Eureka...there was glide and not brrrr-low zero. The manmade tracks were great and so were the tracks on the Northern Lights...a little dirt on the climb up Cowabunga. Going down Cowabunga there was someone coming up the wrong way, must've missed the Do Not Enter sign -- could be dangerous if more people were out. Swix V30 was great for kick.

(Mark Lahtinen)

Classic skied all the trails, tracks on natural snow trails were well formed but shallow. There were a few dirt spots that required leaving the tracks and of course leaves. Skate decks was firm and looked faster than I would have expected given the cold. Man made trail was perfect as usual.

(Tim Nelson)

I waited until it was FIS legal (-4F, -20C) to ski...didn't want to get in trouble. The manmade was solid but mostly very slow. There were a couple of faster stretches that had a little sun. Went on the Northern Lights and the wobblies are gone as it has been regroomed. A little shallow perhaps but the natural snow was a shade faster. There was only one classic track for part of the two-way trail but not much traffic out there.

(Mark Lahtinen)

5 degrees F with sun but wind in my face. Skied only Valley (man made snow). Glide was slow especially when tracks were filled in with drifted snow. Probably should not have use blue kick wax at 5 degrees. Pretty lonely out there, as most skate skiers were going on the Lake and beyond trails.

(Earl Stabenow)

Cold, fresh snow. Used polar and swix green special for kick. Tracks good on Eagle and Monarch trails. Marginal on Northern Lights (need setting as of mid-day.) Westerly breeze was tough, but pleasant, quiet morning out of the wind.

(Steve Paladie)

The tracks still had slow blown in snow in exposed spots on the manmade. Very s-l-o-w snow. The Northern Lights trail still has a case of the wobblies from the skied in track through the blowing snow and it was very slow. Didn't get out to the Dark Side to see f that had been recently groomed. One skate skier was flying around and had good glide. I had Rex Blue liquid for glide and Start green with Rode Special green on top for kick. It was a workout.

(Mark Lahtinen)

Very firm skate deck with plenty of corduroy showing. Long stable glides were easy to come by. The cold temperatures will make this a reliable destination in the coming week.

Photos:

(Stephen Wadle)

Skied the outer loop. The tracks have been reset and it was great skiing. A bit slow due to the cold and a few places that snow blown into the tracks. It was really nice to have fresh, non-icy tracks. The skate deck looked great. Could have used good skis. Northern Lights was not as good, but nice to have fresh snow.

Photos:

(Craig Hanson)

An excellent morning of skiing at Elm Creek! Skate-skied the natural-snow Lake and Creek trails as well as the connecting sections of the Valley and Northern Lights trails. Conditions on Lake, Valley, and Northern Lights were very good. I'd rate conditions on Creek Trail as good, with a few more dirty patches, particularly in the tracks, than the other trails. I felt comfortable using my good skis. Overall, the tracks appeared to be in good shape, the deck was firm and fast, and the fresh corduroy had just the right amount of give. Thanks groomers!

(Bob Amis)

I think the conditions at Elm Creek were the best of the year today. Every trail was freshly groomed, and fresh classic tracks were set on all trails. Yesterday's icy tracks are gone! The skate deck was also in prime shape, fast, with a surface that allowed good control. I can't even complain that a few leaves have found their way onto the trail in spots - just something to dodge around here and there. If it doesn't get this good again, at least we had one almost perfect day this winter.

(Ken Tobacman)