Como

New snow, pretty well packed.

It looked like they may have groomed earlier in the afternoon, but by the time the moon rose over the silvery departing clouds (a pretty magical moment actually) the trail was packed powder. It was pretty slow for skating but had good coverage. The only worrisome areas were the cart path just before the sliding hill descent which seemed to be poking through (but it may have been ice) and the new snow blew off under the bridge.

I can only get to two trails at most, on a good day! Check out all the trail reports at skinnyski.com

Murphy Hanrahan

Very good, but could use some more snow.

Murphy was not groomed following Saturday night's snow but was pretty well packed by late afternoon. The only worries were on a couple of the bigger downhills which were scraped down to an icier layer (not glare ice, but more a sleet-snow-ice mixture)—too much snowploughing. Whilst cold, Murphy might be a sheltered refuge for the upcoming cold week.

I can only get to two trails at most, on a good day! Check out all the trail reports at skinnyski.com

City of Lakes Loppet

Very good.

I got started skiing on Isles late this afternoon—lots of other folks out enjoying the trail. It was a picture-perfect Minneapolis day with ice skaters and ski skaters together under the skyline. Lovely. I went on to Cedar (a bit icy under the bridges) and Brownie and back to the Chalet, and then skied the whole of the Loppet trail (minus a couple more exposed segments when I got hungry and cold) back to Uptown. It's in fine shape. The classic track is solid most of the way (although missing on some steeper hills as would be expected) and the skate lane looks good too. The snow-making section is firm and fun, although I had to kindly but firmly as a snowboarder to not stand in the middle of the trail back down along the sliding hill (which was seeing quite a bit of sled action). All in all, a great long ski under the full moon. A bit cold, though, across the lakes home.

I can only get to two trails at most, on a good day! Check out all the trail reports at skinnyski.com

Battle Creek

Still quite excellent.

The big, back hills are getting a little icy in the dark, but otherwise it's in great shape.

I can only get to two trails at most, on a good day! Check out all the trail reports at skinnyski.com

Battle Creek

Excellent.

I sound like a broken record, but at least today I was striding. Tracks are solid all the way around, including Ski Games. With the full moon there are the lighted trails (with lights) and the lighted trails (with the moon). Fast, fun and great. More, please!

I can only get to two trails at most, on a good day! Check out all the trail reports at skinnyski.com

Battle Creek

All excellent.

With the moon out and a thin cloud cover reflecting the city light down, the whole trail was bright enough to ski at night without a torch. It is all in excellent condition, too, so there's no need to worry about dirt or rocks or sticks and there are only a few leaves. It's a delight!

I can only get to two trails at most, on a good day! Check out all the trail reports at skinnyski.com

New England Report

I spent a couple days in New England visiting home. The snow wasn't great, but I was able to ski most days. Weston was in good, snowmaking shape, and Jackson was good too. I spent some time running up the trail to Carter Hut, which was snowy but with good traction, and an easy hour run (with ski poles).

I hadn't skied Jackson in a couple years, but it's still quite a bit of fun. The first evening, after visiting the hut, I skied their homologated race course, which is rather challenging. I strode it, and there are some steeper hills, and some fun corners. They put a lot of money in to the course, one wonders if they are angling to host a major race (nationals) in the coming years. The next morning we all skied the East Pasture loop, with its nice 1000 foot climb (something we assuredly don't see in Midwest) and to make it interesting I would ski most of the hills three times as my folks skied them once. I even got carded—er—had my ticket checked, and having left it in my other jacket, didn't have it on me. Whoops. My parents vouched for me, and had theirs. On the way down I took most of the hills at top speed, snowplowing a couple times, and on the last major one almost wiped out, so I skied back to the corner to watch the carnage, and all three came snowplowing through. The striding, however, was excellent.

In the evening, I went and double poled up and down the Ellis River Trail. 8k each way, excellent tracks, an easy gradient. It was a blast. I started out in the light and by the time I was back it was dark and I was shooting along—downhill—on my headlamp. An hour of double poling along a beautiful, gurgling river with mountains. Again, not something you see much in the Midwest. Of course, there's no Birkie Trail in the Midwest, or good skiing near a major city.

Then it was a night hike up to Carter—hitting the notch with 5 degree temperatures and howling winds. I didn't have a hat on, thanks to my Midwestern training.