Well the warm temperatures have kept up, even at night and we are slowly beginning to lose our snow.  Yesterday it rained in the morning, making the trails even slushier.  Despite these less than perfect conditions, a few dedicated skiers have ventured out onto the trails.  Snow still covers most of the trails and you can certainly still shuffle around a bit, although you may run into some bare spots and puddles.

We have not been out to groom in about a week, since the snow is so soft and in some places nonexistent.  We’ve been encouraging guests to snowshoe over ski since the trails may just be a bit too soft.  Although not perfect for skiing, the trails are still beautiful and they make you feel like you’re out in the wilderness.  They are a great place to witness this early change of seasons.  

It does seem like spring is just about here, but it’s definitely possible that we’ll see another big snow fall in which case we’ll be back on the groomer and eager to get the trails in top condition for late winter skiing.   Check back to see if winter makes a come back!

All of the trails were groomed early this morning.  With temperatures well above freezing for over a week and trace amounts of new snow, we were unsure how the trails would hold up, but the grooming was a success and all of the trails are in very good shape.  We still have an 8-10 inch base in most places and the tracks are very hard.  The warm weather during the day followed by freezing temps at night made some of the trails a bit icy so we used the power tiller today to break up the ice that was starting to form.  It did the trick and most of the ice is gone. 

This afternoon the thermometer reads 50 degrees and the skies are blue and sunny.  Skiers report that the trails haven’t gotten too soft in the sun and that it’s very comfortable skiing weather.  We all have to take advantage of the warm weather and the surprisingly good skiing conditions, since skiing might not be much of an option if this warm streak keeps up!

Over the past two days we received 5-6 more inches of snow, which made an already busy weekend even busier. A lodge full of guests taking advantage of the long President’s Day weekend and an entire trail system to groom tested the limits of our staff. Thankfully all of the guests were taken care of, all of the cabins were cleaned, and all of the trails were groomed. Right now the ski trails are in excellent shape. We just finished grooming the section of North South Link that connects to Aspen lake today as the big hill down to the lake needed a little bit more work than the rest of the trails. That part of the trail has a tendency to form a large bump at the bottom of the hill just before the trail goes over the lake, rocketing skiers onto Aspen in midair. But every once in a while we remember that not everyone appreciates a cross-country ski trail that also incorporates ski jumping and then we go smooth it out. So now is the time to take advantage of a jump-less North South Link, the mild weather (it’s been in the 20s all week), and the other freshly groomed trails!

Well the snow fell, the temperature dropped, and the trails have been groomed.  We now have an additional 12 inches of snow and this morning the thermometer read slightly below zero.  This is more like the January we know.  With such little snowfall and temperatures in the low to mid 30s, the last few weeks didn’t seem like the frigid, snow covered January we’re used to, but instead seemed like the more mild and sunny March.  But not any more.  The forecast for the next week calls for more scattered snow showers and temperatures reaching just above zero during the day.

Yesterday, the groomer was out all day.  The snow was so heavy and wet when it fell that it made for harder work for the groomer.  The wet snow weighed down many of the small tress and branches that lined the trails causing them to bend to just about the right height to give anyone skiing in the tracks a few good slaps in the face.  It made for slow grooming since we had to stop frequently to clear the trail.  Nevertheless, the trails look much better.  We now have 10-12 inches of base.  There is no more stubble showing and areas with large rocks are no longer as much of a problem.  The Campground Loop, Summer Home Road, Beaver Dam, and Bear Cub were groomed yesterday and the rest of the trails should be groomed in the next day or two.

Lots and lots of heavy, very wet snow over the last 24 hours.  Temperatures hovering in low 30’s. Luckily, we did not get much of the rain that predominated in other parts of the state, but the snow is wet enough that even the pressure of a footstep turns the snow into ice.    

We groomed a stretch of trail with the G2 as an experiment this afternoon; we’ll see what it’s like in the morning.  Best guess, however, is that if we groom before it gets colder, we will just end up with hard-packed ice trails.  Groomers on both sides of the Central Gunflint Trail System are waiting for more favorable grooming conditions.  We’ll be watching the thermometer closely.

We’ve woken up to flurries the last couple of days, and while they are certainly pretty to watch out the window or while skiing the trails, they haven’t done us much practical good. These dustings haven’t added much to our total snow accumulation and we’ve had about the same amount of snow since our Christmas snowfall. Nevertheless, the skiing is still quite good. Many skiers enjoyed the trails over the long weekend (and the warm weather). Oxcart and Poplar Creek are being groomed today and the rest of our trails should be groomed within the next couple of days.

If you are going to be in the area this Saturday January 23rd you can be part of the Volks Ski 400. The Volks Ski 400 is an event in which relay teams will ski the entire 400 K of Cook County’s gorgeous wilderness ski trails. Stop by the lodge and join the Bearskin team to help us ski our section of trails. You don’t have to be fast or strong to participate!  Ski even a few K in the relay and you will be part of the team. Proceeds from the Volks Ski 400 will support pancreatic cancer research.