Absolutely fantastic conditions! With no recent snowfall the trail today was as good as it gets...firm and flat with a soft top layer for great edging. In the woods protected from the wind (a plus on these cold days) I said to myself "this place is ready for a World Cup race".

(Artie Huber)

Woodland trails was groomed Sunday evening. Skate lanes were smoothed and resurfaced. Classic tracks were reset earlier this weekend. With the cold forecast, trails will be very skiable but cold and slow. Enjoy.

(Dave Kallemeyn)

Refuge Guy and Swim Guy(a possible new nickname might be "where is the reverse button again?") just finished a run with the medium screens. Expect good, cold conditions for your Sunday skate. The Engineer upgraded the pre-cutters on the track setter and freshened up the tracks for us yesterday. Enjoy!

(Dave Anderson, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)

Our self appointed Director of Public Relations, DPR, just reported in the that he and Eagle 17 had just finished their evening run with the light screens for our Saturday skiing pleasure. There are a few wind blow spots, but most of the trail is in great shape. Been a long time (maybe 5 years) since we have seen Eagle 17 at the grooming cave. Ten years ago, at age 14, he was one of best lead groomers and groomed almost a third of our shifts for that winter season. What happened? Got a girl friend, got a job... Your Saturday ski won't be fast, but is should a good ride. Enjoy!

(Dave Anderson, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)

One and one half inches of new snow, rolled. It was raining on my way in to meet The Natural and we started our rolling mission just as the temps started to drop below freezing. This little snow is a nice addition to base prep that was done last evening. Compliments of the wind you will find a few sticks to flick and the oak leaves decided today was the day to start jumping off the trees. Trail conditions should be quite nice and the woods of Woodlands will help break the wind. There were already a few skiers out by the time we got off the trail. Classic tracks are a bit washed out and we plan to just ski them until we get more snow or work a plan to get the track setter to cut into the hard pack below. Enjoy!

(Dave Anderson, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)

Crash just reported in that he and Ancient One had just finished a grooming run with the Godzilla screens to tenderize the skate deck a bit. We are starting to work into the much firmer base layer left over from the last rain/melt event in hopes we can keep the trail from getting too hard too soon once we hit the deep freeze. We had the HS skiers out for the classic pursuit leg of last weeks skate race today. Thanks to all of the skiers and spectators that came out for a fun afternoon. Enjoy!

(Dave Anderson, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)

Fun to ski the challenging hills at Woodland. It has been a few years. Most of the trail was tracked.

Photos:

(Mark Skinner)

Nicely worked up hard surface from last weekends tremendous multi-ski event use. The skate lane has nice loose covering, with just a touch of new fallen snow today. Classic tracks look good and were fun to jump into and pole along at a stealers pace!

(Dean Kleinhans)

I just finished a training run on the outer loop with new rookie groomer BABYBAC (son of WAYBAC). We pulled the tandem screens to work a little bit of the older and harder base up along with what's left of last week's new snow. BABYBAC skis for one of our local HS Nordic teams and I was very impressed when he asked to join the trail crew. He did a great job tonight. I'm not sure what he will think of his nickname, but I am sure his teammates will let him know what they think of it. Enjoy!

(Dave Anderson, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)

Crash and WAYBAC just finished their evening run with the medium screens. Whew! It was quite a week. After starting the week with rain, warm temps, and closed trails, the trail crew finished strong by working nine grooming shifts since then, while Woodlands was host to a HS race, citizen race, biathlon race, MYSL and everyone else who came out to hike, snowshoe, and ski. We are now in the middle of our 35th season of partnering with the City of Elk River to bring winter fun to all who come to Woodlands. I was 35 when we started trail building and grooming (you do the math) and often wonder where the time went. There are three of us remaining from that original crew. We have groomers in their first year, many others with 20-35 years and everywhere in between. I could not be prouder of the dedication of this extraordinary group of volunteers, men and women, young and not so young anymore, who always get the job done when it needs to be done! We do what we do for the enjoyment of all who come to Woodlands. Enjoy!

(Dave Anderson, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)