We’re in that January cycle of snow, groom, snow, groom, with no significant changes in the trail status.  The intense melting that took place along the North Shore over the past few days was not a big thing on the Gunflint Trail. We had some slightly warmer temps, but we also received more snow, so we’d call it a wash.

We haven’t had excessive snow this year (we’re okay with that!), but we have the right amount for great skiing conditions.  We’ve had about 44 inches of snow so far this season. Trail bases average 7 – 9 inches, with 12 – 16 inches or more of snow in the woods.  We have more snow and cooler temperatures in the forecast for the coming week.

Quinn and Bob were both out skiing late Saturday afternoon, and reported trail conditions to be excellent. Quinn will be out in the morning to groom the system again after today’s fresh snowfall.

It snowed again mid-trail on Monday afternoon.  This morning, in the bright sun, the bright white fresh snow crystals made our world sparkly.  Temps are warming up over the next few days, so the skiing for this weekend should be ideal.

Everything was groomed again over the last 24 hours, with the exception of Poplar Creek and the short BWCAW Logging Camp section. Those will be done on Wednesday morning.  It’s stunningly beautiful on the trails.

We’re often asked about how we get such a perfect ski surface on our trails.  Bearskin has owned various versions of a Kassbohrer Pisten Bully snow groomer for more than 3 decades. Dave Tuttle was an early believer in the quality of this grooming equipment. He even went to Germany to watch the assembly of one of his first Pisten Bullies.

Our old PB did a great job, but after purchasing the new machine, we’ve been amazed by how perfect it leaves the trails. Many grooming technology improvements have been made in 29 years!  We love how our trails are wider and firmer than they’ve ever been before.

PIsten Bully taking a break by the Lodge.

We also appreciate the greatly diminished number of stories from Quinn and Bob that start with “and then the (fill in the blank with something huge and terrible) broke when I was 10 miles away.”  It’s nice to know that when they go out to groom on a cold day, they probably won’t be limping back with a broken PB. The novelty of a machine that works well will never wear off.  🙂

Come and ski with us this weekend. We have a few cabin openings.  If you come to day-ski, there will be soup, chili, and hot chocolate in the Lodge when you need to warm up. Loon Lake Cafe will be open Saturday night, with Derek Hofeldt cooking favorites from Loon Lake Lodge’s summer menu. More info here.

The folks at Golden Eagle have been out with their ruler on the Central Gunflint Trail trail system.   Here are the stats:

Central Gunflint Ski Trail Conditions on January 13, 2018

New Snow Last 7 days:  6.25”
Trail Base, Staked:  Average 6.5 – 8”
Snow in Woods, Staked:  Average 13 – 14”
Groomed with classic track:  70 km
Groomed with skate lane:  54 km
Surface Conditions:  Fresh groomed snow
Total season snowfall:  41.50”

Comments:  The Central Gunflint Ski Trail System received a healthy dumping of 5 inches of new snow on Thursday, January 11^th. Both groomers were out there right away and got to work; all trails have been re-groomed. A large dumping of snow like that is extra helpful in leveling out some of the more uneven trails. The skiing is awesome! If you thought it was great before, you should see it now!

It snowed like crazy here on Thursday, dumping 5 – 6 new inches of new, powdery snow on the Central Gunflint Ski Trail System.  The pines have a picturesque coating of white on the boughs, and our snow is brilliantly white and crystalline again. We’ve had ample snow for skiing for a long time now, of course, but this additional snowfall really made the trails fresh and beautiful again.

Both sides of the system were groomed Friday, so the trails are perfect. Our weekend forecast is cold again, although nowhere near as cold as it was on those brutally cold days shortly after Christmas. This forecast is cold, but better. Sunday is predicted to be a bit warmer, with a little snow.

We’ll have soup and chili available all weekend, as well as hot chocolate.  Or warm up with a glass of wine or beer. We also have Loon Lake Cafe here Saturday night, with Derek Hofeldt cooking.  We’ll be taking reservations until about noon on Saturday. Call 388-2292, or email stay@bearskin.com.

Trail passes for the entire 70+ K system are $18/day or $12/after 1 PM. As this is a three-day weekend, we encourage you to arrive early. Parking in our lot can become quite problematic by about noon, so an early arrival gets you a parking place!  Make a day of it and eat lunch with us. Another option to simplify parking is to drive a little farther up the road and start your skiing at Golden Eagle. They tend to have fewer cars in their lot. It’s the same ski trail system, you’re just starting on a different side. Ski over to see us, have a cup of hot chocolate or a glass of wine while you warm up, and skip the parking dilemma entirely.

Latest trail numbers from Golden Eagle’s measuring guys:

New Snow Last 24 hours:  1.25”
New Snow Last 7 days:  2.0”
Trail Base, Staked:  Average 5”
Snow in Woods, Staked:  Average 10.5” – 13”
Groomed with classic track:  70 km
Groomed with skate lane:  54 km
Surface Conditions:  Fresh groomed snow
Last grooming day:  1-3-18
Total season snowfall:  35.25”

Comments:  All trails are open – great conditions all around! Ski trails are freshly groomed again with the recent snowfall, which totaled a little over an inch of accumulation. The weather has been cold, though it does look like temperatures will be rising for this weekend! The trail base is firm and is averaging a solid 5 inches in depth in most places. We’ve now received over 35 inches of snow on the year and are looking forward to a season of great skiing! The Gunflint Mail Run is this weekend as well! Come up for a weekend of skiing and dog sled watching!

Banadad Trail info: For those of you who enjoy also skiing from the Poplar Creek trail to the Banadad, the Banadad was groomed and re-tracked on January 2.  Lace Lake, Tall Pines and Knapp trail were re-tracked January 3.

Happy New Year from all of us at Bearskin Lodge and the Central Gunflint Trail Ski System.

It’s been a while since our last update. The days before Christmas and then the post-Christmas week keep us wildly busy at the lodge. Normally we’re not only jam-packed full in the cabins, but we’re also mobbed with day skiers from Grand Marais and Lutsen.  As usual we were full with guests, but the -20 degree temps slowed down the day skiing.

Our guests know how to have fun in this weather. They ski a bit, come back to sit in front of the fireplace, ski a bit more, come back to take a sauna or soak in the hot tub, and then finish the evening with a prolonged family board game or a glass of wine by the fireplace. It is a bit harder to be a day-skier having fun in sub-zero temps when there isn’t a cozy cabin retreat nearby, so we weren’t surprised by the lower numbers of skiers from other resorts and town. Wise choice!  It’s unusual to have such cold weather during this particular week, so if you didn’t brave the cold temps this time, next year will probably be much better.

We do have lots of snow.  All of the Central Gunflint trails are open and everyone braving the frigid conditions reported good skiing. Poplar Creek, always the last trail to open because of sections that freeze late, has been groomed with the Pisten Bully groomer several times now. Conditions there are quite good. The Logging Camp Trail section around the east end of Flour Lake, which has to be groomed differently because of BWCAW regulations, was finally ready to go a few days ago.  Lake crossing trails are all open.

We have a gradual warming trend this week, and the temps for the weekend look excellent — more like a normal winter ought to be at this time of year.  We have openings this weekend. Our restaurant is opening for the season on Saturday night and as an added interesting activity for the weekend, the Gunflint Mail Run dog sled race will be going on at Trail Center, just 3 minutes away.  Click here for more info on this fun event.