There’s still skiing in northern Minnesota.  Like most of Minnesota, we had warm temps and rain at the beginning of this week, but luckily we had so much snow that it didn’t matter much. We still have more snow than we know what to do with, as you will see by the high snowbanks and narrow roads around Bearskin.  No sign of winter letting up here.

The consistency of the snow changed — it’s icier, for sure.  But continuous grooming all week by both Bearskin and Golden Eagle has created some pretty good conditions.  We’re guessing this may be the last good skiing left in Minnesota at this point, as most of the north shore lost their snow base in the warm weather.

Parking in the Bearskin Lodge parking lot has been an issue in the afternoons Friday and Saturday.  You can go up to the next road and park at Golden Eagle, which lets you start on the north side of the ski system.  Ski to Bearskin to enjoy your chili or soup lunch!

We have soup and chili every day, hot chocolate with cookies, fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies, and a nice array of wine and beer. Spend some quality time in our lodge, sipping a glass of wine and watching the birds and squirrels at the feeder.

Here are the latest snow measurements, as taken by Golden Eagle on 2/24.

Central Gunflint Ski Trail Conditions on 2-24-17

New Snow Last 24 hours:  0.0”
New Snow Last 7 days:  Trace
Trail Base, Staked:  Average 7 – 10”
Snow in Woods, Staked:  Average 10 – 14”
Groomed with classic track:  70 km
Groomed with skate lane:  58 km
Surface Conditions:  Tilled snow
Last grooming day:  2-24-17
Total snowfall since Nov. 1:  64.23”

Comments:  We still have snow and we are still grooming and skiing! Expect fast conditions, abrasive snow, and a solid base. Skate skiing is particularly fast now; double up on the kick wax for classic skiing. All trails are continuing to be groomed with the tiller. According to the 7-day forecast, it looks like we are done with the fluctuating freezing/thawing temperatures for a while. Possible snow is predicted after the weekend, which will only improve things. Conditions aren’t perfect, but skiing is still very good and very much alive yet. Trail base is now averaging between 7 and 10 inches; areas that receive a lot of sun have less. Snow in woods is still between 10 and 14 inches, on average.

Photos by Kim Carlstad-Gillis

Photos by Kim Carlstad-Gillis

As always, Bearskin has lots of snow.  We have not experienced the snow loss this winter that closed most of the cross country skiing trails along the North Shore and at lower elevations.  Our new Pisten Bully did a fantastic job of telling and renovating the snow after our days of warmer temps, and trail conditions were back to “excellent” in no time.

But even with all this snow, we are excited about the big snow forecast for the week ahead.  By the end of this coming week we could have an additional 10 inches or more of fresh new snow on top of the big base we already have.

Quinn groomed many of the trails today, and it’s snowing quite hard now. He reports that the trails are in excellent condition, but with fresh powder on the surface.  We have a snow globe effect going on out there right now!

Snow outside lodge today