Groomed Columbia this morning and the course is very skiable. Use caution and watch for thin sections. Rock skis are recommended.

(Jim Daggett)

Columbia made it through today's heat wave in pretty good shape, considering. We got out and groomed tonight to smooth out the grooves before they were frozen in by the coming cold. However, the wind was blowing so hard that it will probably be difficult to tell it was groomed by tomorrow morning. Coverage wise, there is grass showing through in many places, there is one approximately 50 foot section of mostly bare grass, and there is a mostly bare patch under some trees. We'll be working on re-routing and shoveling this weekend to solve those problems, but it is quite ski-able already if you're a little careful. Come out and ski Columbia!

(Mike Keyes)

Beautiful night for a night ski, Columbia was in great shape! There were a few spots that need to be walked around, but the course is almost entirely skiable. I skate skied two laps of the course by headlamp and was able to go without issue nearly the whole time. I'd recommend B/rock skis, but didn't hit much, if any, serious debris. There are 2-3 spots on the west/main side that necessitate slowing down, but the only spot that could cause serious issues is the left side of the big downhill where there is some visible cart path, but there is plenty of room to navigate around. Outside of one small walking-only area beneath trees, the east side (clubhouse side) is in perfect shape. Props and big thanks to the groomers, excellent early season skiing at Columbia. It was such a joy to be out there.

(Axel Foley)

We logged a quick ski over lunch and found Columbia to be in mostly good shape. Trails on the west side seemed to be more uneven due to windblown areas, but coverage was very good in most sections. There was a more noticeable bare spot beneath a few trees, but you could easily pole through it. The tops of some hills or rolling sections had grass or leaf exposure, but we didn't notice any obvious rocks or think areas over pavement to nick your skis. There are no classic tracks yet, but folks have been skiing in shallow tracks along the edges. Glide was reasonably good and a real treat to be out on natural snow.

Photos:

(Margaret Adelsman)

We rolled yesterday and groomed for skate today. The trail is 85% great, 10% thin and 5% mostly grass. Should be ski-able but you might need to kind of walk across a few places where the wind has blown all the snow off the grass. Not enough snow yet to set classic tracks, so only a skate deck at this point. Be careful coming down the hill from the bridge on the west side. Keep to the right. If you swing wide there is cart path showing through. But if you keep to the right you'll be on a good foot of snow.

(Mike Keyes)

Thanks to the groomer who made a first pass at rolling the trails last night! I saw him out last night and was able to try them this morning. Seems like they had been rolled once. Skate deck was ok but inevitable snowdrifts had formed across the deck due to the wind. No classic track set yet so I just had fun breaking trail in the powder.

(Amy Fredregill)