manmade. Our first visit over to the artificial stuff in Cable and was very impressed. Deep base, great tracks and plenty of ups and downs. The soft rock music over the sound systems was a bonus, giving it an ice skating rink kind of vibe. There’s enough K groomed up to keep you interested. If this is the future of Nordic skiing in the Midwest, so be it.

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(Mike Ivey)

Lots of smiling faces on the trail this morning. Rex gold klister covered by Rex N41 is working pretty well for kick. I was able to stay in the tracks up some pretty steep and icy hills which I wasn't able to do with just start wide klister. Looks like they'll have another section of trail open soon - exciting times!

(Andrew Einspanier)

I skied the man made loops at the Birkie start area this morning. There was fresh corduroy throughout so exceptional skate skiing. There were 30 or so cars in the parking lot when I was there so it wasn't like I was alone but I never had any concerns about conflicts on corners or downhills. A very pleasant morning on snow.

(Andy Schwartz)

Very good for skating. Classic tracks are solid but getting icy. Very firm under foot with some loose snow on top from grooming and heavy use. I waited until the afternoon to give the teams and visitors time to clear out and was rewarded with good conditions and a wide open track. The man made loops at the start area are only 3 kilometers or so total but with the combination of loops and widely differing terrain, it feels like much more. Worth the price of the early season pass in my opinion.

(Andy Schwartz)

Was a little crowded this morning due to a ton of ski teams. The majority of them were standing with skis on as opposed to actually skiing though, so that left the trails relatively open for an uninterrupted session. The tracks were freshly groomed when I got there with portions of the old world cup trail open for skiing. Start wide klister is still working really well for me, but most of the hills require herringbone to ascend due to being either too steep, icy, or chewed up to kick.

(Andrew Einspanier)

The man-made loop at BTH is exceptionallly great for any time of year, but for the first weekend in December - it's awesome (for both skate and classic). Big thanks to the ABSF grooming crew!

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(Jeffery Tumbleson)

Wow! Birkie start area loops are like a little playground for folks getting fresh air and their early season ski groove on. As far as the lack of snow weather-wise, they have done a fabulous job manufacturing a white winter for at least a few km. Kudos to skiers for being respectful of each other, too.

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(Pamela Toshner)

The man-made loops at the Birkie trailhead are in really good shape with another roughly 0.5 km being added that will hopefully be open soon. But, the classic tracks are really icy and there's only so much that klister can do. I did a lot of double-poling and herringbone. Still, good stuff.

(Andrew Einspanier)

Skied the 1.5 km loop today. The trail was really fast and the classic tracks were icy. A Klister base with a little hard wax on top gave me good kick. Trail is clear with no debris, so go ahead and use those "A" skis all you want! Lost/Found: I had a pair of classic ski poles taken from the Birkie trailhead today. They are Swix Quantum 3 poles, 150 cm, blue/black/white in color. If you accidentally grabbed 'em, please contact me.

(Andrew Einspanier)