Fabulous skiing at French. Tracks were solid and very good. I really like the new gradual hill trail instead of the challenge hill. Extra blue wax worked great. A few leaves here and there.

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(Diane Pattridge)

The trails today were very good. The new snow was packed down pretty well with only an occasional soft spot. Maybe the snow was a bit slower, but I can never tell for sure if it's the snow or me that's slow. The classic tracks looked good, I used them on some of the downhills but can't really say much more than that. Overall enjoyable skiing tonight.

(Zak Kujala)

Went to French at 9:30 as, based on past experience, I figured they would be grooming soon if they hadn't started already. Started with Lagoon (see first two pics) which clearly had not been groomed or skied since it started snowing overnight. Continued on to ski the rest of the trail system and, based on the variable snow depth (particularly at the intersections) and the narrow width of the skate deck, it would seem they set someone out for one pass early morning while it was still snowing hard and aborted the effort. I decided to stick it out on the assumption that they would start grooming any time but three hours later, still no groomers in sight. By the end of my ski, things were quite churned up and perhaps softer than when I started (3rd & 4th pics). The street, parking lot, and the bike paths had been plowed though so it would appear they dedicated their resources elsewhere today. Skating was tough, like trying to run in the mud in hiking boots. I was constantly fighting with catching ski tips and tails in the soft snow. It was definitely a day for a casual ski through the woods on your backcountry classic skis.

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(Leif Irgens)

Classic tracks mostly icy and shallow. Some parts gone completely but skyline is about 50% in decent shape with shallow tracks throughout. Skating with sun was beautiful but the weekend temperatures led to a very hard pack. Big uphills in good shape, flats in the sun are mostly ice. A few deep herringbone shape ruts froze on meadow loop, could be tough in the dark. Skyline was in the best shape overall (A skis). Hard to get an edge in many locations. Was too nervous to attempt downhills with turns on medicine. Snow is quite nice, icy patches can also be a little brown (B ski rating). Area by chalet is very icy and was more challenging downhill. Fine for experienced skiers but not where you want to learn to ski right now.

(Eric Sumner)

French Regional groomers pay nice attention to both the classic tracks and skating corduroy. Tracks are usually not too far to the side and outside pole plants are firm. This has been a good ski season and the natural snow has been wonderful! Thank you for paying detailed attention and care for the trails French Regional!

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(John Crellin)

Skated lit trails and some of the unlit after dark. Great coverage, not too firm, not too soft. Slight washboard on a few sections like the straightaway but majority was so nice I went out of the lit loop without a headlamp and just glided blissfully. Natural snow skiing is so good right now - excited for this weekend's event organizers!

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(Linda Evert)

The trails were in great condition tonight for skate skiing. There were quite a few people out this evening enjoying the trails, more than I usually see there in the evening.

(Zak Kujala)

All of the loops (Lagoon, Lakeview, Skyline, Meadow, Medicine) are in great shape! I was pleasantly surprised to find completely clean snow throughout the entire trail system, perfect conditions for skating and also good classic tracks throughout. Even after a full day of traffic, the conditions were really quite excellent. It was fun to get back out to French, I definitely recommend checking it out if you have not visited for a while.

(Bill Oyler)

Skated at French starting mid-morning. The skate deck was recently groomed and in probably the best condition I've seen since the Polar Vortex winter of 2013-14. It was reasonably firm and reasonably fast, at least for my first lap around the full loop of perimeter trails. I was waxed with FastWax 20 (12-28F) but found my skis becoming increasingly grabby over subsequent loops as lap times were steadily slower over the course of my ski in spite of increasing effort and climbing average heart rates. I didn't sample the classic tracks. They looked worn to me, as though they had not been groomed maybe since Saturday morning but I spoke with a classic skier who said the glide was good in spite of them being washed out here and there. Corners and downhills were getting a little glazed anywhere us less capable skiers found the need to snowplow but it wasn't too bad. The worst was the chute coming down the hill by the Chalet from Lakeview to Lagoon. I went through there once and scared myself silly so I detoured to the left by the playground on subsequent laps. I'm continuing to notice a problem with wrong-way skiers on the one-way trails at French. I've stopped a few people this week and they seemed appreciative of me stopping them from going into a one-way trail the wrong way. Also, several trail sections with footprints or snowshoe tracks but the trails have been the right level of firm to survive the tracks without them being problematic.

(Leif Irgens)

Excellent conditions tonight, very enjoyable skiing. No hard or icy spots on the lit trails. Classic tracks looked good but I don't really know anything about them.

(Zak Kujala)