Several hours later my face has thawed, but it was a very well groomed route with a surprisingly firm base. The wind created some drifts, especially by Wirth Lake, but the only serious problem was on the top of the hill closest to JD Rivers. If coming from the north, go under 55, cross the creek and turn left; the trail to the right is the one to take, as the path to the left has drifted significantly. There is adequate but thin coverage under highway 55.

(R.T. Rybak)

Perfect midwinter conditions in south wirth. Today is better than it ever gets most winters. No dirt and almost no sticks or leaves. No classic track is set. A few walkers have found some stretches of trail but it still skis well. The snow is fast and easy to ski right now. Kick and glide were both excellent on rode green kick wax.

(Zachary Handler)

Skied Eloise Butler, the Bog, and up to the Trailhead. Deck is firm powder and perfect for either skate or classic. Much firmer than I expected due to all the powder. Amazing March conditions - get out while you can. Thanks to the Loppet staff and groomers!

Photos:

(Cynthia Osterling)

Groomed after dark. This was the third time south wirth was groomed Sunday. Did not set a classic track because of the risk of pulling in dirt from the unfrozen ground. Snow is still pristine and free of any dirt. Minimal leaves or twigs. Hopefully this third pass will set the trails up nicely to last until the next warmup.

(Zachary Handler)

Skied in the afternoon. Slightly soft but perfectly clean skate deck. No dirt whatsoever anywhere. No classic track is set.

(Zachary Handler)

We rolled bog and butler this morning, as well as JD rivers. The resultant corduroy is still very soft. We did not set tracks. I am giving this a rock ski rating as there is no base under the new snow, but that rating is a guess as I was on snowmobile and not skiing. Maybe it is actually B ski conditions. At any rate it is quite beautiful out there.

Photos:

(Zachary Handler)

Bog and butler still have excellent skiing, though yesterday's freezing rain did make the surface slightly icier. The only real problem area is the south-facing descent on the flower gardens side as the trail approaches anwatain pond. The usual patch of dirt has been enlarged by yesterday afternoon's sun, and as the bare ground is not visible from the top of the hill, it is difficult to avoid hitting it. I recommend a cautious approach to that section. The access road to the flower garden parking lot has been driven by some trucks, ruining the corduroy, but there is still full snow coverage and it is skiable. Everywhere else the trail system is in good shape fortunately. The connector to the bridge over 394 is ungroomed but has plenty of snow. The bridge itself has been plowed to bare concrete, and the descent to brownie lake is passable but is developing some exposed spots. North of glenwood, jar hill and JD rivers are in good shape. There too the snow is a bit icy, but coverage is very good and the skiing is still excellent. There is no snow under the highway 55 underpass.

Photos:

(Zachary Handler)

Quaking Bog Trail was in near-mint skate ski conditions this early morning, and Eloise Butler was in great B skis conditions overall. Only one downhill in the Garden was tricky with exposed rocks and roots to watch out for. But overall, fantastic, gentle grooming!

Photos:

(Bill Oyler)

The natural snow trails were groomed with corduroy and great for skate today. A couple of low spots, but mostly good coverage throughout. Grateful to have a second round of natural trails this winter!

(Tracy Litzenberg)

Excellent conditions on 95% of the trail in Bog and Butler. Beautiful, flat, wide skate deck with freshly set corduroy. No classic tracks, but I found my classic skis tracked very nicely on the skate deck. There are a few obvious frozen puddles on the Flower Garden side that are easy to ski around. On the Bog side, there is a patch a few feet across with gravel in the snow that was also easy to avoid. Otherwise, the trail is in great shape. I used B skis and hit no rocks or dirt. The connector path to Brownie Lake is not groomed right now, though it appeared people had been skiing on it.

(Zachary Handler)