Several inches of new snow. All loops were packed, rolled and tracked this morning. Conditions are excellent.

(Lynn Wright)

All loops were leveled and tracked this morning. Conditions are excellent.

(Lynn Wright)

Several inches of new snow. All loops have been rolled and packed. Still snowing and blowing. Grooming plans: tracks will be set Friday morning.

(Lynn Wright)

The trails have not been groomed when we left at 2:00pm. Good new 4-6inch of snow and a few people had skied the Red Loop. We skied the Yellow and Blue cross paths. Overall - very good conditions and loads of fun.

(Phillip Wadsworth)

A few inches of new snow. All loops have been packed and tracked. Just enough snow for tracks on top of the hard base. Some varying track depths, overall good conditions.

(Lynn Wright)

Madeline Lake is a double-tracked, classic only trail system that would typically serve as a great place for novice skiers as well as experienced skiers, the latter who might just want an easy, leisurely ski. We are highly experienced skiers who just wanted to be on a nearby trail to enjoy the outdoors before the trails give way to the warmth. We hit the trails just after 10:30 a.m. since that time frame was perfect for our ski at our local Nordic ski center the previous day; the temperature was comparable. However, trail conditions greatly differed today from those where we skied the previous day. There is surprisingly very little debris on the trails. The few sticks and oak leaves here are there are nothing beyond the norm and can easily be skied over without the risk of face-planting. Unfortunately, the spring-like temperatures have really impacted Madeline Lake Trails. The trail conditions are widely varied, ranging from extremely icy-to great in a few areas-to okay or on the soft-side in other areas. In addition to the widely varied conditions, widely varied trail depth also impacted the experience. There are a lot of washed-out areas including in the flat areas as well as on the hills. That being said, we were able to maintain the skis in the tracks, but inexperienced skiers may not be able to do so in some of the shallow and/or washed-out areas. Use of waxed skis v. waxless made little difference. Husband used orange wax on his waxables, as he doesn't like to use klister; I used my waxless skis. With conditions as they are, I would not recommend Madeline Lake Trails for novice skiers at this point in time; wait for new snow. Experienced skiers will be fine due to knowing uphill and downhill control techniques. However, the trails are skiable, but one must use caution and be prepared for the varied conditions. Please know that conditions are no fault of the groomers. They do a great job grooming the trails, and it is an enjoyable (and popular) trail system. The bottom line is that new snow and colder temps are needed for the optimal experience.

(Gwen Harron)

All loops were leveled, cut and tracked. Some scattered debris throughout the trails. Overall, good conditions.

(Lynn Wright)

Solid, deep classic tracks. Very little debris. Downhills were hard packed but still controllable.

(Tracy Stacy)

All loops were cut and tracked. Hard base made for varying track depths. Some scattered debris throughout the trails. Overall, ok conditions.

(Lynn Wright)

After visiting the Raven trails, Joanie and I strided the long Red Loop here just before dusk. We met Lynn the groomer just as she finished her great work on the trails. It was a fun ski on double classic-tracked trails with a nice flow. Thanks for the grooming!

Photos:

(Darren Blankenship)