A few inches of new snow (and still falling) on top of an amazingly good deck given the amount groomers had to work with. A few icy windblown spots east/north, but new snow was sticking to other areas really well. Downhills and corners were fun and allowed great control. Granted, conditions were not particularly fast today. Softer conditions on west side made for fun classic skiing even without tracks. Major kudos to groomers!

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(Linda Evert)

Conditions varied from very good to fair. Most of the trail east of the old RR grade - the more challenging portion - was in very good condition due in part to less traffic on it. Once you got to the bottom of the challenging hill towards the end of Scouring Rush it became more likely you would run into bare patches. Nevertheless, kudos to the groomers for getting the trail in great condition given the challenges of just enough snow followed by enough rain/melt that refroze to make the parking lot treacherous. I used last year's FastWax Red buffed with fluoro paste one I got to the top of X2. Despite temps in the high 20's and the appropriate wax, I moved pretty slow. Certainly that was mostly because I am not a strong skater but my wax did not seem right for the drier natural snow. It slowed me compared to its performance on the the corned, man-made snow at Hyland that I have skied three times previously this season. User traffic was very light. Only met four other skiers, all who passed me despite being off the trail before the Vikings game.

(Keith Carlson)

Better than expected, as fast as I care to go. Some leaf debris, but manageable. Enough ice balls and powder on the downhills to allow control. If you are familiar with the trail, you know what to expect...or know where to hold your speed. If unfamiliar, the flatter sections might be more pleasurable for you. The dense cover has even the paved trails in great shape!

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(Mark Rathbun)

Skied woodlands this afternoon. All trails open and skiable no tracks set. Grooming this morning packed & flattened nicely. The trails are skiable and very very fast. Like wow! That said it's not glare ice but little ice balls so you can push off and hold an edge. More snow all will be very nice. Good to be skiing woodlands again.

(Dave Kallemeyn)

Better than expected, far from great. Ancient One just reported in that he and Buckthorn Bob rolled all trails and screened some to smoothen out some of the roughness. Rock skis recommended due mainly to the icy patches. Expect plenty of leaf litter. Some of the groomers are skiing this afternoon and hopefully will let us know how it skis. We will screen again tonight and hope for more snow.

(Dave Anderson, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)

Ick! We are going to let this slop freeze up today and tonight. Please stay off the trails today. We will go exploring Saturday morning to see what it looks like out in the forest.

(Dave Anderson, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)