At press time, local ski and snowmobile groups provided the following snow report:
Sugarbush Trail Association
Feb. 6 update: Conditions range from fair to good with some poor sections under the pine trees. Still lots of undulations. Watch out for rocks just under the surface. Not enough snow to set any new tracks. Existing tracks are still very skiable. We need a few more inches of snow to really start leveling and grading. Moose Fence, Upper Picnic loop ridge and Upper ORR have the best snow conditions. Rock skis or B grade skis recommended on everything but the ORR. Total snowfall for the season is just 20 inches. See www.sugarbushtrail.org for the latest conditions.
Lutsen Area
Groomer’s Feb. 2 report: We have groomed all trails including Deeryard, Pioneer, Ridge Run, Lookout, connector to Hall/Massie, Hall Massie loops, and connector to Lutsen. The only trails that remain ungroomed are those south of the Jonvik creek bridge. Most skiing is similar to late spring conditions requiring care in the early morning and late evening hours and we recommend rock skis on much of the system with the exception of Deeryard, Pioneer Loops, Lookout Mountain. The run from Caribou will ski well until the trail sub surface gets very uneven, then it is going to be walking it until you hit more flat subsurface conditions. See www.norpinetrails.org for a complete report on ski conditions.
North Shore snowmobiling
According to Dan T. of Houston, Texas: On Monday (Jan. 30) I rode the expressway trail from Devil Track Lodge to Trail Center. Trail was in great shape, and I ran across the groomer both ways. The Gunflint Trail was rough, so I took the expressway back down to Devil Track, and then hopped on the North Shore State Trail down to the Trestle Inn. Conditions were very good, and I ran across the groomer on the state trail too. Logging road #166 over to the Trestle Inn was also great…..cruised along without a bump to be found. Good conditions are plentiful in the Grand Marais area………plenty of snow, and plenty of great riding! Come on up and enjoy winter on the North Shore! Check out suggested trailheads and routes at snowmobiletrails.com
Pincushion
Feb. 6 report: Today I hit the trails pretty hard, hoping to find the balance between mush and ice. I think I got it. It was starting to freeze up as the sun went down. All trails were groomed for skate and classic skiing. Should be great skiing this week, happy to see some colder temperatures. Visit pincushiontrails.org/ trail-reports for the latest.
Bearskin
Feb. 5 report: It’s been a bit warmer than we’d like it to be for the past couple days, but luckily we have lots of snow so the sunny days and warm temps have had very little impact on our snow cover. Trails are all recently groomed and in good shape.
See bearskintrailreports. wordpress.com/ for all the latest.
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