2.23.14 Groomed and ready for you to come skiing

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Bearskin

Finally, it’s quit snowing! The Central Gunflint Ski Trail System received almost 17 inches of fresh new snow over the last 7 days. Our total snowfall since last November 1 is a little over 88 inches, as measured by the Baumann family at Golden Eagle Lodge.

Groomers from Bearskin and Golden Eagle Lodges have been grooming daily to pack as much snow as possible into the trail base. At this point the packed trail base measures 15″ – 18″. The snow in the woods is often over 3 feet deep, or even deeper in drifts. Classic ski conditions are fantastic, but due to the large amount of powdery snowfall we received in such a short amount of time, you can expect skate skiing conditions to be a little soft. We will continue to groom throughout the week in order to further pack down the base.

The pine trees in the woods are so beautiful, coated with what must be close to the maximum amount of snow that each pine bough can hold. Until the wind lifts the snow off the branches, expect every trail to be Christmas-card picturesque. Here’s a picture taken by the Baumann’s on Ridge Run Trail yesterday:

2.22.14 Groomers are out on the trails

Posted on February 22, 2014 by Bearskin

Like everywhere in the state, we had massive amounts of snow on Thursday night and all day Friday, followed by high winds. Yesterday our groomers were out packing and rolling trails to make today’s Pisten Bully/Snowcat grooming go more smoothly but the wind blew pretty hard all night, resulting in major drifts. Although groomers have been out on the trails since early this morning, the entire grooming process for all 70+ K of trails may take longer than usual today. They’re moving some pretty significant amounts of fresh snow. Call Bearskin Lodge or Golden Eagle Lodge to get current updates on grooming, or stop by at the front desk of either resort to check.

It’s going to be beautiful out there once the trails are ready to go. Come out and enjoy this spectacular snow.

2.19.14 All caught up on grooming, more snow on the way

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Bearskin

We certainly do have the snow here, with more on the way. The Baumann family at Golden Eagle Lodge measured 18.5 inches of snow received since February 12th. We have a forecast of another big snowfall coming Thursday.

The groomers have been out on the trails almost every day, trying to keep up with the fresh snowfalls. It’s a challenge. Three groomers go out on our 70+ K of trails after each snowfall, and it takes the better part of day to complete grooming the entire system — longer if the snow is deep and soft, as it was on Tuesday. When they finally finish grooming every trail, nobody gets too enthused about a forecast for fresh snow.

Reports are that trails have been a tad slow which is to be expected after fresh snowfall, but with warming temperatures in the forecast, we predict some faster conditions in the upcoming days. Weatherwise, this is the warmest week we’ve had all month. Blue skies, fresh snow, and warmer temps = the perfect winter days.

We’re very busy this week, but the last week in February offers a few nice openings in cabins and lodges. We have availability for dinner on both Wednesday and Saturday nights, as well as openings for dog sled trips. It would be a wonderful week to take advantage of winter adventure package.

2.16.14 Beautiful ski conditions

Posted on February 16, 2014 by Bearskin

Tons of new snow. It’s a beautiful world out there. The forecast for the upcoming week is fantastic (that is after we get another big dump of snow on Monday), with temperatures predicted to be remarkably mild.

It almost doesn’t matter where you live, you’ve probably spent your winter so far shoveling snow. Come up to Bearskin and we’ll take care of the shoveling and plowing for you — all you have to do is be here to enjoy our winter.