Very surprised at how good the trails were after having negative glide at Elm Creek yesterday afternoon. Glad I made the drive. Couple of icy spots on south facing hills and I'm sure it will deteriorate somewhat throughout the day but overall great.

(Ben Fuller)

At 10:15 am start, it was 40 something and sun-exposed portion of trail that had been groomed overnight was getting soft and somewhat rutted. It was obviously slow but faster in the shaded portions of the trail. It was not so slow that the Boulder downhill had any problem with sudden deacceleration but I am sure that would have been the case later in the day.

(Keith Carlson)

Very nice at 9am. Getting slow by 10am. Used swix yellow with structure. Still a good, cold firm base with nightly grooming. Boulder ridge was fine.

Photos:

(Kevin Wendland)

Overall the course remains in very good shape for skate. It's a bit loose, dirty and leafy in some areas which should be expected. It looked like new classic tracks were recently cut.

(Brad Mlynar)

Amazing conditions. 36 hrs of cold temps then late morning thawing plus expert grooming provided all the skiers out today (not many) with a wonderful experience. Thank you groomers and Hyland staff!!

Photos:

(Jamie Peters)

At 10:30 am start, it was 26 degrees, sunny with an ENE wind and trail was in excellent condition. There was just enough fine sugar on top for good bite. Just a little bit of additional sugar accumulation on Boulder climb and no snowplow wake on Boulder descent so it was no problem. Great job groomers.

(Keith Carlson)

Whole 5K manmade continues to be in good shape. The tiny bit of fresh snow has provided some cohesion and has slowed the snow down just a bit. Quite pleasant out there with very little sugar when I was out mid-morning. Get it while it's good, who knows what things will look like after this weekend. Pic courtesy of Jake Adicoff as he flew back to Sun Valley.

Photos:

(Mitchell Campbell)

At 3:30 pm start, it was forecast to be 18 degrees, there was a NNE wind and trail was in fair to good condition. After Monday and yesterday's warm temperatures, it should have bee no surprise that the trail had froze into either near boilerplate or corduroy. It was difficult for me to get bite at first - I've always had trouble with that with the skis I used - got better but still had trouble with missing bite occasionally and my skis slipping out from under me. Given conditions I skipped Boulder because I didn't want to hold a snowplow all the way down. A plus was the first Scenic inbound climb was easier given the absence of sugar.

(Keith Carlson)

Trails were groomed. There's not much loose snow left on top of the icy base. There were exposed areas of the icy base. Fast downhills with just enough traction on the uphills to have some fun. Thanks again to the grooming and snow making crew for literally making winter happen this year.

(Jon Pohlman)

Skate skied a few laps on the snowmaking loops between 10:45 am and 11:15 am. Mostly soft and slushy and slow, except for a few stretches that were in the shade and were a little more firm and fast. A few areas of puddles on ice near Jan's place. The snow is getting pretty gray in some areas so the melting will probably accelerate. The Boulder Ridge climb wasn't too bad. The Boulder Ridge descent was quite soft and slushy and slow. No ice there. Beautiful day for skiing!

Photos:

(Craig Wiklund, North Star Ski Touring Club)