Not all she wrote, but we're turning the last few pages. Base is still deep, especially north of D, but the melting and fresh 1-2 inches have made the skiing slow and sloppy. The upside of the melting is that the view of the waterfall is excellent!

Photos:

(Karl Holub)

Conditions are poor for classic skiing. The city site said the trail was packed today, so we went to check it out. There's just one swath combed in the skate lane, with lots of footprints, and it's more icy rubble than snow. Tracks are icy where they exist. Someone skated the wrong way and cut some deep ruts. It's still possible to ski around any open patches, but even with low expectations it wasn't fun, and we bailed at the first turn.

(Catherine Winter)

Classic skied the 6k loop from the seven bridges rd parking lot (out to "H" I think?). It's doable, but not great by any means. No real dirt patches or anything like that, aside from the first corner by the last big downhill to the park. Classic tracks are super shallow and super icy, and also not very well defined. I spent a lot of energy redirecting my skis back towards forward. I'd recommend not going down hills using the tracks - skip to the skate base on the downhills. Saw a few folks out skating, I'd recommend doing that if you go, probably a much better time. But if you are desperate for a classic ski, its doable :) good luck, stay safe, have fun :).

(Dustin Mershon)

Unbelievably good conditions, with full coverage and fast snow The groomers (thank you!) scratched a single pass of corduroy recently, which was all the trails needed to give an edge but still be wicked fast. I skied in the late afternoon with an air temp of 25F. About 20% of the trail was sun exposed and soft, and I had to skirt the edge and double pole to avoid rutting the trail. Let's keep this train rolling into April!

Photos:

(Karl Holub)

Trails are rutted and becoming more firm and icy as temp is dropping. Parked on 7 Bridges rd and skied the long outer loop and a couple of side loops, but tried to avoid the big downhills. Thanks to whomever removed fallen trees. Conditions not great, but skiable, and good to be out.

(Gordon Mesedahl)

Playground is showing a bare spot on the bump heading back up into the trees and the steep climb is dirty but still covered. Trees are down across the trail just before H, between K/L and on N just before the big downhill (which has a 30-40' bare stretch of mud and grass. Beyond N watch out for water running across the trail on one of the low dips. All other segments including F, G, J & L are pretty decent. Some ruts but not as bad as last week. Enjoy it while you still can!

(Aaron Miatke)

Hilarious spring slush skiing at Lester late this afternoon. Here's how things were at 6:30 Monday night: 95 percent coverage. Roaring wind. Twigs and branches down everywhere and two trees across the trail, one at the bottom of the hill between K and L. One spot where water has seeped across the trail enough that you can't quite ski around it. Some open spots developing. Some footprints. Dirty, mushy snow. Fast, fun skiing.

Photos:

(Catherine Winter)

Solid grooming for spring, conditions would have been perfect mid-morning. I got out here at noon, however, and the trail had become extremely soft, with sketchiness on downhills (fast and slow in quick succession). So, moral of the story is get out by mid-morning. Cheers and thanks for a good season.

(Eddy Gilmore)

Gorgeous, sunny last day of winter. Trail groomed overnight. A huge thanks to the superb job and effort by the groomer. I skied around 10 a.m. in firm, well-set tracks. Pole plants solid as well. Crumbly edges on a few turns otherwise rock solid and fast. Uphills were easy even with the well-worn wax I've been using all winter. A passing skater described the conditions as "phenomenal." I agree!

(Bob King)

Amazing skating at Lester at mid morning today. Appears to have been groomed overnight or this morning. Upper reaches on sun exposed areas just starting to get soft, otherwise deck was great. Tracks looked good. Fast and fun! The hill at "J" doesn't look groomed, and was a sheet of ice when I went by so did not go down that. Thanks to the City of Duluth for keeping Lester going!

(Tolga Hanhan)