The skate deck was pristine and fast this morning. I did a couple of miles on the natural trails, but they were a little too hard-packed to get an edge, so I stuck to the manmade loop for the rest of the time.

(Jared VanderHook)

Skated the man made loop starting around 6:30 pm. Much better conditions today. The skate deck is still very hard and fast but the cooler temperatures produced enough powder on the surface to give technique challenged skiers like me the ability to hold an edge. In spite of the cold temperatures and being waxed a little warm and being on a 25-year old pair of well used B-skis, my lap times were the fasted skiing I've done this year (including races). The surface still has enough minor ruts to grab your skis here and there but there was enough purchase in the snow to regain balance after getting bobbled around. The large rut is still present but was much more off the main ski line most places today and therefore easier to avoid.

(Leif Irgens)

The man made snow loop was fast with glazed tracks on the downhill sections. Skiing on fish scales, grip was challenging in the very fast tracks. The hard and well defined tracks meant that downhill cornering in the tracks could be done at the higher speeds that the conditions dictated. I skied very little on the skate deck but when I did use it, it was very firm with frequent patches of ice.

(Greg Loper)

Another really disappointing evening on the man made loop at Elm. Same grooming problem as last Tuesday - the same rut around the man-made loop in the same places it was last Tuesday; about 2-4" deep and about the width of a basketball or a tractor tire. I was a little more successful at jumping over it than last week but it's location in the two donuts really restricts the line one can take through the turns and, with the snow so hard packed, it can grab your ski and take it places other than where you are trying to go if you're not on full alert. Skate deck was again extremely hard packed and slippery by the time I got there. I really had sympathy for a group of what appeared to be beginners who could hardly stand up on their skis. I spent so much time coasting and fighting to keep my skis under me that I couldn't get my heart rates up to within 20 bpm of my normal training values. I went into the Chalet to discuss the conditions but the employees at the desk were not able to reach anyone in maintenance. I did get a phone number which I will try to call tomorrow to try to learn more about the current problems with the grooming and what can maybe be done to address the rock hard snow in the evenings.

(Leif Irgens)

Classic skied the Valley Loop. Corn snow on skate deck, corn snow and icy in classic. Some slippage with blue wax.

(Earl Stabenow)

I skied the lighted loop, most of Creek and the outer loop multi-use trails this morning. All were freshly groomed and in excellent shape for skating. Kudos to the groomers for their hard work.

(Don Callander)

The entire Lighted loop was groomed and in excellent condition. Only portions of the Creek Trail were groomed as of 8:00 am. Also the debris from trees (branches, twigs and leaves) was significant on this trail. The outer multi-use trails were pitted, rutted and hard packed.

(Don Callander)

Classic skied what I think is the entire trail. Overall really good coverage and decent tracks. Out on the eagle loop a couple of low spots were iced over. By the beach was pretty thin and leaf covered.

(Scott Greymont)

Classic Skied the outer loops including Lake, Creek and portions of Monarch as well as Northern Lights and Valley. Valley in very good condition and all others in good condition. Some debris and a few icy spots, but with no real issues. Classic tracks icy but in good shape. Skate deck recently groomed and in very good condition.

Photos:

(Doug Schumacher)

Left the chalet around 9:30 am. Red wax and 35 degrees. Did the outer trail and creek loops. Great snow coverage on 95% of the trails. Melting snow patches are the other 5%. The groomers did an excellent job of lifting and regrinding the recent snow.

(Scott Kee)