Bearskin has had snow since the first week of November, and not one flake of it ever melted until this past week! In the past few days we’ve had some rain and warmer temperatures, resulting in noticeable melting for the first time all winter. It was nothing like the rain in the Twin Cities, but there was enough to make a dent in our enormous snow piles. The rain turned to snow last night and as we write this on Friday morning, it is still snowing and blowing.

We lost a little snow that we can notice, but not that you’ll be able to see. The snow on our deck right now is above knee-high, as opposed to thigh-high a few days ago. Trail bases are well-packed and were not significantly diminished by the weather.

We’re waiting to head out in the Pisten Bully until it quits snowing. We want to accumulate as much fresh snow on top of the icier stuff as possible. Our new Pisten Bully has an amazing tiller and the groomers think that the trail surface will clean up well.

The bigger concern if you are driving up to ski is that the roads took a big hit during the rain and melting. If you own a 4-wheel drive vehicle, this is a good time to use it. Also, many surfaces are covered with ice today.  The new snow on top gives the ice a less polished surface with better grip, but the ice is still there. Reports are that parking lots in Grand Marais are treacherous and people are falling in the first second after they step out of their car. (You’ve been forewarned!)  We’re getting control of our ice at Bearskin, but if you own Yak-Trax or some version of ice grippers, you might be happy to have them if you are in our area in the near future. It’s that time of year.

We’ll report back after the groomers have made their rounds, but we anticipate that the trails will groom up nicely.