Skated at French starting at 9am. Groomers were out but the skate deck was still pretty soft from the new snow. No sign of classic tracks by the time I left at 10:30am. However, by the time I left, the groomers were starting to make some progress on getting the skate deck packed down.

Photos:

(Leif Irgens)

French was groomed for skate and classic this morning before it started snowing. I started skiing just after it started snowing. The skate deck was a little more firm than last Thursday but, with 1-3" of new fluff on top, it was still pretty slow going. Classic tracks appeared to be set everywhere except the opening stretch of trail next to the parking lot. Based solely on a visual appraisal, they appeared to be not so firm and washing out in places from the traffic (although there appeared to be only a few skiers present mid-morning). Still, a beautiful day. One word of caution - a number of skiers are failing to detect the new "do not enter - one way" sign at the top of the hill near the Chalet on the Lakeview trail. There were plenty of tracks indicating people were descending that hill. So, take that blind hairpin at the bottom cautiously as there may be someone coming down the hill and around the other way.

(Leif Irgens)

Skated at French mid-morning. I decided the 2-3" of new snow (so far) this morning justified my good skis and I didn't regret that decision. Skated everything except the Challenge trail. Plenty of coverage but, as expected, it's soft and slow. Groomers were out rolling the trails as I skied but they weren't able to keep up with the ongoing snowfall. I spent most of my ski in 1-3" of fresh fluff over a soft skate deck. No signs of classic tracks yet.

(Leif Irgens)

French is again has a beautiful covering of fresh snow. Technically speaking, it's soft, slow, and a little thin, but it was a beautiful day to be out in the fresh powder. Groomers were working this morning. They attempted to set classic tracks but their initial attempt hit bare ground over more than half of the way around. By the time I finished my ski, it looked like they had made a second attempt with the classic tracks that produced more coverage. I'd still recommend not trying any pole plants when skiing over the concrete bridge on the Meadow trail as it's really thin there. I had a couple of reminders that there's an icy surface just below the fresh snow as I hit hard, slick spots in two locations, one on the meadow trail where it splits northbound or southbound back to Skyline, and a second when trying the new route from Lakeview left to Lagoon. Regarding the new route, when I last spoke with the park staff, they indicated part of the thinking behind the rerouting of Lakeview through the lodge area is that almost no one goes from Lakeview to Lagoon. it is certainly groomed that way with the downhill from the lodge now following a sweeping right hand turn southwards towards the bottom of the Lakeview hill that is now one way up only. If one desires to make the left towards Lagoon, it's an approximately 120 degree off-camber left. I found it manageable in these soft, slow conditions but I suspect I'd end up in the trees if I attempted that turn in harder, faster conditions.

(Leif Irgens)

Everything is open except the challenge hill (the rest of the challenge trail is open) with a thin skate deck. Bare spots in short sections on Lagoon, Meadow, and Skyline, with lots of sticks and branches on Lagoon. If you take the left at the bottom of the hill to head back into Skyline/Challenge look out, the section is almost all dirt. It actually is pretty good skiing, just that dirt is showing up in a few inconvenient spots. And it really was groundhogs day - there was groundhog running around on the Lagoon and didn't seem the least bothered when I skied by. Not sure if it saw its shadow.

(Steve Hum)

It was a great day of skate skiing at French. Although packed for skating, there were no set classic tracks. The Three Rivers website rated the trails as fair, but they were very good with only a few easily avoidable dirty spots. Great work groomers! Should be good for Saturday before it gets really warm.

Photos:

(Richard Stardig)

The artisan groomers at French Park have done a great job! Really nice coverage all around, just a few thin spots that are very easy to avoid. Single digits above zero never felt so warm! The only trail not open is the north segment of Challenge Hill, which is undergoing a substantial re-route and likely won't be groomed at all this winter.

(Adam Himes)

Skated at French early afternoon. Trails were soft, slow, and a little thin but very skiable. Maybe avoid digging in with aggressive skate strides or you might hit bare ground in places. Also, be gentle with your pole plants as hard ground is just beneath the surface. One change to the trail routes: The hill on Lakeview is now uphill only to the lodge due to the changes with the remodeled playground. I discussed this with a representative and was told this is a permanent change for safety reasons. So, to connect from Lakeview to Lagoon, you now have to ski down through the lodge area and hit a hard left at the bottom. I barely made it so be careful you take care through there and don't clobber anybody at the intersection as visibility is limited for that hard left onto Lagoon.

(Leif Irgens)

Natural snow from last night. Skied on trails from 10 a.m. to about noon. Trails were well groomed but no tracks. Snow was soft so it was a workout and slow going.

(Matt McKinney)

As much as I appreciate the man made snow, it just felt good to be on real thing at French this morning. I classic skied on the freshly groomed corduroy--no classic tracks. I thought it was really in pretty good shape considering what little snow we've had.
As usual the best snow was in the hilly trails west of the bay. I would start at the Visitor Center. The trail from the parking lot is really packed down and a little icy. I got the old-time cross country feel this morning without one other person around -- a little different from Theo yesterday!

Photos:

(Bill Lundberg)