After a few much-deserved quiet, calm days it snowed like crazy on the Gunflint Trail again on Wednesday. Apparently it turned to icy rain along the North Shore, temporarily creating a sheet of ice on Highway 61 and causing a number of small accidents.  Up here on the hill all it did was snow and blow all day and most of the night.

We entertained ourselves at lunch on Wednesday by watching chickadees blow off the bird feeder. The snow on our back deck is normally covered by an elaborate trail system pounded down by our overtly-friendly pine marten and our 2 excessively chubby red squirrels, Fatso and Mean Fatso. (No, they shouldn’t all co-exist in our deck ecosystem, but that’s another story.) Snow was blowing horizontally across the deck all morning, and still those furry critters braved the storm to collect their share of the birdseed; but by afternoon they’d given up and for the first time in weeks all footprints were erased by the blowing snow.

The groomers were working on the ski trails very early Thursday morning, and by the time the sun broke through the clouds later in the day we had the entire system done and ready to go. Mid-week afternoons tend to be very quiet here, but the skiers who were out returned from their skiing almost giddy with joy over how beautiful the trail conditions are.

Here are the latest numbers from the official Central Gunflint Trail snow measurers at Golden Eagle:

Central Gunflint Ski Trail Conditions on 1-28-16

• New Snow Last 24 hours:  4.0”
• New Snow Last 7 days:  5.85 inches
• Trail Base, Staked:  Average 9 – 10 inches
• Snow in Woods, Staked:  Average 16 – 22 inches
• Groomed with classic track:  68 K
• Groomed with skate lane:  56 K
• Surface Conditions:  Fresh packed snow
• Last grooming day:  1-28-16
• Total snowfall since Nov. 1:  52.30”

Summer Home Road ski trail

What a weekend this is going to be!  Fantastic snow conditions, pleasant temperatures, and we even have sun in our forecast.

Bearskin does have a few openings this weekend.  Cabin 2 had a last minute cancellation, which means one of the all-time favorite little log cabins is now available.  Several of the larger cabins, well-suited to a group of 4 or more friends, are also available.

If you are a local day skier or coming from one of the hotels along the North Shore with so-so snow conditions, we recommend that you come early this weekend as this is clearly going to be one of the nicest ski weekends of the season. That always means our small parking lot will be crazy by lunchtime.  An early start gets you a full day of skiing as well as a decent place to park.

Don’t forget that Bearskin serves soup and chili for lunch. Warm up with a big mug of hot chocolate, or treat yourself to a fresh-baked chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookie.  We sell a wide variety of Minnesota beer brands in the lodge, or you can sit by the fireplace to enjoy a glass of wine.

Our musher, Erik Simula, also has dog sled trips available this weekend. Sometimes he heads out on trips where the participants need to be seriously bundled up to stay warm, but this is not going to be one of those weekends.  Great conditions!

Here are the latest ski trail measurements, as reported on 1/21/2016 by Golden Eagle:

Central Gunflint Ski Trail Conditions on 1-21-16

• New Snow Last 24 hours:  1/2” (and still snowing)
• New Snow Last 7 days:  4.5 inches
• Trail Base, Staked:  Average 7 – 8 inches
• Snow in Woods, Staked:  Low: 13”  /  High: 18”
• Groomed with classic track:  68 K
• Groomed with skate lane:  56 K
• Surface Conditions:  Fresh packed snow
• Last grooming day:  1-18-16
• Total snowfall since Nov. 1:  46.95”

Comments:  The excellent skiing and trail conditions continue! As an added bonus, we are expecting very comfortable weekend temperatures starting around 15 degrees on Friday and warming to the mid 20’s by Sunday. Throw on some light layers and enjoy some great skiing!

Poplar Creek trail, our last trail to be cleared from the damaging snowfall in December, has now been re-carved from the wilderness and is groomed and open! The North-South Link across AspenLake now has enough ice beneath it that we have been grooming it with Snow Cat. Flour Lake still has only 10 inches of ice – 2 more inches are needed for crossing with the big groomer – so we are still grooming that short section by snowmobile, with a classic and skate lane.

