Skied the 5k and connector to Magney. A layer of light snow made for some fairly good skate conditions. The skate deck on the 5k seemed skinnier than it had been in the past, and despite our best efforts we couldn't help but skate over the classic tracks occasionally. Good coverage but a lot of hole punching through the icy crust. Cannot comment on the conditions beyond the 5km- but you can definitely use your good skis on the inner loop. Tracks looked firm but didn't look like anyone had actually been in them yet.

(Ketzel Levens)

With the lack of heavy, wet snow this season, and no matter what falls this weekend, some Spirit Mountain creek crossings are starting to fail. Where we haven't yet installed culverts, the small creeks are running and eroding the snow from beneath. This erosion of the skate deck and classic tracks is causing kinks at the bottom of hills, and much care must be taken when crossing these locations. As of today, there are four locations to look out for: The first steep downhill on the 10K past the Magney Connector; the first small creek crossing on the Valley of No Glide, the first downhill past the 5/10K connector, and the base of the last steep climb on the MacDonald's Loop. The posted photos show the kinks and how the skate deck is softening due to running water. We will flag these locations on our next groom.

Photos:

(Larry Mishkar)

I was finally able to ski the entire Spirit and Magney-Snively loop tonight! The Spirit trails were well groomed. The classic tracks were good (although missing on some of the longer uphills - not sure why?) The right hand pole plants were very soft, punching through 6-12 inches almost every time. After the Connecter to Magney, the first long fast downhill had 2 sticks criss-crossing on the classic tracks at the very bottom. I cautiously took the downhill - it looked like someone had face planted at the bottom likely because the tracks sunk down abruptly! The left side of the skate lane was just fine to ski on.

(Elaine Nelson, Skinnyski.com Race Team)

Skate skied the connector to Spirit Mountain trail system from the purgatory of soft, break-though snow that was the Magney-Snively system. Skied just a bit to convince myself that I should definitely have skied Spirit Mountain instead. I only skied on a tiny bit of the trail, but that part seemed wonderful for both techniques - well set.

(Sara Zimmer)

Beautiful for skate and classic. A combination of ample snow, thoughtful grooming yesterday (thanks for pre-packing, Larry), cold overnight temps and basically no skier traffic the past 24 hours have resulted in fantastic conditions. One short curving uphill where the groomer got stuck (McDonald's loop) and some soft pole plants on the outside of the track (plenty firm where the pan was) didn't detract from the overall quality. Connector to Magney also good (see more in my Magney post).

Photos:

(Todd Campbell)

Two, track-pack passes system wide were needed to bust through hip deep drifts and firm up 20" of new fluff. Some of the cut offs are also groomed up, allowing for shorter skiing and hill bypasses. Cold temps and skiers will help firm up the base and tracks even more. Off the skate deck you will find knee deep+ snow depths.

Photos:

(Larry Mishkar)

Joanie and I classic skied all the trails here in the early afternoon under bright sunshine and single-digit temperatures. They had been groomed on Friday and the tracks were still in very good condition. There were a few drifts and leaves on the trail from the high winds on Friday. The trails here have a great flow and it was a fun, scenic ski.

Photos:

(Darren Blankenship)

Upper Spirit Mountain Nordic was Pisten Bully groomed as of 10:30 this morning, with a single track and skate deck. Good skis for now - the new snow, somewhat dry, is providing good cover. Today's high winds will create some drifting on short sections of the 5 and 10K loops; drifts should be minimal and passable.

Photos:

(Larry Mishkar)

Since this trail was just down the road from Magney-Snively, and we still had energy, we skied the intermediate loop. The trail had been groomed Sunday morning. The track was in pretty good condition, despite looking like it was heavily used. The skate lane looked chopped, beat up. Another fun trail.

Photos:

(Darren Blankenship)

All trails were groomed to skate deck/classic track this morning. The cut-offs were not groomed, as backing and the tight turns required to do them would eat up the thin base. Last night's snow netted the trails 3" of fluff. And thank you to the skiers who asked where to ski so soon after grooming! Always best to wait 1-2hrs after a groom to ski to allow the snow to setup. Ski too soon and you'll leave trenches.

Photos:

(Larry Mishkar)