Still plenty of tracks left for afternoon MYSL. The course was quite busy, but everybody seemed to be moving about. The Jim's hill section and the hill between the roundabout and the catwalk are the loosest snow sections. And the classic tracks suffer a bit more there. But overall, it was good to see how much of the loop still had the tracks.

(Dan Boody)

Started before sunrise on Saturday. The deck on some of the new sections was a little crusty, and the downhill from the meadow was very squirrely, with bumps and ridges making it a more wobbly ride than usual. However, the deck rapidly softened, especially with the increased traffic as the morning wore on. A couple hours later, the bumps on the hill were barely noticeable. Most of the uphills developed mashed potatoes, a little more substantial than loose sugar. The 180 turn after the catwalk was a little crusty early on, but softer later and didn't pose a problem for the people going around it.

(Dan Boody)

Got out on the manmade loop this morning. The Meadow segment and one short segment past Coaches' Corner are now open. Total of 2.8K. Thanks to all the folks making snow and trail for us!

(Bill McKinney)

Went this afternoon around 1PM. Green Meadow still closed past the roundabout. The few inches of sugar on the uphills have turned into mashed potatoes-be prepared for some leg burners. The downhill sections are hard packed but not icy.

(Toby Martin)

We just wrapped up touchup snowmaking on Green Meadow and after Coach's Corner to ensure we have enough snow depth to keep grooming those sections after the Christmas thaw. Grooming plans: We are planning to have those sections open by Saturday morning, bringing us back to a total of 2.6k of trail open.

(Robert Ibler, Loppet Foundation)

Conditions have deteriorated since Wednesday. The skate deck didn't seem to setup last night and there was a good 2-3 inches of sugar on the uphills by 9AM. Flats and downhills are fine with no ice to contend with. On a positive note, the classic tracks still looked firm throughout. They haven't opened up any new trail yet.

(John Holton)

From what I heard of the conditions yesterday, they were much improved today. The snow actually felt like snow and not ice crystals. Only the last bump coming down to the stadium was sugary, the rest just had choppy snow. But it was very busy- both Trailhead lots were full mid-morning, with some high school teams still out. Nice ski- we even got five minutes of real snow falling!

(Dan Boody)

A short loop but a good one! The Meadows trail was closed this morning while the guns were firing but coach's corner and the hill offered superb conditions. Snow was getting thick on the climb when I left at 8 am, but conditions overall are improving. Great trail maintenance work.

Photos:

(Glenn Hansen)

Jim's Hill and Coach's Corner trails are now back open after a snowmaking refresh. Green Meadow is now closed for a quick round of snowmaking to address some thin spots.

(Robert Ibler, Loppet Foundation)

Fabulous classic ski with universal klister over blue. The crowds were not there....just an average weekday morning ski (compared to the mass mania of late yesterday morning, which was good Birke practice dodging around folks). A lot of fresh manmade snow in the stadium, but it turned to glazed tracks within 50 yds and was pretty fast.

(Diane Pattridge)