Trail overlooking Flour Lake after some snow. Photo by Karen Reynolds.

It snowed periodically yesterday and nonstop all day today.  The flakes were small, so at first it didn’t look like there would be a significant accumulation.  But the snow was persistent, so we actually have quite a few inches of fresh snow.

Bear Cub and Oxcart were groomed yesterday, just to give skiers some fresh tracks.  Today the groomers impatiently watched the sky, waiting for the snow to stop so they could get out to do the trails.  It never stopped snowing enough for grooming to make sense. 

Skiers reported that Bear Cub had just enough snow in the tracks to make going down the steep hills easier.  Another pair of skiers who came across on trails from Golden Eagle reported that the fresh snow made the trip slower, but still just fine.  Tracks were still visible and, as one skier said, she “fell down less because the snow was slower.”

Bob has headed out now to do some evening grooming and try to beat tomorrow morning’s predicted cold snap. It’s going to get quite cold tonight, but then gradually warm back up tomorrow.   The weather forecast for the weekend is actually not too bad, with pleasant daytime skiing temperatures predicted.

Not much to report on trail conditions — trails continue to be good. Quinn went out on the weekend with the G2 just to clean up a few skate lanes.   We had many skiers comment this weekend that all of our trails were good, but those retouched trails were the best  they’d skied on up here.  We’re expecting a little snow tonight and if it does appear, we’ll groom tomorrow.

Today’s project is creating a sprint track on the lake for the Winter Tracks Festival sprint races, to be held this Friday.  The track is a large oval on the bay of East Bearskin Lake.  If you’re skiing our trails, feel free to go out on the bay and ski around and around on the track  if you’d like.

Don’t forget the Bearskin Wilderness Pursuit this weekend.  Read more at: http://bearskin.wordpress.com/  There’s still time to register for the individual races or the 2 days of pursuit.  The field looks like it will include some fairly competitive skiers, as well as a few who ski at a more leisurely pace.  It should be a fun race for every type of skier.

Beautiful skiing through the woods at Bearskin Lodge

Winter days just about don’t get more beautiful than the ones we’re experiencing at Bearskin right now. It’s 16 degrees this morning, with only a 3 mph hour wind, and sunny skies. The 12 inches of new snow we received in the last week is glistening white, and still clinging to the pine boughs. These are the winter days we often imagine but that Minnesota doesn’t always deliver. Needless to say, the skiing is wonderful.

As predicted, the groomers were out early this morning to do the entire system. Skiers today reported great conditions.

In town, Grand Marais had wicked wind this afternoon that made even a short walk unpleasant. We didn’t get that nasty wind at Bearskin, as we often seem to be a bit sheltered here. However, we assume that there were places on the ski trails that probably were affected by strong winds — expect to encounter some blown over spots over the next couple days.

Golden Eagle sent this report today about the trails:

Conditions: Good to Excellent Skiing for both Classic and Freestyle

Comments: With over 12 inches of new snow since the rain of last week the trails are in great shape. Dan groomed yesterday and is out again today with the snowcat. Take advantage of these great conditions and come up skiing!

It snowed persistently almost all day today, sometimes heavily, at most other times lightly.  Fewer skiers were out today compared to the busy weekend, but there was a fair amount of activity on the trails. Skiers reported the trails were still quite good, in spite of the new coating of powder in the tracks.

Groomers plan to get out in the morning if possible.

Our Valentine’s Day gift to skiers:  one of the most gorgeous ski days ever, with sunny blue skies,  pristine white snow clinging to tree branches, and great trail conditions.  It couldn’t be a nicer day to be on the Central Gunflint Ski Trails.

Bob went out early in the pisten bully to do Bear Cub this morning.  What a difference a day makes! Colder tempertaures had hardened up the snow nicely, so this time the groomer moved through the snow with no problems.  Quinn went out to do some touch-up grooming on the spots that were problematic yesterday, especially the hill down to Aspen Lake where he got stuck yesterday.

Bob measured the base in several spots this morning while out grooming Bear Cub and thought that about 13 inches seemed to the norm. 

Skiers are reporting lovely trail conditions.  Everyone is packing a camera in their pocket or pack today, as the pictures on the trails should be superb.

As expected, groomers at both Bearskin and Golden Eagle headed out on the trails early this morning.  We received about 4-5 inches of snow over the past two days, which gave the trails a winter wonderland look — it is exceptionally beautiful here right now.

