Trail photo from March 17 by Robin Nicholson

Spring offers a nice mix of ski conditions on the Central Gunflint Trail system. Our trails don’t look as perfect as they do in February. The daily cycle of warming and softening, followed by nightly refreezing is not ideal for trail maintenance. The trade-off is you get bright sunny days and such pleasant temperatures. Skiers are loving it.

We have had very minimal snow loss. Our trail base still averages 9 – 13 inches, with about 19 inches of snow in the woods. We’re grooming and tilling trails regularly in the early morning, before it gets too sunny. Morning skiing before lunch is the best. A review on Skinny Ski by Robin Nicholson on March 17 sums up conditions nicely: “Skied today from 10:30-12:30 on Logging Camp Trail, North-South Link, and Summer Home Rd. It was hard and fast but not icy. It looks like plenty of snow cover. Perfect spring skiing with ideal snow!”

Trail conditions change daily depending on day and night temperatures, but we see no immediate end coming for the good spring skiing. We still have a lot of snow up here. Our upcoming weather forecast includes a few days with cooler temps and a bit of fresh snow.

The aurora could also make a few appearances this week, based on the current predictions. On this chart, larger KP numbers indicate a greater probability of the northern lights. We occasionally see lights at 3 KP here, but 4 or above indicates a better chance. Days near the spring equinox often offer a little light show, so there are a few chances this week that the numbers and clear skies will converge.