Spring conditions are here early, as we had 41 a couple of days ago, then colder, up to 32 right now. Skate lane was all groomed by Neil yesterday, so trails are hard packed and crusty, but with a good grip for very fast skating. Lilly's easy loop is very good and mostly clean (photo). Lake loop is pretty good but hills are icy and a few spots are thin or have squirrel related debris. Classic track looks great but is glazed. Best skiing will be before it melts too much.

Photos:

(Deane Johnson)

Excellent conditions continue on Lilly's Loop, others have a few crusty spots where the sun hit the hills yesterday afternoon. Snowpack and base has been cold, so trails held up well in yesterday's warmth. Snowpack depth around 11", base 3-5" and temp today is stable at 22. Minimal debris in spots due to busy squirrels cutting down cones. Trails are all firm and fast, and as our friend MP would say, "faster is funner!".

Photos:

(Deane Johnson)

Beautiful conditions this morning, with temp around 30, but warmed to near 40 this afternoon. Trails have a good 3-5" base, snow depth of 12" and excellent newly-groomed classic tracks and perfect skate lane. Trails could get icy when it cools down, so watch for changing conditions and fast hills in sun-exposed areas. Lilly's Loop is always a good bet if things get skittish.

(Deane Johnson)

Beautiful first-time skate ski today at Soaring Eagle! Great conditions, well groomed trails. What a great job by the volunteer team! Thank you! This place is a real gem and worth the visit!

(Kyle Henning)

Best conditions of the year so far. Lillie's, Eagle , and Lake are all groomed and re-tracked. Troll is double wide skate only.

Photos:

(Neil King)

Fresh powder conditions with 3" new on a 4-5.5" base, snow depth of 12". So the fresh snow on skate lanes makes for a good VOmax training day for skaters. Classic track was a little floppy. Trails all skate and classic except troll, which has been more freestyle.Nice turnout today. Grooming plans: Classic track to be recut tomorrow.

Photos:

(Deane Johnson)

Excellent conditions, all trails groomed yesterday. Snow depth about 10" with 4" groomed base. Classic tracks on all but troll, and look good. Snowshoe also in good shape, marked and with trail signs in the woods. Open house Sundays from 1-3, skis available.

Photos:

(Deane Johnson)

Ski conditions good to very good on all trails. All trails were groomed today. No new track was set but it is still good to very good. 1.5" of new snow with 5" of base and 10" snowpack.

Photos:

(Neil King)

I skied Eagle Loop and Lake Loop on Sunday. Classic track had been set on Friday (according to friend's report) and the trails had not been groomed since the snowfall. We could find the tracks under the snow, and sort of broke our own trail. After once around, we could easily ski in our own tracks. Snow was good and fluffy. We saw only about 6 skiers on Sunday, probably because of the temperatures (low single digits). I was well-layered and not cold at all.

(Jen Cannell)

I skate skied Soaring Eagle right before dark and a little after on Friday evening and again today. On Friday it was freshly groomed and excellent. Today there were two to three inches of light fluffy snow on top, but it hadn't been regroomed. My companion said it was excellent for skating again, though a little slow. As for me, apparently I goofed on the wax and had hardly any glide, so I had to work hard even on the flats. Darn, such good conditions are so hard to come by that I was bummed to miss the opportunity. Ah well, live and learn. At least Troll wasn't scary under those conditions! Classic was likewise excellent but slow. Tracks were filled in and thus a lot of work when we first arrived, but the more we skied the easier they got.

(Lois Braun)