A mighty chilly morning (-15 degrees) made for some mighty firm trails today. Fortunately the Pisten Bully came through and allowed for the skate lanes and the classic track on the man made snow loop to be refreshed. This is a busy week for high school racing so expect busy trails this afternoon. Racing also on Thursday all day. The trails will be closed to other users that day.

(John Fitzgerald)

Beautiful ski. The man made snow loops have pristine fast and deep tracks. The natural snow loops are pretty good, shallower and some debris but best skiing I can remember at Battle Creek. Thank you groomers!

Photos:

(Tanya Adelman)

Freshly groomed skate ski deck and new classic tracks. Natural snow also groomed. If you can handle the cold it should be good skiing.

(Jon Sunderling, Ramsey County Parks)

I skied the entire system this morning including the ski games section. All trails in good condition. Watch out for the ubiquitous oak leaves.

(Ethan Knuti)

Another beautiful morning on the man made snow trails. A bit chilly but not too bad in the cab of the groomer. New skate deck and classic tracks. Excellent, firm conditions!

(John Fitzgerald)

A serious mogul run - in the parking lot - with all the potholes. But the trails are in great shape. The winds raised a couple little snownados, and were impacting skiers more than the trails. There was little evidence of drifting on the skate deck and somehow even less in the classic tracks. A firm skate deck with this morning's fresh snow made for some great skiing (except that wind in the few open stretches).

(Michael Sweet)

Grooming of the man made snow loop was accomplished early this morning. Skate lanes and classic tracks were refreshed. Unfortunately at about 5:30 am it started snowing so hard that much of the new corduroy was obscured. Should still ski plenty good. There was some disruption of the classic tracks in the stadium area due to the construction of a new sprint course return trail just to the east of the stadium. The tracks were replaced but have two minor breaks in them.

(John Fitzgerald)

Checked out the Ski Games Trail at Battle Creek. Fantastic conditions with a coating of new snow on top. Classic tracks looked very nice. The skate deck with the new snow was smooth and fast. Not much out this morning except one skier before me, deer, and a Hawk looking for breakfeast.

(Bill Stuber)

The man made snow sections were pristine. The natural snow was slower, and the tracks were somehow producing less grip. That was especially the case on the Ski Games section- very slow snow. The coverage was great, and the tracks were solid enough, but the cold snow felt like glue. The rest of the Gold section (after the spur to the Ski Games area) had great coverage and fresh grooming. The downhills there have scraping/snowplowing due to their steepness and sharp turns, but it wasn't icy at all. Great snow throughout, and not too many leaves or twigs.

(Dan Boody)

Man made snow loop groomed and new tracks were set this morning. Please note that the large stadium area is closed for snow making operations. We are adding width to the east side of that area as requested by the organizers of the HS sectional meets which are scheduled for February 7 and 9. The area will reopen Thursday at 5:00. Thanks for avoiding this segment.

(John Fitzgerald)