I did the 8/17 loop the easy way, climbing 8 to get to the 17 junction. I was cutting track part of the way on both trails but was sporadically joined by freeskiers who venture into the woods and then come back to the tracks. Very impressive. The downhills were great until they got steep; then the ruts left in the frozen snow below the powder made control a bit tricky. I sidestepped down the steepest couple of sections. Another 10 cm of snow would make it perfect.
I saw a turkey walk across #17. It was not another skier but the actual bird. First time I have seen one in the hills in winter.