I skied all the skate loops after grooming and overall, conditions are decent. Base is solid and smooth except for a couple sections with ruts and though there's sections with a lot of leaf debris there's also long stretches of pristine snow. Used some old rock skis with unknown wax and still had good glide.

Photos:

(Robert Polic)

All the skate loops were groomed this morning with the 9-foot Yellowstone and it did a really nice job smoothing out the trails. With full-coverage but thin base, there are sections of trail with a large amount of leaf debris, some stubble poking through and some ruts filled with loose snow. Recommend using B or rock skis until we get more snow. There's been a couple small changes to the system since last year: Mary's Frolic now merges into Long Rider (instead of Roller Coaster) and Lions' Pride and Long Rider swapped a short section where they parallel. A new trail map will be posted here on Skinny Ski. The classic side of the trail system has been rolled but not groomed at this point...look for an update from Will later today or tomorrow.

Photos:

(Robert Polic)

Finally. About 5 inches of fluffy snow overnight. Out early this morning and got a couple of the classic loops rolled. Much improved. Robert Polic took over at 8:30 and has completed rolling all skate trails. Better, but we still need more to smooth out ruts, mostly on Long Rider, made by forester truck traffic this fall. Grooming plans: I am heading out now to finish rolling all classic loops. Hoping there is enough for setting at least a shallow track tomorrow. We'll see.

(Will Maines)

I rolled all classic loops this morning except Lions Pride, a short section of Doug's Folly and Wild Thing. I rolled Ridge Trail, Roller Coaster and Will's Crossing on the skate side. The base is still quite thin, and in places the trail surface is uneven but still skiable. Expect to see some mowing stubble and grass sticking up in places. I saw tracks of one skater as I groomed, but personally I think skating might be an exercise in frustration unless you are willing to go slow and do it just for the fun of it. DNR foresters were out on the trails all fall marking timber harvest areas, and after their truck traffic in wet times there are some deep ruts in places. You could use B skis or rock skis. I plan on rolling the rest of the loops on both the skate and classic side tomorrow.

(Will Maines)

It was probably foolish to do so, but I went out and rolled a few loops today, seeing what I could do with about two inches of snow on the ground. Basically, it is not skiable. The snowshoe trails are open, however. Really wouldn't even need snowshoes to walk them.

(Will Maines)