Overall, trail conditions are fantastic! We are only 3 inches of snow short of where we were last year at this time, with a season total of 46.95 inches as of this morning. There is no shortage of snow up here in the great Northwoods!

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

Here are official snow measurements from Zach Baumann today.  Needless to say, as soon as you read these stats they will be out-of-date.  We’ve got more snow in Thursday’s forecast. For those of you traveling along the North Shore on Thursday to be up here for the long weekend, expect possible lake effect snow all along the North Shore on Highway 61.  Drive slowly; we’re fine with whatever time you get here, just so you arrive safely!

• New Snow Last 24 hours:  1/4”
• New Snow Last 7 days:  2.25”
• Trail Base, Staked:  Average 6 – 8 inches
• Snow in Woods, Staked:  Average 11 – 14 inches
• Groomed with classic tracks:  60 k
• Surface Conditions:  Fresh packed snow
• Last grooming day:  1-9-16
• Total snowfall since Nov. 1:  42.45”

Comments:  We’ve had cooler temperatures these last couple days compared to the weeks before, but that hasn’t stopped the skiers or hindered the fun! Trail conditions remain excellent and the trees are still glistening with that beautiful snow cover. More snow is in the forecast again for Thursday and Friday.

An update on ice:  Aspen and Flour Lake are now safe for travel. We have been able to snowmobile pack the section of North-South Link that crosses Aspen and Flour as of last week; we anticipate being able to groom classic tracks into these trails as well after the next new snowfall. We still want a bit more ice before we go out there with the big groomers.

An update on the Poplar Creek ski trail:  Most of the Poplar Creek ski trail is now cleared but unbelievably, we’ve run into a section that’s still completely full of water.  How can this happen when it’s -20 below?  Weird winter.  So it’s groomed up to that point, and you can ski out on Poplar for many miles, but then you will hit the end of the grooming.  You need to turn around around there, since swimming in skis is really awkward. 😉   Poplar Creek is a lovely trail, so skiing back on the same route is no hardship.  Just don’t expect the usual complete circle.

Photo on Summer Home ski trail, by Travis Notvitsky

Skiing on the Central Gunflint Ski Trail system is still fabulous.  Bit by bit we’re getting the little connecting trails cleared that weren’t critical to finish when we cleared the bent-down trees from the primary trails.  Old Logging Camp on the east side through the BWCA is done finally, so you can travel around to Golden Eagle Lodge on both sides of the system now.  The North-South link is cleared and packed; Aspen Lake has about 8 inches of ice and can be safely crossed by skiers.  A large group is going out on Friday to see if they can even find Poplar Creek Trail, the last major trail we have left to clear of trees.  It probably can’t get done in a day, but they should get a good start.

The official measurers at Golden Eagle have been out checking their rulers again.  Here are the latest numbers, although it’s been snowing again all day today so the numbers are already a little too low:

Central Gunflint Ski Trail Conditions on 1-6-16

• New Snow Last 24 hours:  0.0”
• New Snow Last 7 days:  1.0”
• Trail Base, Staked:  Average 5.5 – 6.5 inches
• Snow in Woods, Staked:  Average 11 – 13 inches
• Groomed with classic tracks:  60 k
• Surface Conditions:  Fresh packed snow
• Last grooming day:  1-4-15
• Total snowfall since Nov. 1:  40.20”

Comments:  The ski trails are in great to excellent shape offering a firm base and fantastic glide. With just under 32 inches of snowfall in December alone, most of which fell after the 16^th, the low snow effects of an “El Niño” winter are a thing of the past. Temperature wise, the benefits of such a winter are still present; we’ve had moderate temperatures this last week with most days being in the teens and lower 20’s; it is expected to continue into next week with more snow also predicted. We are full swing into winter cross-country skiing!

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