Attempted to ski the Fish Hatchery portion of the Birkie Trail! Not suitable for skate skiing — too much fresh snow. Trails are not groomed yet.

(Kate Drak)

Skied north from Mosquito Brook. Ungroomed. 5” new snow and still coming down at 11:00. Gorgeous winter wonderland with snow coating the trees. Decent skied in tracks in the existing tracks. Slow of course, but I’ll take it over the dirty, icy, starting to turn to slush we had yesterday at MB. Should be amazing once groomed!

(Kathleen Miller)

Skied the full birkie race. There was a lot of suction with the soft snow so it was pretty slow. Areas with more shade were faster. Enjoyed the race and only saw about 25 other skiers the whole time. Thanks to the volunteers and everyone who put this on.

(Mark Bushinski)

Did the virtual Birkie in the gray weather on Sunday. The deck was in fantastic shape, firm but not icy in the slightest. A few people out, and a few people doing their virtual as well, but not many. The classic tracks went all the way up all of the hills, especially on the Skate side (generally on both sides). On the Classic side, they were moved over to the left (when heading back N). The deck had plenty of traction for getting an edge on al the hills, including the snowmobile hill. A decent amount of snow, but the Classic side was a little lighter, and there was more dirty snow from the groomer. A few twigs down in places on both sides, but not many. Overall, better than I expected! Hope it holds up for later in the week after the thaw.

(Dan Boody)

Skied the official Birkie route today. Trail was in great shape. Only surprising section was the last 2 K into the finish line. Birkie Start to Timber trail the classic track was set a bit from the edge and great for skiing. From Timber to High Point was set a bit to close to the edge - caught brush from side of trail. Remainder of the trail was in great shape. Many folks out either sampling the trail or doing their Virtual Skis.

(George Larson)

I classic skied the Virtual Korteloppet today on the official Korteloppet course and wore my race bib. It was such a beautiful day for skiing with temperatures in the low 20s and bright blue skies. The ski trail heading south had been freshly groomed and was in excellent condition. My wax job performed well with good kick and excellent glide. The return loop heading north on the Classic trail was not groomed as recently so it was just a tad but icy. I would still rate it as very good. It was nice not having any bottlenecks at the steep uphills. However, I missed all the comaraderie of a typically Birkie.

Photos:

(Jim Gantz)

Skied the virtual Korte today from Hatchery to Gravel Pit (and a tiny bit of Birkie Ridge). Great conditions in the Northwoods today. Skate deck was firm and groomed in the last few days. Some areas were a smidge bald, but nothing couldn't be handled. Overall great snow coverage. Great to see so many folks with Birkie race bibs on course, especially Ernie St. Germain.

(Betsy Van Cleve Stiegler)

Classic skied north from mosquito brook to gravel pit. Going north the right side of the classic track had been reset and was in great condition. Coming south it had not been reset, but was still in good condition. Some leaves here and there. A peaceful ski, with the bonus of a beautiful sunset!

(Kathleen Miller)

I skied between Boedecker Rd and Hwy OO. I was going to use the "classic" trail but it was not recently groomed and the skate deck was packed hard. The "skate" trail, however, was newly groomed and skiing was excellent even if the skier wasn't. The classic track was freshly groomed on one side. On the other side, the track was well formed although not recently groomed, and it had more oak leaves.

(Don Quick)

Excellent conditions for skate and classic. Plenty of corduroy visible under a skiff of fine, wind blown powder. Surprisingly little leaf litter in evidence given the number of days since our last snow. Some leaves in the tracks but otherwise remarkably clean snow. This afternoon I skate skied from Birkie Ridge up to the skate trail, then south to OO. The return trip was North on the classic trail to the Fire Tower water stop and then back on the skate trail to Birkie Ridge. The trail is in great shape everywhere I skied. The snow is still cold and slow but it is flat and firm and very good skiing.

(Andy Schwartz)