Started classic skiing at 9 a. m. on the Valley Trail. There were a handful skiers out and more arriving when I was leaving. The trail had been groomed and tracks were in good condition. Snow was fast but not ice. Double poling was fun today. I had to herringbone in steeper uphill sections. Had a great ski. I hope there will be a few more.

(Mark Basiletti)

Man-made is only available. Tracks are solid but a tad icy. Getting soft by 9. Saw two trumpeter swans fly over. 2.5 km open.

(Bonnie Scott)

The manmade set up before I got here, after the first band of precip. Soft but firm skate deck, deep crunchy tracks. Quick klister worked even when I went back for my rain coat, then zeros. If you can stand the pitter-patter, it’s pretty nice skiing.

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(Daniel Luoma)

Wow, where are the skiers? Perfect conditions, well groomed both skate and classic on Valley trail (man-made). Skied both skate and classic. Skate deck firm and very good classic tracks, not yet mushy. Started around 9:30 am. Classic fast but very doable (hills and corners). Earliest I've skied and one of the best days. Thank you very much groomers.

(Karen Peters)

Got out a little late after watching the World Champs Men's 50K and finish lane/line incident. Classic track was faster than the skating mush but the classic track was breaking down on the sidewalls. Skins worked good. Could be my last ski...but I'm keeping my skis and equipment in the car just in case there's a ski emergency...you never know.

(Mark Lahtinen)

We got going around 10:00 am. The man-made was already getting quite slushy. We then ventured onto the natural snow, natural trails are open, but they are not groomed any longer. Of course, the bridge by the valley trail was not skiable, so we had to take our skis off, but after that, it was actually better than we expected considering the weather. There are of course icy parts and some bare spots, but most of it was still skiable, with a little bit of caution. The classic track was even still adequate in some spots. We then went over to the classic only eagle trail, which still had decent cover throughout and better than expected tracks. Most of the creek trail was un-skiable and completely grass once you approached the ridge, but once you got down the big corner hill, there was actually a part of the trail that was in beautiful condition due to lack of direct sunlight. This segment was firm with good tracks and rewarded patience with the un-skiable ridgeline. The Mud Lake trail really deteriorated as you approached the northern lights, but the northern lights back to the man-made was decent. By the time we got to the man-made around noon, it was extremely slushy. Overall, the natural trails are still passable if you’re willing to have a little adventure, take your skis off a couple of times and risk your skis a bit, although I expect that skiable window will start to close fast at this point.

(Marcus Bradt)

I stuck with the manmade. The skate deck never set up, so it was soft. Starting to mash up before I left at 7. The classic tracks had little sugar to grip, klister is king. The snowmobiles were out giving the natural snow some freshness.

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(Daniel Luoma)

I classic skied the manmade and timed it about an hour too late at a little past 11. The track was still pretty good but starting to break down in the sunny areas. Skins worked well. Skate lane was getting mushy on the sunny up hills. Another skier said that the skate track on the Northern Lights was pretty good earlier and that the classic track was OK...icy in spots. As of yesterday we made it to an average natural snow ski season of 70 days (not counting the early October snow). All-in-all it was a pretty good year with nice temps and consistent snow for most of it (Rex blue glide wax worked well most of the season) not counting the 2 week cold spell.

(Mark Lahtinen)

I skied at Elm Creek Monday, Tuesday, and today. Mon and Tues, did valley, Lake, and Northern Lights. Big deterioration in trail conditions from Mon to Tues afternoon (~2 pm). Many more bare spots and very slushy. Looked very slow on the skate deck. Went back today about 11 and just did Valley and Northern Lights. Both icy and slushy patches. Parts of trail were still decent but another warm day like yesterday and Northern Lights will be rough. Valley still has a deep base, but I think I’ll call it quits for this season. Thanks to groomers for keeping it going!

(Jean Storlie)

Skated the Valley-Lake-Creek-Northern Lights loop in late morning to noontime. I'd say poor to good conditions depending on expectations and frame of reference, but a lot of fun. The snow on the bridge across the creek from the Valley to Lake trail was obliterated about halfway through, so getting to the outer trails was impossible without taking your skis off. Also, after the small bridge by the swimming pond the trail had melted away to bare grass, so again taking off the skis was necessary. There were also several spots of exposed mud or blacktop on the Lake and Creek trails; they were avoidable at the time but will be less and less so going forward. However, the natural snow that was present throughout the vast majority of the loop was in pretty good condition, very nice and much better condition than the manmade snow, which was pretty soft. At this point one might be able to squeeze in some fun skiing, but it requires some portaging and sense of adventure (along with an older pair of skis).

(Kristian Markon)