Very nice skate ski at the U this morning. The deck is in excellent shape. Freshly groomed late yesterday or early today (thanks to the groomers for braving the cold). Used Fastwax extreme white and had a surprisingly fast ski for 2 above. Used my second skis because there are some sticks, but good skis are fine if you're mindful.

(Jeff Blodgett)

Trail in good shape. Some faster skating sections where wind has scrubbed snow down to the icier substrate. Slower where that spindrift sloughs in, like whoaa. Good as can be overall. Something seems to be wrong with the heat though. Not working.

(Walter Ebertz)

Both classic and skate trails on the golf course were well-groomed and in good condition. There weren't any oak leaves out on the course today!

(Elizabeth Lee)

Skied at 11:15 AM in less-than-ideal conditions. Did not ski in the usual classic tracks on the right because they were windswept and only skated the outer loop. The skate deck was maybe 50% covered with blowing snow. I don't have to tell you: windblown snow is some pretty abrasive stuff. I went two laps with a friend before we succumbed to the conditions. If the winds die down and the groomers can work their magic, the amount of snow looks good! Stay warm.

(Michael Kuhne)

Skied at dusk and after in the fierce wind. Whatever skier-made classic tracks there may have been were blown in, so I just skied down the middle of the recently groomed skate deck (thanks Mitch!), which was a mix of scoured but roughed up ice and drifts. That worked fine until about the third round, when I found myself absent-mindedly skating. I wondered how I could do that with wax on my skis. When I got home I found very little of the brand new kick wax was still on them. No wonder I had no kick! I would have been better off skating as the one or two others still there at 7 p.m. were doing. They seemed to be flying, in spite of the drifts.

(Lois Braun)

Made a number of passes today mainly to get snow to stay put with the wind and cold. There is a big skate lane with some soft spots from drifts out there and a few icy crests from wind blown stuff. I’m going to let it be until the wind dies off so the classic track can be better set and not get destroyed by the wind.

(Mitch Hoffman)

Conditions are great, the gang there should teach a class on how to groom; The U of M crew is killing it this season. There was no area that had ground coming up. The skate lane had just been redone so was soft and should set up nice. The classic tracks were shallow and glazed, still fast. Keep up the good work and get out a enjoy before it gets to cold!

(Mike Smith)

We are back up and running! Skate deck was groomed this morning and it needed it. We will see what the snow does and make a decision on the classic track in concert with that.

(Mitch Hoffman)

Skied at 11:00 am with a friend. We did five laps on the outer loop. The track has the usual oak leaf debris, but it was glazed and fast. I used a soft hard wax, but klister would have been a better bet. Despite the groomer being down, the tracks were pretty good: a little squirrely on the downhills but a fun ride nevertheless. The skate deck was hard, but it was softening as we skied. All in all, it is great to see the UofM course in such good shape, the best it has been in years. Kudos to the groomers hope you can get the repairs done soon.

(Michael Kuhne)

We had a breakdown of our grooming vehicle. Hoping to be up and running by late in the week. Thanks to the patron who did the shoveling, I'm disappointed I couldn't get the groomer over those spots to level them out. Thank you for your patience we will be back at it as soon as we can. So rewarding to see all the skiers out using the facility this year!

(Mitch Hoffman)