At press time, local ski and snowmobile groups provided the following snow report:
Banadad Trails
As of March 16, the trails were still described as being in “great” shape. The groomer said that with day temperatures predicted to be in the 30s this week and cooler at night, trails may be icy in the morning. There is 18 inches of snow on the ground and a 16-inch packed trail base; 41 kilometers are groomed and tracked. See boundarycountry.com for all the latest.
Bearskin
As March wraps up, we are dealing with typical late season conditions on our trail system. We just returned from a Twin Cities/Duluth trip, and it’s obvious that we haven’t had a fraction of the melting and rain that those two cities have experienced recently. We still have ample snow here and, in fact, it is snowing lightly right now. But daily temperatures in the afternoons have been getting warm enough to create slush and icy conditions. We also had some rain. When the temps cool back down each evening, the wet snow freezes into a very hard surface.
Trails were groomed on March 14. The classic tracks at this point are hard and icy, with a small amount of powder coating. Skaters, on the other had, are having a great time skiing on this surface. Morning skiing, as is typical of late March, has been quite good but afternoon skiing can be wet, depending on the temps and amount of afternoon sun. We haven’t decided what our next grooming step will be. We may wait to see what happens with the weather. If it continues to melt and slush up every afternoon, we probably won’t try too hard to fight it at this point. However, a good dump of snow could make grooming the trails again more realistic.
Golden Eagle
March 16 comments: “We are beginning to see warm days with cold nights, typical weather to begin spring ski conditions. Since conditions can change rapidly with this type of weather, it is best to give us a call at (218) 388-2203 to get the most up-to-date information.” Skiers may also visit golden-eagle.com for updates.
Gunflint Trail/Cook County Ridgeriders
On March 16, Sky Dan reported: “Still riding the trails! This could be the last good weekend of sledding the snowmobile trails. There is plenty of snow left on most of the trail with a few thinning spots in a few corners. Expect the worst conditions where all the trails join near mid-Trail at Poplar and Hungry Jack lakes. The rest of our trails have made it through the warm week and should give everyone a great weekend of riding. Get off the trails and enjoy lake riding with the soft conditions.” Dan urged riders to check www.boreal.org/RidgeRiders/ for the latest conditions.
Sugarbush Trail Association
Skate lanes have been reconditioned as of March 19. “Both classic and skate skiing should be great,” according to the groomer. Surface conditions are a light dusting of powder tilled into a frozen granular base. See www.sugarbushtrail.org for an update.
West End Snowmobile Trails
On March 16, the Lutsen trails were a mixture of good and bad. “Trail conditions are still good until you get down close to Lake Superior where the snow is getting thin. Back in the woods the riding is still good but with this warm weather it’s day by day,” reports Steve Bragg of the snowmobile club.
Leave a Reply