Most of the trails groomed up pretty well, especially considering the warm, wet conditions earlier this week.  Edges are still a bit soft in places.  There are a  few areas on the trails where the pisten bully had some trouble in the collapsing, wet snow.  Some spots on lake trails, such as on Aspen, developed slush again.  The hill down to Aspen, which is often the source of  “how I got stuck” grooming stories, yielded another “stuck” story today, so there’s a spot on the hill that will need to be redone.  Bear Cub Trail was not possible to groom today with either the pisten bully or the G2.  But overall, the trails are remarkably good again.  The spectacular white, snowy trees right now more than make up for the few soft spots on the trails.

It is supposed to get colder tonight, and it continued to snow on and off all day today.  We expect to go over a lot of areas again with the groomer on Saturday.  Bob plans to get up on Bear Cub early in the morning, hoping to find that the snow has hardened up a bit so the pisten bully can maneuver on the hills.  It should be a great weekend for skiing on the Central Gunflint Trail.

Snow depth of packed base on a trail -- still at 11 - 12"

Road into Bearskin Lodge cabins this morning.

The phone is ringing every 20 minutes with skiers inquiring about what this February thaw has done to our trail system.  The predicted ice storm in the Arrowhead turned out to actually be something more akin to ongoing rain since Monday.  We saw temps pushing 40 degrees, creating a slushy, collapsing mush on the ski trails. 

Luckily, we’ve had a great deal of snow this year.  We’ve lost a few inches of base, but there’s still plenty more.  We received about 2 inches of snow overnight, which has made conditions much less slippery.  However, it is still above freezing here.  Bearskin and Golden Eagle agreed this morning that grooming equipment can’t go out yet until the temperature goes down.

The surprising news is that today the trails are somewhat skiable again.  Bob went out on Beaver Dam this morning and said the tracks were visible with an inch of fresh soft snow — on waxless skis it was just fine. (Waxing correctly, he thought, would be quite a challenge right now.)   After the rain, the trails are probably too soft for skating at this point.

The groomers are guessing that they will be able to go out tomorrow morning.  They fully expect to be able to renovate the trails for the long weekend, as there is a still a great base of snow.  Additional snow is also in the forecast. 

Every cross country ski resort in the Arrowhead region is dealing with the same problem now — we all just need a little weather cooperation.  It’s a rare winter when we’re hoping it gets colder, but right now a 5 – 10 degree temperature drop would be greatly appreciated.

Colder weather this week really firmed up up the skate lanes nicely. About 2 inches of additional recent snow on top of previous accumulations resulted in a total snowfall of about 66.5 inches so far this year.

The entire Central Gunflint Ski Trail system was groomed on Thursday, so conditions should be outstanding for this weekend.  The upcoming forecast is for warm, pleasant weather. Should be one of the best weekends of the winter to get out on our trails.

The Cook County Volks Ski Fest (www.volksskifest.com), a new skiing and snowshoeing festival in our area, starts this weekend.  Join us at Bearskin for a free skiers’ barbecue on the lake from 11-2, sponsored by the Volks Ski Fest. Andy is grilling, so you know the food will be good.  The barbecue is open to anyone with a trail ticket — even if you’re not registered for the Volks Ski Fest, join us for brats and beer and learn more about this fun new winter festival.  The Volks Ski Fest runs through February 8th and offers skiers and snowshoers an opportunity to experience trails all over Cook County.

Reservations are still available for Chez Jude at Bearskin this weekend. In answer to a question Central Gunflint Skiers sometimes ask:   The food at Chez Jude at Bearskin is classy, but you don’t have to dress that way to enjoy it.  🙂  An après-ski dinner after a day on the trails makes a lovely ending to a memorable day.  Don’t worry about showing up in your ski clothes for dinner–nobody else is going to be dressed up either!

We’ve been doing a bit of touch up grooming intermittently all week with the G2.  The entire system was regroomed by Bob with the pisten bully Thursday and Friday. Quinn finished up the last of it on Saturday morning when he completed Bear Cub and a few other missed trail sections.

However, high winds all day today probably mean there will be drifting on some spots on the trails, even those that were just groomed Saturday morning.  Andy will be out Sunday morning with the G2 to try to uncover the North-South Link again.  Meanwhile (as is often the case during strong winds) that may not be the first choice route to get from East Bearskin to Flour Lake.

In spite of the windy conditions and lower temperatures, many skiers seem to be out. On Saturday afternoon skiers were reporting that sheltered trail sections were still extremely nice and that drifting in open areas was generally manageable. We don’t plan to be out grooming with the pisten bully on Sunday; we will probably regroom again after the winds subside and the temperatures rise a bit.