Great conditions today at Iola for classic skiing the blue loop. Temps were in the mid 20s and no wax skis worked well. Tracks had just enough cover and the skate bed was freshly groomed which made the downhills very controllable. Just a couple of short bare track spots mostly in the sunny field area. Beautiful day to ski; tracks are pretty thin but very skiable. Skate base looks great. Kudos to Morgan for the fresh grooming!

Photos:

(Dave Loescher)

Another bluebird day in Iola today. The skate deck was sweet and soft. No problems with using good skis; we used B skis. Just a little oak and pine needles were in the tracks, and very little was in the skate deck. Classic tracks are shallow, but they work well. We need more snow; I can't wait to go back. The green and blue loops have great snow cover, very little ice, and the snow on top is all good.

(Charles Kane)

All trails are open! We received another inch of fluffy snow last night. Green, Purple Field, Blue, and Field of Dreams have skate decks reset. Black has been compacted and tracks set. Tracks are set on all open trails, except for Purple Field. Most areas have excellent coverage with some thin spots on Purple and a couple icy patches throughout. B skis if you're skiing everything. Green: open, tracks set, good skis. Blue: open, tracks set, good or B skis. Purple Field: open, no tracks, B skis. Black Birkie Hills: open, tracks set, B skis. Field of Dreams (Black): open, tracks set, B skis. Streamside to Cardiac: open, tracks set, B skis. Grooming plans: We will set the skate decks on Black tomorrow.

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(Morgan Pease, Iola Winter Sports Club)

Trails open! We received another inch of fluffy snow last night. Green, purple (field), Blue, and Field of Dreams have skate decks reset. Green has new tracks set. Most areas have excellent coverage with some thin spots on purple and two icy patches throughout. B skis if you're skiing everything. Grooming plans: We will try to get at least the black birkie hills open tomorrow.

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(Morgan Pease, Iola Winter Sports Club)

Groomers were out this morning resetting skate decks on Green, Blue, and the Black Birkie Hills. The Field of Dreams is open, but ski at your own risk, with some open patches and icy spots. It is spring conditions, with icy spots and rapidly changing snow conditions. Be aware. Grooming plans: With the forecast, this will probably be the last day we groom until we get more snow. Green: open B skis. Purple: closed. Blue: open B skis. Black: Black Birkie Hills are open with some debris. The rest of Black is closed. B skis.

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(Morgan Pease, Iola Winter Sports Club)

Groomers have been out and will continue to reset all skate decks this morning. All trails are still open. We are starting to see thin spots in two places, but blue, green, black Birkie Hills, and Field of Dreams are still in decent to good shape. Grooming plans: We will try to groom again tomorrow morning, and we will update again going into the weekend. Green: open, tracks set February 7, good skis. Purple: open (field is good, woods has debris), tracks set February 6, B skis in field, rock skis in woods. Blue: open, tracks set February 8, B skis. Black: open, tracks set February 3, B skis.

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(Morgan Pease, Iola Winter Sports Club)

We did not lose any snow yesterday, and the snow temperature stayed low, so I groomed skate decks on Green, Blue, Purple Field, and Field of Dreams on Black. There is a lot of debris on North Loop and parts of Black Birkie. Everything groomed today is skiing well and has minimal debris. Tracks are decent on Green and okay to marginal everywhere else. Green is open with tracks set 2/7, good skis. Purple is open (the field is good, the woods has debris) with tracks set 2/6, good skis in the field, and rock skis in the woods. Blue is open with tracks set 2/8, B skis. Black is open with tracks set 2/3, B skis.

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(Morgan Pease, Iola Winter Sports Club)

Sweet spot grooming today, thank you groomers! Violet and Green are too good to be true. Blue and Black are just as good. Barely a spot where you see snirt. Good skis were fine; B skis from now on. We need new snow. Have fun out there. Low snowpack.

(Charles Kane)

Black and Green decks reset last night, Blue and Purple reset this morning. Tracks were reset on Blue and Black Birkie trails yesterday. Trails are good to great throughout. There is some debris out on Black and Blue, otherwise trails are skiing really well. Green: open, tracks set 2/7 good skis. Purple: open (field is good, woods has debris), tracks set 2/6 good skis in field, B skis in woods. Blue: open, tracks set 2/8, good/B skis. Black: open, tracks set 2/3 good/B skis. Grooming plans: With the warmer temperatures, we are not going to do any additional grooming tomorrow or Wednesday. Stay tuned for updates going into the weekend.

Photos:

(Morgan Pease, Iola Winter Sports Club)

Aside from leaf litter and a few pine cones the trails are in remarkable shape. I was classic skiing both in and out of the tracks on all of the blue and black trails during the annual jumping meet. Plenty of parking. Great family options for all ages.

Photos:

(Tony Hartmann)