I skied the silver loop late morning. Considering the rain yesterday, the trail was in very good condition, with some soft areas where there are no trees to block the sunlight. There is, however, one potentially dangerous condition developing in the classic tracks on the "big bertha" downhill just before the Winthrop Street turn. The tracks have become markedly cambered to the outside (probably as much as 10 degrees) in the middle portion of the hill. This occurs in an area where the skier is moving at high speed and also needs to navigate a small turn to the left. After both of my skis jumped the tracks, I had no choice but to wipe out to avoid risk of running into the trees or a nearby light pole. I won't be skiing the tracks down that hill for the rest of this season unless the camber is fixed.

(John Stoxen)

The natural snow Ski Games trails were also groomed. The glaze on the skate deck was mostly removed and the deck was flattened. New, mostly crisp classic tracks were set. The trail is in good condition, although a few more passes will be needed to bring most of it to excellent condition. There are 3-4 spots where ice pooled and turned to ice. Two of these are at the bottom of small hills - some caution is needed. Additional passes may not take these ice patches out. The two photos show the best and worst of the conditions with 3 of 4 passes complete - most of the Ski Games Trail tends toward the better condition.

Photos:

(Karl Dewahl)

Skied The Ski Games trail this morning. The groomer was out setting a very nice classic track and good smooth skate lane. The trail was getting a bit soft but a still a nice outing.

Photos:

(Bill Stuber)

Groomed and set tracks on the entire system except the Ski Games segment early this morning. Most of the trails did not show any significant damage from yesterday's rain and looked very good after being groomed. The Gold trail segment was more negatively affected by the rain. There are a few areas where water has ponded and are now icy patches. The most significant of these is in the tight turn that is located in the most southwestern portion of the trail. Skiers should be very cautious in this area as the ice covers the majority of the trail in this corner. Other icy spots exist but should be more easily avoided. The classic tracks on the Gold, although newly set, may be very icy in their bottoms. All things considered it is somewhat amazing that we mostly came through unscathed!

(John Fitzgerald)

Skied the snowmaking and Enchanted Forrest loops. The deck was glazed over and a bit crunchy, but had no trouble getting an edge. Took it easy on the downhills, but mostly unnecessary.

(Ben Schmiege)

The entire system except the Ski Games segment was groomed, including new classic tracks, in the wee hours of the morning in the hope of avoiding the forecasted rain. Everything is in excellent condition. Happy to see how heavily the trails were used over the weekend!

(John Fitzgerald)

Amazing ski from 9:30-noon. Skied all the trails. Just beautiful and superb conditions primarily thanks to the groomers and mother nature.

(John Greene)

Skied all outside trails and all manmade snow trails in very good condition, firm and fast. The Gold and Games trails were a little soft but still in good shape. The skin skis with Red Fast Wax worked very well with great grip and glide. The hilly sections were very manageable and can be skied with confidence. What a great year at Battle Creak, thank you groomers for all of your efforts!

Photos:

(Scott Ford)

All man-made trails were in excellent condition this morning as was the silver trail. It didn't look like the gold had been groomed today. The silver has firmed up nicely and was more even than yesterday.

(Ethan Knuti)

The conditions at Battle Creek were excellent on all the trails. The skate deck was pretty firm-though softer over on the "ski games" section, but still easy to ski and plant poles in all sections. With so many people at the Birkie events, the trails were quite empty, making the phenomenal conditions even more incredibly fun and amazing to ski on. Groomers have done a fantastic job over the whole course.

Photos:

(George Wawro)