Skied from the trailhead down tornado alley, Wirth Lake and Eloise Bulter. Some slush on the lake. Everywhere else had good coverage and was well packed. Some leaves in Eloise Butler, but avoidable. Under the Hwy 55 bridge is thin and full of sticks but that was the only spot that suggested B or rock skis.

(Peter Swenson)

All of South Wirth (north and south of Glenwood Ave.) was in great shape. Eloise Butler and Quaking Bog were beautiful and in great shape. All trails had a great skate deck and good tracks. I followed up my grooming with a good ski to check our work. Excellent coverage and conditions with just a few, easily avoidable thin spots and some areas with a few oak leaves. We have now groomed across the 394 bridge and down to Brownie Lake. While the ice is fine, snow coverage varies from 1-3". The lake is actually excellent for a nice ski. Grooming plans: The slush beneath the snow has frozen on nearly the entire lake, so grooming will happen when more show shows up.

(John Daniels)

Skated everything south of Glenwood Ave at first light this morning. The trails firmed up very well after yesterday's grooming, coverage remains excellent. There was just occasional leaf litter. A little bit of underlying ice exposed on the downhill east of the pavilion (right next to Glenwood Ave). Light snow was falling, perfect way to start the day!

(Nick Minderman)

Skied from Wirth lake over to tornado alley and along the golf course toward the trailhead and back. Overall good coverage with some avoidable spots of iciness, especially near access points to the lake. A couple bits of concrete in some spots near some of the bridges and parking lots. Very icy under the bridge but fully covered. Hoping new snow will smooth things over.

(Chance Davis)

Great conditions after the new snowfall - winter is back! A few leaves but roots and rocks are covered. Lakes aren't groomed. We skied all of Eloise Butler and it was beautiful.

(Burke Minahan)

Fresh snow, fresh corduroy, fresh Classic tracks, sunshine - about as good as it gets in Eloise Butler and the Quaking Bog! Zero rocks or sticks - safe to use good skis. Nice gentle grooming made for perfect conditions.

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(Bill Oyler)

Merry Christmas everybody! We were out on the bog and Butler trails this morning, and as reported yesterday they are just really good skating. Thanks Loppet grooming team. What a great Christmas treat. It's not the prettiest snow you've ever seen. Lots of leaves, sticks, and Pineneedles in the snow. But it's fast and hard enough that you barely notice them. Nice grooming and good edge everywhere. Not icy in our opinion, although definitely quite fast now. If you like fast skating, this was our funnest skate of the year so far! There's a shallow classic track set as well.

(Ryan Atwell)

Classic skied the Bog and butler this morning at 9 am. Bog had the best tracks I can remember. Deep enough and fast but not really icy so I was able to enjoy most of the downhills in them. Only problem was the leaves but didn't affect my fish scales at all. Butler had few tracks and good snow (with debris again) but was still fun. Only ibad spot (a little icy) was the normal spot at the top of the big downhill just before the school section.

(Dan Zenk)

Skied Tornado Alley, JD Gardens and Eloise Butler. Tornado Alley is fantastic, JD Gardens is spotty, with some patches that are nearly impassable, but they're easy to get around. Parts of Butler are pretty good. However, be advised the normal loop is not what's groomed. I think that the pond not being passable in recent weeks prevented sections of the trail from being groomed. I tried to follow the usual route, and ended up on some foot-packed trails that are normally groomed. The groomed portions of Butler were all decent, but watch yourself on downhills. There was a nasty patch of dirt on the downhill coming out of the large oak clearing near the beginning of the loop. You would not want to hit that going full speed. I would also advise against skiing these trails in the dark even if you have a headlamp. Trail debris, like leaves and bark, were a bit of a problem. I hit a couple of pieces of something that nearly tossed me in the ground on uphills and flats. That said, the trails are in surprisingly good shape considering the warm weather. Here's hoping that they can survive and we get some snow in the next couple of weeks.

(Alexander Risse)

Bog and Butler fared much better in the recent warm spell than did the sun exposed trails north of Glenwood. Almost all parts of the trail are firm, fast, edgeable and flat. All sections have pine needles and leaves, though only enough to affect glide in a few short sections. The new classic track is holding up well in the bog.

(Zachary Handler)