Classic tracks west of the bridge are icy in most spots. Difficult to get a grip in the tracks to kick on most uphills and some flats. Good news is there are minimal bare spots and tree debris. Tracks east of the bridge are in good shape, much less icy. My first time skiing here - the air stunk of gasoline (of course out of control of the Columbia crew, just an observation in case your nose is more sensitive). End of the day, still much better than no skiing at all. For nighttime, you can definitely get by on these trails with a headlamp and ambient light.

(Cory Quirk)

Groomed the skate deck and reset the classic tracks this afternoon after the temperature started to drop. I was pleasantly surprised how well the snow survived the warm spell. The skate deck groomed up very nice, it should be excellent skiing tomorrow. The classic tracks are shallow, but should be serviceable in most places. There are a few more dirt spots than before, but they looked easy to avoid. As always be careful near the steep hill by the clubhouse, the snow is pretty thin over there.

(Mike Keyes)

Today was not kind to columbia. The skate deck was hard and icy. The good news is that there is still snow and hopefully some cooler weather will help rejuvenate the course. Our groomers have been working wonders this season so fingers crossed for better days ahead.

(Greg Loper)

I did some shoveling while I skied tonight and covered all the significant bare spots. The skate deck is in surprisingly good shape... easily the best trail in Northeast Minneapolis right now. Classic tracks are questionable. Be careful on the steep climb by the clubhouse as there's a paved trail crossing the trail that does a great job melting the snow. Let's hope it holds together for the cold temps.

(Blaine Gudbjartsson)

I was pleasantly surprised at just how good Columbia was today. Yes, there are bare spots but they are fairly easy to avoid. Most of the deck has a firm base underneath a layer of loose wet snow. The groomers have really worked some magic! It was slow but very skiable.

(Greg Loper)

For the lack of snow we've had, the groomers did a good job with coverage. The classic tracks are shallow, but skiable. Snow was very slow as the the temps reached 30+ at noon.

(Karen Berglund)

Felt lucky to have such a beautiful ski this morning and to see so many folks out enjoying the cool morning. Skate deck was smooth and solid. A few thin spots here and there, but easy to avoid. Conditions may degrade over the next few days, but hopefully we come out ahead for this weekend's Loppet events at Columbia.

Photos:

(Jim Daggett)

We got the snowmobile back from its work at the City of Lakes Loppet events this weekend. Columbia got groomed tonight and new classic tracks were set. Skate deck looks really good. There are some thin spots here and there but should be good otherwise. Classic tracks are shallow, but do exist. Let's hope the next couple of days are gentle on the course. But come ski Columbia! It looks pretty good right now.

Photos:

(Jim Daggett)

The skate deck is a bit of a mixed bag. It is getting pretty icy and thin in spots with drifts in other areas and some of the deck is in quite good shape. There are bare spots in the usual places that are pretty easily skied around. The classic tracks are difficult to find in most spots. Our groomers have done a great job with the course - we just need more snow!

(Greg Loper)

The trails were all open and in pretty good shape throughout with only a few bare or icy spots that I skied around. Classic tracks were shallow, but present enough throughout most of the course to work pretty well. The skate deck looked pretty good too.

(Dave Digre)