Skate skied Hyland this morning starting at 8:15 am. Was very surprised at how nice it was and how much it has held up. Nice job groomers and thank you! Once out on Frog Town, Rolling Meadows and Boulder I only came back down to get to car. It was very soft on Willow but good all the rest. Stayed firm on the climb up out of Boulder By-Pass all the way to top of 2 way section. Great to be out!

(Jill Cooper)

At 11:00 am start, trail was in generally good condition. With temp around 31F degrees, the flats and downhills were fast and sugar-free. The last Willow climb and the NW Star climb were the only ones with deep, wet and rutted sugar. There appeared to be three lanes between the snowplow wake on the Boulder downhill. I did the left, outside lane that had been swept clean down to the hardpacked base. Probably the best choice. Lots of grade school and possibly younger kids in bibs. Once again thanks to the groomers for maintaining such good conditions in challenging weather.

(Keith Carlson)

Well groomed all the way around. Track was actually firming up as the morning went on as the temps dropped just enough. Boulder uphill was mashed potatoes and Boulder downhill was icy with churned up snow. Everything else was as good as could be given the weather. Deer are adding lots of muddy prints crossing the trail.

Photos:

(Scott Greymont)

The Willow loop is currently in rough shape. The snow was very soft and the deck felt like it was collapsing in places. I stayed on the Frogtown and Scenic Foothills loops for most of my ski where conditions were significantly better. Despite the conditions, I'm thankful we still have trails open to ski this winter given the weather.

(Ben Ruhme)

At 11:00 am start, it was about 34 degrees with a moderate overcast - brighter than it has been the past week. Trail was fairly crowded but it was only an issue on second portion of Scenic climb. I can't skate uphill in a line of several skiers. Fortunately, I was miraculously able to pass on the outside and make it all the way to the top without breaking stride. The outbound leg of Willow was wet sugar "mush." Improved substantially once you transited onto Frog Town. Outbound Scenic climb obviously had moderate sugar as did Boulder climb but not as bad or wet as outbound Willow. Boulder downhill was fast but unfortunately with a scary amount of snowplow wake. Thanks to groomers for keeping Hyland operating in this challenging weather.

(Keith Carlson)

Spring skiing conditions this morning. The Willow and Star loops were a mess, so I stayed up on Frog Town and further out where the conditions were much better. Firm flats, the uphills were in decent condition, and the downhills were icy-fast. Great ski!

(Matt Frantzen)

The trails were well groomed and fast. Unfortunately with the high temps, the snow is loose -particularly on the hills.

(Kenneth Kooistra)

Soft, squishy, wet - that is the best way I can describe 90% of the classic tracks. Needed to be very deliberate on the uphill stretches with weight transfer so you didn't slip. On that topic - classic tracks were groomed all the way up Boulder. There were only a few areas that firmed up overnight, one was the Boulder cut off. Otherwise if your skis weren't flat you were definitely cutting into the deck. Great work by Hyland crew keeping us out there. Now if they would just get the burned out lights fixed.

Photos:

(Scott Greymont)

Skate deck was a little soft at 7 am, but better than expected given the warm temps. Some dirt scattered here and there.

(Dave Hunt)

Damp out this morning. Better than yesterday in the mist but very foggy. Classic tracks were deep but I wouldn't anticipate them staying in great shape as it is so warm. The sides were really getting collapsed when skate skier skied over the classic tracks. Watch out for snow bombs coming out of the trees. Three times around - each time there was a new blob of snow in the tracks.

(Scott Greymont)