Driving into Bearskin Lodge this week. Photo by our massage therapist, Christal Stone Kelahan.

Time flies over the holidays!  An update to our trail conditions blog is much needed. For as long as we’ve delayed, we still don’t have much to say. It snowed. We groomed. It snowed again. We groomed.  Repeat cycle almost every day.  To get an idea of snow conditions, check out this Video of the Poplar Creek Ski Trail.

Much of the North Shore experienced ice and rain over the past two weeks. That didn’t happen here, it just snowed. Constantly. On New Year’s Day, Quinn and I walked out of the lodge in the afternoon as it started to snow…again.  “Oh no, ” we both said simultaneously.  “Oh no” should not be the normal response to snow when you run a cross-country ski resort, but after grooming, plowing, and shoveling as often as we have over the past weeks, “Oh no” is probably the normal reaction.

According to the official measuring stick at Golden Eagle Lodge, we’ve already had 53.875 inches of snow this season.  This last storm added almost 14 inches to an already impressive early season total.  The groomers have been out almost every day, and they will continue to go out whenever it snows significantly.

The negative side of all this snow is that the weight of snow has created a great deal of slush on all the lakes. Slush does not mean the ice is unsafe. Heavy snow pushes lake water up through cracks or edges, creating a layer of watery slush under the snow that sticks to your skis, snowshoes, or boots with every step you take.  Lake crossings are not consistently good right now, so we advise using trails that circumvent the lakes until this stage of winter is over.

The weekend forecast is good, we’ll have soup and chili on in the lodge, and the skiing should be fantastic.  Come up to visit us soon.

Snow Totals from Golden Eagle

October/November Total 2019 – 24.0 inches

December 2019
Dec 1 – Dec 7:  1.0 inches
Dec 8 – Dec 14:  13.0 inches
Dec 15 – Dec 21:  1.125 inches
Dec 22 – Dec 28:  0.0 inches
Dec 29 – Dec 31:  13.75 inches
December Total 2019 – 28.875 inches

January 2020
Jan 2:  1.0 inches
January Total 2020 – 1.0 inches

Total Snowfall 2019-2020 – 53.875 inches