I skied the outer multi-use trail, the Northern Lights and the man-made snow loop. The multi-use was a little dicey as some of the tar path was showing thru. The trail was driven by a side-by-side rather than groomed like in past snow years. Northern Lights was groomed but there were some little pebbles and dirt here and there. Manmade loop was in excellent shape! Only a few had skated on it before me so corduroy heaven! Pics are from multi-use trail.

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(Jennifer Bennett)

Bright, crisp winter sun. Whitetail deer watching warily from the brush, nostrils flaring. The rhythmic crunch of poles stabbing into hard snow. My absolute favorite ski of the season so far, particularly for classic. I was the only one on the snowmaking course at 10am, and even by 11, not a single user of the skate deck, which I don't think I've ever seen before. The conditions were fantastic (yes, cold at -5, but nothing a few layers can't counter). The tracks were the best I've seen all year - fast but not icy, grippy without being sticky, no washouts whatsoever. Absolutely pristine.

(Jason Goepfert)

It's so nice to be in natural snow again. The trail is varied quite a bit in condition with roots, rocks and grass occasionally. I was very glad to be on my rock skis. Eagle and Monarch had recently been groomed so were pretty soft. I saw a very shallow classic track occasionally on Creek but I was skating.

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(Katharine Woodman-Maynard)

Amazing skate deck on the Lake and Creek loops! Just a bit of grass and dirt but no rocks! Nice to be on natural snow again.

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(Kim Rudd)

Classic skied the manmade loop and part of Northern Lights. Snowmaking loop was scratchy and slow - about what you would expect for fresh snow and cold temps, and the tracks were in fantastic shape. It looks like the outer loops have been rolled/packed, so I ventured out onto Northern Lights from the cutoff at the bottom of the donut. Conditions on NL were soft and bumpy, with gravel mixed in in spots, no classic track set - most definitely rock ski territory. It could however, make a good base when we get more snow. It's ski-able, just be super careful.

(Eric Nevalainen)

Skied around 11 AM this morning. Trails were not groomed, and there were several inches of fresh snow was on the trail. A few people had been out on the skate trail, although it was not well packed. Slow and tiring skate skiing, especially on the uphills.

(Laura Adrian)

Skied late morning. The snow-making loop hadn't been regroomed since before the snowfall. There were skier-made classic tracks and signs of several skaters slogging through the powder on the skate lane. I ventured out onto Northern Lights, following tracks from someone who'd been there before me, and encountered a groomer, beginning to pack down the snow using a snowmobile. He told me he hopes grooming on the outer trails can be finished in the next couple of days. Finally!

(Ken Tobacman)

Tracks were deep, not washed out anywhere, but very icy. I got limited kick due to icy conditions and also my fault for not waxing the kick zone before skiing. I thought I could use previous wax from last skiing, but that wore off. Started skiing 3:30 pm, very few skiers out there.

(Earl Stabenow)

First time here this season. Trail was well used but in good condition with a firm skate deck (no sugar or soft spots). The new snow appeared to have freshened up the snow making loop nicely. Classic tracks looked shallow and were washed out in a few locations.

(Ben Ruhme)

Skied from 9:00 to noon. Tracks were solid but frequently glazed or icy or leafy. Spent much of the time out of the track double poling. Wind was increasing as I left.

(Michael Kuhne)