First grooming of the season was a bit complicated by the sheath of ice that had formed on most hills after last weekend's rain: we hooked-up the machines but couldn't pull them up the hills! The workaround was to run the trails multiple times with sleds only, to compact the snow, which worked and gave us the purchase to do multiple runs with the roller and Ginzu. By sunset, the 5K was groomed for skating. This groomed snow is not deep enough to set a classic track but classic skiers are welcome to ski the right side of the trail. We got several sled runs on the "10K", which will be called the "8K" from now on, as we had to revise the trail this summer due to loss of some land. The 8K is OK for classic ski trailbusting but not for skating. We are taking Thanksgiving off, but the trails are open to members and their guests. We will get the 8K rolled and groomed for skating on Friday. Past Snowflake skiers are probably aware that I lean conservatively about "Ski Rating" and "Trails Open". All of our trails are open for classic skiing right now, I just don't up the rating until they are properly groomed. Happy Thanksgiving!

Photos:

(John Graham)

Thank you to the groomers for setting the tracks at Snowflake (I talked to John who said they had been out for more than 6 hours yesterday grooming)! The 5k is open for skating and I had a lovely ski late yesterday afternoon. It's really pretty good for a first ski--just a little soft given the conditions, but definitely worth going. I think there was only one other skier before me.
I called the Snowflake line and they are open Thanksgiving so I plan to go out in a couple hours for another great ski. They plan to groom the 8k (formerly 10k) on Friday for skate, so I'll likely be out again if I can get there. Enjoy!

(Nathan Holst)

Summer prep is done, ground is freezing up, grooming equipment is ready. Flirtatious flurries early this week were sufficient to cover the ground, but only ski-able by one skier: George Hovland (picture), skied a section of the 5K on Wednesday, proving again that old skiers can be bold skiers! Duluth East Nordic began workouts at Snowflake last Monday. The chalet is open 7 am - 6 pm M-F. Members are welcome to use the wax-room during that time, and the SkiErgs are available until 4 pm. Regular hours will begin when the snow comes. Season Pass memberships are discount priced, until Nov 30th.

Photos:

(John Graham)