We are blessed to live in a beautiful area, with ample opportunities for many kinds of recreational activities.  There are trails for XC skiers and snowshoers, as well as for snowmobiles all over our beautiful area. Lucky us.

The Gunflint Trail offers trail systems specifically for each of these winter sports.  The trails are separate for really obvious safety reasons: a fast-moving snowmobile poses a great danger to a slow-moving skier, and vice-versa.  The Central Gunflint Ski Trail system, operated on a permit from the US government by Bearskin and Golden Eagle Lodges, rarely has any problems with people who do not comprehend the difference between a ski trail and a snowmobile trail.  This area has so many great trails available for both types of users that most folks are happy to use the trails designated for their favorite activity. 

When we do have snowmobilers accessing XC ski trails, the Central Gunflint Ski Trail System needs to take trespassing by snowmobilers very seriously.  We report these activities to the Cook County Sheriff and the US Forest Service, and we do our utmost to find the people involved.  We have to do this, for the safety of our skiers.

We had very blatant destruction of some of our ski trails by snowmobilers today, something that has not happened in quite some time.  It was no mistake, and based on skier reports, the snowmobilers were very near to skiers.  Hey, you, the lady with the stalling, loud snowmobile and black jacket with pink sleeve stripes — this is no small thing. You and your friends could hurt somebody that way.  You also create a lot of additional work for the resort owners and employees, who have to go back and clean up your mess. 

Both resorts make an effort to find and report the people who endanger our guests, and this group will be no exception.  The incident was reported to the sheriff; skiers can provide descriptions of the group.

We’ve found that most snowmobilers in this area are very responsible about ski trails — they have so many good options of their own, there’s no reason to risk ending up on the Cook County sheriff’s report for making a foolish choice. Trails for each activity are well-marked.  If you can read, you can figure out which trail is for you.  With the large number of wonderful, well-maintained snowmobile trails up here, there is no good reason to put yourself  and your snowmobile in the wrong place this weekend.

It’s been pretty much “more of the same” since our last ski trail blog.  It snows, we groom, it snows again, we groom again, an endless recurring cycle of snowy sameness.  That’s a perfect winter pattern that we love to be in.  Lake trails have been mostly slush free.  So far we’ve had no signs of the usual late February thawing or sleet.  This winter was slow to get started, but it’s humming along nicely now.  Skiers have been very, very pleased with conditions.

According to Dan at Golden Eagle, who is a methodical record keeper, we’ve received more than 17 inches of new snow this month.  We’ve received 52.8 inches of snow since November, quite a bit more than we had at this point in 2012.  This bodes well for March skiing.

We’re running a “3 nights for the price of 2” special for some of March. See our specials page on the Bearskin website at www.bearkin.com. You should be here skiing!

Wow, did it ever snow!  We decided to head to Trail Center around 6 PM last night for a family dinner.  We knew that it was snowing, but we’re hardy Minnesotans–it’s no big deal to travel 3 miles in the snow, right?  Coming home was quite a challenge.  We couldn’t see 3 feet in front of us.  It’s been quite awhile since we’ve seen it snow so hard up here.

Depending on where you measure, we have 8-10 inches of brand new fluffy snow, on top of the nice base we already had.  Where the snow drifted on trails, it’s much deeper.  Groomers are out this morning on both sides of the trail system. This is a great deal of snow to move around.  Some of the trails needed to be rolled and packed first.  Everything is grooming up very nicely.  It’s beautiful out there.

Bit by bit every trail is getting groomed.  If you want to ski today, check with Bearskin or Golden Eagle to find out which trails are finished.  Quite a few were done by midday Monday; the rest will gradually be completed during the day.

We hear there are terrible winds in some places in the state, but we’re sure not seeing that here.  It’s an absolutely lovely day to be skiing on tour trails.

Not much new to report.  It’s been a cold week, but lots of people are out skiing.  They come into the lodge after a day of skiing with rosy cheeks and an intense desire to immerse themselves in the heat of the sauna or hot tub.  

We’ve had a little dusting of snow here and there, nothing significant since the last major grooming.  Some snow is in the forecast;  most predictions have been for additional snowfalls of less than 1 inch.   Trails are in good shape, so what we’d like most of all now is a bit of a temperature warm up.

Summer Home Road Ski Trail this morning:

Conditions are outstanding on the trails.  What a great weekend to come skiing!  Warm up by the fire in our Main Lodge, and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate, or a bowl of chili or chicken wild rice soup. Wine, beer, pop, and snacks are available  in the Main Lodge.

Ski passes for the Central Gunflint Trail System are available at both Bearskin and Golden Eagle. Our parking lots may be somewhat busy today, so if you decide to park anywhere besides our lodge parking lots, be sure to ask for a parking pass for your car. Groomers will be out on the trails today checking for ski passes.

Here’s Golden Eagle’s grooming report from Friday afternoon, after the grooming on both sides of the system was completed:

Maybe a -15F start to the day, with a predicted high of -5F, isn’t your idea of a “better than expected” weather day, but  today is much more pleasant than we thought it would be.  The crazy winds have calmed down quite a bit.  The snow is still coating the trees and when the sun pops out from behind the clouds later this morning, the world is going to be beautiful.  We even had an incredibly vivid sunrise this morning.

The groomers are out on the trails.  If you plan to ski, dress for more extreme cold and perhaps plan to get inside often.  We’ll have a fire crackling in the fireplace and hot soup ready to serve.  Sunday is the best day to buy soup at Bearskin because Chef Scott Bergstrom always makes us a fabulous soup to serve on Saturday night, and we usually have some to sell on Sunday.  Today the soup is Italian Sausage, Wild Rice and Tomato Soup — a little spicy, perfect for warming up after a cold ski.

We also have hot chocolate with maple cookies, wine by the glass or the bottle, and an array of interesting beers available in the lodge.  Warm up with us.

Everything was groomed today, even though it never quit snowing.  Most likely we will need to groom again tomorrow, but realistically, what actually happens could depend on what the night brings.  Forecasts are threatening  low temperatures and very high winds, followed by even lower temperatures and even higher winds.  We’ll see what weather actually materializes, but grooming may or may not be rational in the morning. 

Check the weather before you decide to come skiing tomorrow or especially Monday.  These will not be days to go out into the winter weather unaware of current conditions.

A good book by the crackling fire sounds like an excellent plan.

Oh yes, we got a lot of snow.  It’s still snowing.

They’ve been out grooming on both sides of the trail system since 5 AM.  Grooming while it is snowing is not ideal, but it is the only option today. You are going to find snow in the tracks of freshly groomed trails.  In fact, when Bob finished grooming Bear Cub early this morning, when he crossed back over what he had done first, it no longer looked newly groomed.  They’ll groom everything today, but you should expect to see fresh snow even on newly groomed trails.  That’s just the way it is going to be today.

New report from Golden Eagle:

New Snow Last 24 hours: 4.65 inches

New Snow Last 7 days: 6.88 inches

Trail Base: Average 4 to 6 inches

Snow in Woods:  Average 12 inches

Surface Conditions: Powder, Packed Powder

Snowshoe trails:  Open

Total snowfall since November 1:  29.63

Conditions:  Good to Excellent

Comments:  Lots of great snow this week!  Both Groomers are out on the system this morning!  Please check with Golden Eagle Lodge or Bearskin Lodge for specific conditions and information on each trail.