Great tracks for classic in the morning. Unfortunately I think I was too tired, so I was slipping a bit. The deck was a little softer than yesterday, but nothing problematic. Tracks were still firm and fast. Turns were all solid still.

(Dan Boody)

Skied N Wirth today. The made snow loop was quite firm, with only a few marginally soft spots. Heading into Judy however, the deck changed dramatically. It was rock-hard and fairly narrow up the first hill. The ice pond was still covered with snow, but also plenty of debris from the wind. The rest of Judy had pole plants and ski pushes locked into the deck, so it was quite bumpy. The crooked hill along the creek and the plateau up top had debris and some dirt patches. The top of that hill also had some tiny pinecones and sticks strewn about. The made snow loop was clean, aside from the hill up to Green Meadow. The made snow downhills had snow-plow evidence, but it didn’t affect the deck much since it was so firm. No icy spots anywhere. Trail 18 looks prepped, but still wasn’t open. Windy but nice ski today.

(Dan Boody)

Skied Skyline, Wirth Lake and most of the man-made loops early afternoon. Cold breeze from the east. Trails pretty firm, almost hard pack in places, but still able to get a good edge. Scattered thin areas on the natural snow. Snowmaking loops were in very good condition. Stadium was being prepped for the weekend events!

Photos:

(Bruce Adelsman)

Early morning ski on all the natural trails north of Glenwood and south of Wirth Parkway today. The trails were not groomed last night (they have been groomed every other night this week), but they were in good shape. Quite firm at this point and fast. There are starting to be a few spots to keep an eye out for potential damage, though nothing that looks too concerning (some ice, some debris, and some areas that look like they might be rocks coming through the snow - hard to tell as I'm always skiing in the dark). By and large everything is in great shape throughout. The bridge over the Parkway is still closed - hoping it opens up soon and we get some time to do the full course while conditions last.

(Sam Knuth)

Skied Skyline and all of the trails on the north side of the parkway. Really good conditions, very firm base for skating but not icy. Classic tracks looked great too. Found I enjoyed the natural snow a little better, felt faster than the man-made sections. But all very good skiing, good skis no issues.

Photos:

(Bruce Adelsman)

The snow was amazing this morning at North Wirth. Fantastic classic tracks- deep and cold. And when any slipping occurred, the deck had great traction. I even thought my kick improved slightly as the sun warmed the snow. Judy was in near perfect condition. It’s hard to believe how little snow is actually built up when skiing out there, because the landscape is covered and the course is so great. The tracks around N Wirth dropped out on a few hills where they could have carried through, and La Squadra only had one set going up. But whenever present (which was nearly everywhere), they were super solid. The downhills were in as good condition as they ever are (even abundant snowplowing- which was evident- had not reduced traction at all). The uphills were still firm, with no sugar and no real mashed potatoes either. Thanks to groomers and the weather for a great ski!

(Dan Boody)

As expected, conditions were much improved today. Deck is firm but not too hard and coverage/depth are excellent. There are just one or two places where I encountered a potential obstacle (most notably exiting Wirth lake on the southwest side), but in general it's just great throughout with hardly a leaf in sight (skied all manufactured, bridge, skyline, tornado alley, wirth lake, jd rivers). The only question is - when does Trail 18 open with the bridge over Wirth Parkway?? :).

(Sam Knuth)

First tracks on the new snow early this morning. Was happy to see that all the natural trails had already been groomed overnight. The manufactured snow trails looked like they had been groomed before the snow stopped - they were a bit soft. Green Meadow had some especially deep snow. The natural trails were soft and silky - and of course a bit slow. Most of skyline and the bridge trail had a bit of a snow drift between the skate deck and the classic tracks, and the tip of my right ski was getting caught in a bit (the effect is to make the trail a bit narrow). Coverage is amazing - it was a great storm in that respect. I suspect the rest of this week and into the Loppet next weekend conditions will be awesome.

(Sam Knuth)

The groomer has just made another pass as I began skiing this morning on the made snow loop. The corduroy was slightly icy, but also deep enough that it was a little soft. The hills were a bit soft but not too bad. The hill coming out of Twin Lakes was a little icy, especially on the inside of the turn. There were quite a few sticks and some leaves on the Green Meadow uphill- still mostly avoidable but more then normal (must have been brought down by the wind yesterday). A couple of snow guns were misting over the trail, and the inner meadow had a slow patch with reduced visibility from that. Around 8:30 or so several high school groups arrived, as well as a number of other skiers. Then the deck started to get much softer, and the uphills gained some mashed potatoes (the uphill in the middle of Twin Lakes was the mushiest). The downhills, especially at the back of Twin Lakes and coming out of Twin Lakes, started to get snowplowed. They didn't get too icy from that, as there was still plenty of snow on top.

(Dan Boody)

All of the Wirth North trails are in quite excellent shape, even the natural snow trails! Wirth Lake has a new skate lane without any ice. Jar Hill is in pretty good shape with just a few exposed areas that can be avoided easily. JD Rivers has been nicely repaired and in good shape. There is plenty of snow under the Highway 55 bridge, so no risk of ski damage. Tornado Alley is in good shape, as is the Skyline trail, with just a few small icy patches. The bridge trail, including the bridge itself by the historic chalet, and the uphill climb to the snowmaking loop, is about the best it has been in years. The Judy loop was slightly icy but very manageable if you have good balance - and remarkably good snow throughout. Classic tracks are intermittent in the natural snow areas. The Twin Lake and Green Meadow loops are in excellent shape with solid classic tracks. The rest of the snowmaking loop was getting a fresh coating of new snow and new classic tracks, and seemed to be getting wider as well. Lots of room to spread out! Mill Valley Market has some warm fire pits going and amazing post-workout fuel. Should be a great weekend for skiing!

(Bill Oyler)