Bob had the pisten bully out on the trails at 4 AM this morning.  He was surprised to see that an additional couple inches of snow  had appeared. 

He is also wondering about the strange orange glow he saw on the north side of Aspen Lake while he was grooming.    We assume it was an alien space ship landing.  😉   (If you know what it actually was, we’d be interested in knowing.)

A fairly good base has gradually developed.  All tracks are set, all skate lanes are open.  We are very busy with skiers now.  Forest Lake High School and Minnehaha Academy high school skiers are here training.  There are lots of recreational skiers out on the trails, too.  The pine boughs are still loaded with snow, so the trails are very beautiful.

Winter wonderland this morning. Groomers are headed out.

For local skiers heading up today, keep in mind this is the first grooming of many of these trails this year.   It’s going to be a long day of grooming.  All trails should be done by the end of today,  but for much of today grooming will be a work in progress.

Here in the tip of the Arrowhead region, we didn’t receive nearly as much snow as some areas to the south of us.  The large snowcloud on the radar has been located between Silver Bay & Duluth since sometime yesterday afternoon, with the tip of the Arrowhead largely out of the cloud most of the time.  It’s been snowing consistently since sometime last night, but it’s not heavy.  We honestly would have liked to receive more.  And of course, we will. 

Bearskin should have this side of the system fully groomed by the end of the day tomorrow (Saturday).  Little serious grooming is happening today on this side of the trail system, as our employees are off for the holiday and it is continuing to snow and blow.  A few skiers are out there, but this afternoon it’s a bit of a “back country” experience.  Temps are fairly warm, though.

Conditions: Good.

We received about 3 inches of new snow overnight, opening up a few trails for the first time this year. Summer Home Rd and the Campground loop are as good as ski trails get, with skate lanes and tracks. Upper Beaver Dam, Lower Ridge Run, The Lit Loop, and parts of Logging Camp have also been groomed. No tracks on these, and still stubble and an occasional rock, but a few more inches of snow will take care of that. This evening we will be grooming Ox Cart, and laying corduroy on the lake down to the edge of the BWCA.    (Quinn McCloughan)

Lake skiing continues to be good. Skiers are venturing out on routes that are far better known as canoe trips than as ski trips.

Report posted on www.skinnyski.com from Skinny ski team member Grant Nelson, one of several Skinny Ski team members staying at Bearskin this week:

Conditions: Good for those of an adventurous spirit.

Today, we skied into the Boundary Waters from Bearskin Lodge. 3 inches of fresh powder slowed us down slightly and gave us a great leg workout. The portages were gorgeous with freshly fallen snow laden on pine branches. We ended up investigating Johnson falls, which was a fabulous ice-sculpture waterfall. In the afternoon, we skied on the freshly groomed Bearskin trails along the Summer Home Road and Campground loop. Most of the trails are rolled, but rock-skis are recommended. The groomer is hoping for a few more inches of snow before he takes the Piston Bully out… (Grant Nelson, Skinnyski.com Race Team)

More ski reports at: http://www.skinnyski.com/trails/traildetail.asp?Id=48

Conditions: Good early season.
Summer Home Road and Campground Loop are groomed and open for skiing. Both have around 1 1/2 inches of base. On a few spots on Summer Home you might hit gravel on your kick, but the Campground Loop has full coverage. Nice weather and good skiing in early December.

It’s quite beautiful.

Conditions: Near ski-able.
We have 3 inches of snow, and have begun to pack it in preparation for grooming. It has been snowing on and off the last few days, and hopefully we will have some trails open very soon. Temps have dropped to around 15-20 degrees, so the snow shouldn’t be going anywhere.

Fun photos of some low-tech early trail packing at: http://www.skinnyski.com/tools/photoviewer.asp?reportId=29816