Still grooming. Skiing was pretty good on the Valley this morning. Still fast. Getting dirtier. Getting below freezing the next couple of mornings so should still be good in morning. Classic track looked pretty good.

(Mark Lahtinen)

I went around Elm four times this morning. The well formed classic tracks were a little icy at first, but softened up after the second loop. The skate deck was in really good shape. It was a satisfying last ski of the season. I think I'll finally put the skis away, and get the bike out tomorrow!

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(Bill Lundberg)

Skied the Valley/manmade between 9:30 and 10:30. It was very good and very fast particularly the classic track when I hopped in and double-poled. The skate lane was a little soft as it hadn't set up much overnight. Did a detour around and up the alpine area one time. Didn't need ear protection like Saturday morning when the snow was crunchy loud. Access is easier as not so much smooth ice as you entered the snow area from the parking lot. Tomorrow could be the last good morning for this season. With the early snowmaking start about 131 plus days of possible skiing this year - 69 natural snow ski days which is right about average.

(Mark Lahtinen)

First review this year, a bit late, I suppose... Skijored the Multi Use starting around 10:30AM with Stevie. Blue wax and slush skis. I drove Boomer; Stevie, LuLu. Timing was perfect, the snow was just beginning to soften and even with no grooming and lots of foot traffic divots, was fast and mostly controllable. Snow cover was surprisingly deep on most of the trail; there were numerous uncovered short stretches we could step around with skis on, the meadow was mostly bare, a long walk carrying skis. Beautiful morning, sunny and warm, no gloves or jackets needed. As we skied, the snow continued to soften until it was slush when we returned to the parking area off of Fernbrook. The doggies were spectacular, pulled hard, Boomer pelting my face with snowballs in deeper snow, Ouch! He's eight years old and LuLu is ten; amazing athletes, they skijored over a dozen times this year and show no signs of wearing out or losing interest. We're so lucky! Probably the last skijoring outing this year unless we get some big snow; what a way to end the season, a fun trip! We'll ski Valley until it closes, I guess; it's been very good lately.

(Steve Evans)

I classic skied from 9 to 10 a.m. today. The Valley trail was groomed with perfect tracks as usual. It was firm and fast but starting to soften as the sun got higher. I did not try the Northern Lights but it looked like a couple skiers had gone that way on the flatter route near the road. There was a barrier at the entrance leading to the big hill. It was a beautiful morning to be out skiing.

(Mark Basiletti)

Skied the Valley and Northern Lights. Some earlier skiers had gone crust cruising which they said was good if you had larger baskets on your poles. I started about 10:30 or so and things had already warmed up and it was slow. Yesterday the break point was about 11:00 when I was classic skiing (skins worked great). Looks like the next couple of days it will warm up early. Plenty of snow still out there...just timing to get some good spring skiing.

(Mark Lahtinen)

I skied Elm Creek this morning around 6:30 am and the conditions were excellent! I was able to ski the entire 5.8k loop. Temps were just below freezing and everything had a nice crust on it. It seems like they are only grooming the manmade 2.5k loop, now, but Lake and Northern Lights were still very skiable and in good condition. The outer loop was closed and did not seem like it was in great condition.

(Jared VanderHook)

I skied Elm Creek around noon to 1 pm today. The website said that the only trail open was the Valley 2.5K loop, but it was wrong. I skied Lake and Northern Lights. Lake was not groomed, snow was a bit dirty, and there are some rough patches, but overall still decent. Tried to cut over to Creek, but there was a low area that seemed impassable, so I turned around. Northern Lights was groomed and in awesome condition. Fantastic skiing. Great glide and grip with my new skin skis.

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(Jean Storlie)

I was pleasantly surprised at the conditions at Elm this afternoon. I skied the outside loop on the natural snow, and it was in pretty good shape. There were decent classic tracks most of the way, double tracks on Eagle. The last parts of the Creek Trail and the Lake Trail were not in as good a shape, but still very skiable. The Creek was really running fast today with all the warm weather! By the time I finished, it was almost 40F, so it was a little slow coming back.

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(Bill Lundberg)

Rain is for sure good for one thing: Sublime crust skiing. I was on the outer loop groomed trails and found them hard and fast with little pooling. But then I found open prairie and chose my own adventure. Lots of wildlife and beautiful vistas. The crust was firm and consistent until about noon, when the sun had softened it enough. Crust skiing should be great on any open space you can find this week.

(Daniel Luoma)