Grand Ave Nordic Center was fast and firm Monday and definitely a good workout as it always is. When the wind picked up, the stadium was void of any soft snow cover, so was pretty darn icy. I observed a few novice, waxless classical skiers and looked a bit frustrating due to the lack of tracks and icy conditions. Admittedly, the downhills were pretty fast and a little dicey as it seems it was groomed early morning and then set up pretty firm when the temps dropped a bit.

(Jena Ogston)

Warm day, wet snow. Silver klister was kicking but with all the moisture in the snow there wasn't much for glide. The classic tracks and skate deck were good. It was a good day to be a nordic skier. The whole hour and a half I was skiing, the chairlift on the Alpine hill was stuck. I kept going around the tracks, and every time I returned to the trail next to the Alpine runs I could see the same people stuck on the chairlift. Ski patrol was rigging up ropes and lowering people down, one at a time. As I left, I noticed about half were still awaiting rescue.

(Joe Gerard)

We are back to our normal operations after a very exciting and successful weekend of racing! All 2.5k are groomed and tracked and in great shape for the most part, there are a few patches of ice -- the very far reaches of the upper loops with a little water soaking through. This is outside of our snowmaking reach, and the natural cover is pretty good, but is also insulating the water keeping it from freezing at the moment. I'd still say you can ski with your good skis, just something to keep an eye out for.

(Erik Blow)

Wide, firm corduroy. No classic tracks. All trails were open. I really wish they had laid at least one classic track (I was classic skiing).

(Joe Gerard)

Trails were in good condition but limited in length. But can climb and ski the downhill slopes as it was closed by groomed.

(Michael Deeny)

We're unburied and back in business after 24"+ of snow over the weekend! Naturally, we've got beautiful conditions on our open trails with wide, solid skate decks and deep classic tracks. I will be packing the upper loops today and possibly be looking at grooming if there's enough base for the PB 100. If you can get out of your house and need to ski, this is the place to be!

Photos:

(Erik Blow)

The lower trails are all groomed wide and flat. The surface is even and mostly firm. No classic tracks at all. None of the upper trails are rolled or groomed.

(Joe Gerard)

As I arrived at Grand Ave my hopes were elevated. Fresh corduroy covered the stadium and deep fryers scented the air. I skated out of the stadium, following another skiers tracks in the corduroy to find no new trail sections had been groomed. The gerbil loops were still comforting.

(Tyler Henkels)

The lower loop is open, with an out and back at the midway point. Skaters could ski corduroy up to the right of the lift, but only the left side was tracked. The deck and tracks were in perfect condition and there were no bare spots. I used my good skis on them and had no worries.

(Adam Schwartz-Lowe)

Full groom this morning with a great skate deck, and a slightly variable track set. The warm temps and some rain this past week has been forming a bit of an ice cap beneath the surface that can be difficult to punch through with the tracks, but overall they have decent depth and should hold up. Here's to hoping for some colder temps and some of the natural flakes soon!

(Erik Blow)