Man made snow loops groomed and tracked this morning. Much better results today thanks to the cooler and dryer snow. Should be good skiing!

(John Fitzgerald)

Heavy, soft snow. Slow going up and donw. My grip wax was good on climbs, but there was a little glide, and the grip wax grabbed the snow occasionally on downhills. The "floors" of the tracks were soft, so the skis would move down a little when I was thrusting down, and at times the ski would tip sideways. But, it was skiing. No bare spots.

(Greg Filice)

The natural snow on the gold trail was groomed this morning. A classic track was set; however, debris sometimes fouled the track setter, which affected track quality.

(Peter Wickert)

Groomed and set track on the man made loops and the Silver Trail early this morning. The snow was warm and somewhat wet so it didn't produce as beautiful an appearance as we usually are able to achieve with the Pisten Bully, but it should ski well. Hopefully the temps will cool down later tonight and we will be able to restore that smooth corduroy look in the morning.

(John Fitzgerald)

Battle Creek snowmaking loop was fabulous this afternoon, well-groomed and consistent with no ice and great coverage and firm deck. Natural trails were very good too although slower, they have good coverage and are firmly groomed. Didn't ski the ski games section so don't know about that.

Photos:

(George Wawro)

Still great conditions. Did about 50 minutes of skating drills in the easy area and then up the first hill for some one skate and offset exercises. Spent about the same amount on classics. Just looped around the man made snow area, the natural area tracks are pretty beaten up. Good news: I did the big hill toward Winthrop (Big Winnie) twice in the track set, made it all the way both times. Tracks in the front bowl have a few butt marks that threw me out of the tracks, I recommend the skate deck there.

(John Kieselhorst)

All man-made snow sections in good condition. Silver trail is holding up well too. I skied a portion of the Gold but it was it was not recently groomed and very icy.

(Ethan Knuti)

Classic skied the Silver course. Tracks still well formed on man made snow sections and very slick. Not as good on the natural section but still present mostly. Skate deck was soft and easy to run or herringbone up hills. No bare spots or bad ice, a little to watch for at the bottom of the first natural hill. The big downhill trackset toward Winthrop was fine today, but super fast! I couldn't hang on as I approached the light pole, lost my lean and bit the snow. I only practiced some skating techniques near the parking lot and then looped the man made course on skates. Soft and well covered all around. Great job groomers, a banner year this one!

(John Kieselhorst)

Man made snow loops groomed and new tracks set this morning. The skate lane of the natural snow areas were groomed with the Tidd Tech. The classic tracks were not reset. Caution on the Gold segment is advised.

(John Fitzgerald)

Overall, Battle Creek conditions were really good, especially given the weather this week. The downhills were pretty fast and did require some snowplowing. Both the snowmaking and natural ski trails were in good shape. Ski games were a bit rougher - totally skiable but a bit bumpy. I did hop in the tracks a bit, and they seemed quite slow. Thank you to the groomers for a spectacular season at Battle Creek!

(Hannah Weissman)