The creek along the Beaver Dam trail.  Photo by Jane Kolarich.

It’s been fun for all of us at Bearskin to talk with skiers at the end of a day on our ski trails.  Skiers are ridiculously happy with the snow conditions, almost giddy about how beautiful it is out there. Decent weather has made it even better–temps have been cold enough to begin refreezing thawed lakes, but warm enough that nobody needs hand-warmers or extra clothing layers.

We keep advising skiers to take a little camera along, because the trails have never been more photogenic.  If you took a beautiful trail picture this past week, please send it to stay@bearskin.com so we can share it with others to enjoy.

Here are the latest snow numbers measured at Golden Eagle, home of the official Central Gunflint Ski Trail ruler.

Central Gunflint Ski Trail Conditions on 12-30-15

• New Snow Last 24 hours:  Trace”
• New Snow Last 7 days:  8.6 inches
• Trail Base, Staked:  Average 4 – 5 inches
• Snow in Woods, Staked:  Average 11 – 14 inches
• Groomed with classic tracks:  ~58 k
• Surface Conditions:  Fresh packed snow
• Last grooming day:  12-30-15
• Total snowfall since Nov. 1:  39.20”

Comments:  The skiing is fantastic! We have made very good progress on trail clearing this week with only a few “closed” trails remaining. The groomed trails, thanks in part to the heavy and wet snow we received prior to all this, set up great and the classic tracks are holding in excellent. Trail bases are comfortably firm and are averaging about 4 to 5 inches. If you don’t include the amount of trail cleanup we’ve had this year, condition wise, the ski trails are in as good a shape as any other year this time of the season.

Important note:  Due to thin ice on Flour Lake and questionable ice on Aspen Lake, the North-South link trail is closed north of Summer Home Road. We are checking ice thickness often and will groom a trail via snowmobile as soon as safely possible.

For the most up-to-date grooming information, as well as updates on trail clearing progress, please contact Bearskin Lodge (1-800-338-4170) or Golden Eagle Lodge (1-800-346-2203). Central Gunflint Ski Pass required.

Snow Totals

• November Total 2015 – 7.25 inches 
• December
  Dec 1 – Dec 6:  2.55 inches
  Dec 7 – Dec 13:  2.53 inches
  Dec 14 – Dec 19: 18.0 inches
• Dec 20 – Dec 27:  7.62 inches
• Dec 28: 0.25 inches
•  Dec 29: 1.00 inches
• December Total 2015 – 31.95 inches
• Total Snowfall 2015-2016 – 39.20 inches

Roger and Jane Kolarich ventured into one of the few remaining uncleared areas.  We’re happy to report that after a great deal of hard work,  very few trails still look like this.