Fantastic classic conditions this morning at Theo. Wirth. Twin bomb-proof classic tracks throughout. Skate deck was firm with just enough on top to get an edge. Trail 18 was temporarily closed for snowmaking, and they were blowing snow near the entrance to the stadium as well as on Green Meadow/Twin Lakes. Nice that it is cold enough to see the snow guns going again!

(Keith Gilbert)

Fair conditions on the snow making loop. No grooming since it started snowing, so there was about 3” of heavy snow on the trails. Skate deck was rutted and slushy on the uphill sections but not too bad considering all of the rain and melting the past few days. Thankfully very few icy patches.

(Genevieve Johnson)

I did one lap classic, then switched to skate. Overall things are looking great considering the weather. The lower stadium has been widened a bit, and the classic tracks were around the perimeter today, which gives a great flat area to practice technique. Yesterday morning the course was solid ice, but the grooming last night cleared that up. I ski in the dark so it's hard to see the dirty spots, but there is a fair amount of debris out there. Other than the occasional larger fallen branch, the main concern this morning was some icy parts (Ridgeline and La Squadra were quite icy). Conditions over the past week have been quite variable. The groomers are out there every night or early morning (even on Christmas day!), but with the traffic and warmer temps the conditions can deteriorate quickly. Getting out early is a safe bet.

(Sam Knuth)

Deep sugar everywhere. Consequently, the downhills were tricky and the uphills a slog. The classic tracks appeared to be OK. Crowded in the morning.

(Bill Weber)

The mandmade loop at Theo Wirth has gotten pretty dirty and a little rutted up in quite a few spots, looks like it hasn't been groomed in the past 1-2 days. Classic tracks mostly intact, but some washed out, the rest glazed over. Started on Rex Gold klister, not much kick. Added a layer of OV Brown, and kicked much better, with a little bit of icing out of the tracks. On the hill coming up over the shipping container, snow is getting real thin, gonna need more manmade snow since Mother Nature does not seem to be in the mood to help out!

(Jason Dalebroux)

Ho ho ho, grooming the snow! Bringing the gift of skiing to Minneapolis. Colder weather is on the way soon. (From Santa Claus).

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(Lars Gaalaas)

Last night we opened up the catwalk and lesson loop and connected the existing snowmaking loop into the Lower Stadium! Our snowmaking loop is now 3.5k. Our snowmaking efforts will be focused on the trail along The Trailhead and over the bridge along with Twin Lakes trail when the weather allows.

Photos:

(Isaac Kasper, Loppet Foundation)

I skated JD Rivers, Tornado Alley, the Bridge trail and the machine made loop this morning. On the natural trails, there is still good coverage throughout, but there are more thin spots and they are getting thinner. Several spots of bare ground to look out for. A lot of hard packed snow with some icy spots, which I suspect will get worse in the coming days. Also a lot of debris (leaves, twigs). Many stretches are great skiing, but need to use some caution. I will probably stick with the machine made loop until we get more snow.

(Sam Knuth)

I skated on the snowmaking loop this morning. It has been expanded again and now goes almost all the way down the hill to the roundabout by the lower stadium. I have never seen so much and such high quality artificial snow at Wirth before. It must have something to do with the upcoming World Cup race. There is so much snow piled up that the contours of the course have changed. Some hills have been made taller and some valleys shallower. There are massive piles of snow off trail waiting to be pushed into more trail. It is truly a World Cup quality course and a winter wonderland out there right now. This is the best Wirth has ever been. I can't wait for more trail to open!

(Zachary Handler)

I measured the loop at the Wirth manmade loop and got about 2.3K - Trail 18 - Upper stadium- Ridgeline - La Squadra - back through upper stadium and around the maintenance shed loop and back to the stairs. You can see they are really close to opening the 'catwalk' so maybe that gets them to ~3K (basically the trail from Ridgeline to the roundabout at the end of the lower stadium) and big piles in the lower stadium, so hopefully we are starting from the lower stadium rather than walking up the steps very soon. Coverage and grooming are great for skate and classic. Only complaint is a lot of oak leaves in the tracks from the wind and stupid red oaks that don't lose their leaves at the right time, but forces one to work on agility and stepping in and out of tracks.

(Jim Carlen)