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).

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(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.

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(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.

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(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.

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(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.

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(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.

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(Larry Mishkar)

On Monday a single grooming pass with the Pisten Bully was made on the 3/5K trails. This moved the single track set closer to the center of the trail to provide a firmer track while narrowing the skate deck slightly. The 10K trail was not groomed on Monday but did see a double wide pass of the roller/comb on the previous Friday. The right hand track is skied in. Due to thin snow conditions our grooming is less than in previous years. The Campground Loop is still solid with deep track sets and a wide, firm skate deck. Grooming plans: Upper Spirit Mountain Nordic will be groomed double-track, system wide, on Friday. This will eliminate the skate deck as we prepare for the Nordic Spirit Ski Race on Saturday. Re-grooming to the normal skate/classic layout will happen if there is remaining snow quality and depth. I would expect to see the double-track set remain for some time based on the current short-term forecasts. Our current base is a delicate 6".

(Larry Mishkar)

Spirit hasn't been groomed since the last snowfall. There are skied in tracks, which were OK. I ended up going over to Magney...

(Elaine Nelson)

It was a pretty day, but the trails are not in great shape. Both the skate deck and the tracks had a lot of areas with tilled up dirt. It surprised me but Spirit had about half the snow that Hartley does, just a few miles away. I would use rock skis and not worry or B skis and just be a little careful.

(Adam Schwartz-Lowe)