I classic skied all of the trails. The trails were generally in good condition except for some ridges left on some hills by snowmobile grooming, and some snowplow troughs and fall holes on some downhills. The worst big hardened ridges of snow had been in the middle of the dogleg turn on the biggest downhill on the Razorback Trail (also noted by another reporter). But having seen this on Saturday, I brought my avalanche shovel Sunday afternoon and did my best to fix it. Then I took one test run down that section and it was much better! The last mile or of trail past the new bridge still has no set tracks, but it wasn't bad for classic because the snow was still soft enough to keep the skis tracking. Very little debris on the trails. One mountain biker and a couple hikers had left tracks on the ski trail but hadn't done much damage.

Photos:

(Craig Wiklund, North Star Ski Touring Club)

Yesterday was the best classic conditions I can remember in 15 years of skiing at Murphy because thanks to the groomers there were excellent tracks covering about 90% of the trails. Today was almost as good but because of the narrow trails on Razorback, there was some washout on turns and climbs. Amazingly, even with all the snow, pole plants were solid everywhere. The biggest safety issue was some weird ridges perpendicular to the trail at the turn on the biggest curving downhill on Razorback. I stayed in the track all the way down to there and was a bit shocked the first time down since normally there's not much loose snow there; especially not a ridge or pile of snow you have to go over while making the turn. The other issue is from the top of the climb after the new bridge to the trailhead (maybe 10% of the trail) the grooming is pretty messed up. It appears it just needs more passes by the groomer to smooth it out and add tracks. Kettle trail was also in great shape up to that point. I did two Razorback and one Kettle loop on both days. Also had fox run across right in front of me carrying lunch.

(Dan Zenk)

Skied Razorback twice and Knob loop once. Mediocre and highly variable grooming. Some portions of Knob were smooth, even and solid with ungroomed fluff on top. A short portion near the end had two crazy deep tire ruts down the middle of the trail! And some fat tire biker left their own rut through much of the trail. That said, with all the new snow conditions were all quite safe, if sometimes annoying. This is still the best terrain and "back woods feel" in the metro area, so I was glad to see an (altogether too rare) report of safe skating conditions here and take advantage of them.

Photos:

(Jess Holle)

Excellent conditions for classic on most of the trails. We skied all of Razorback and the connecting trails. Tracks were deeply set most of the way and there was very little leaf or stick debris. The exceptions were some of the downhills on the second half of Razorback, where gulleys and ridges left from grooming and some pits left by falling skiers made it a bit treacherous! But overall great to have so much fresh snow there and a glorious sunny day with sparkling snow and little wind!

Photos:

(Craig Wiklund, North Star Ski Touring Club)

The recent snow was kind to Murphy; no bare spots, no ice, no leaves. Excellent toe tip control and edging on turns. The Razorback trail was like a doberman pinscher raised in a warren of rabbits; fierce on the outside but soft and fluffy on the inside. Get out there! Like all perfect things in this world, it won't last long!

(Jim Topic)

We skied the Kettle and Knob trails. Conditions were generally pretty good. Tracks were a little washed out in places, and there were quite a few oak leaves, but overall better than I expected. Plenty of snow everywhere, and soft enough on the downhills to maintain control. Skate deck looked better (flatter) and seemed firmer than it was a week ago.

Photos:

(Craig Wiklund, North Star Ski Touring Club)

I skied Knob, Kettle and part of Razorback this afternoon. First of all, I forgot how much work Murphy is! Second, the classic tracks were quite rough on 50% of the trails I skied today. Even the skate deck is starting to get a bit uneven in places which definitely makes things "interesting" on the downhills. Overall, I had a good time, but we could use some more fresh snow or a really detailed groom.

(Tim Dunklee)

Skied all of Razorback and the parts of Kettle and Knob connecting to the main trailhead. Tracks are in good shape over most of the trails, though they are accumulating a lot more oak leaves in some places. Some of the steeper downhills are getting more scraped and packed. Still plenty of snow on them, but the scraped uneven surfaces make for a pretty exciting ride! I saw a deer on the trail in front of me at four different places. One of them ran across very close in front of me. Quite a few hiker tracks, especially on the first mile and a half of trail.

Photos:

(Craig Wiklund, North Star Ski Touring Club)

Freshly groomed today. Tracks variable in quality, sometimes good, sometimes shallow or washed out from multiple grooming passes. Skate deck uneven in some spots, especially on some of the steep downhills, which presented a challenge for snowplowing and controlling speed to prevent crashing. Recommend being cautious on downhills. Lots of herringbone up the hills. New bridge (see photo) across swamp on Razorback trail is very nice. Nice to be able to ski at Murphy as many years there is insufficient snow to cover all the rocks.

Photos:

(Ken Kuznia)

First time in a long time for me that all the trails were open and groomed! Great to finally have lots of snow out there! I skied all of Razorback plus the trails connecting it to the main trailhead twice. Tracks were set pretty well and pretty firm over most of the course, but there were a few places where the outermost track dropped off the side of the trail. The skate deck appeared fair most of the way but was in poor condition over several scattered segments where there were gullies and depressions and humps in the middle. Also seemed pretty soft in a few places. It's great that they finally finished the new wider bridge across the marsh where there used to be a very narrow bridge. The narrow bridge wasn't a problem for skiing but it wasn't big enough to allow the groomers to get across and I think that impeded grooming in warmer wetter years.

Photos:

(Craig Wiklund, North Star Ski Touring Club)