Lots of snow on the trail and still good conditions if you don't mind out-of-track skiing. Firm base with some tree debris. We started on the White Pine Trail and then took the connector to the main trail, the surface was better on the outer loop of the main trail. Lighted trail looked rough so we skipped that section. Slow sliding on wet snow, skin skis worked great. Probably was my last ski session at Pine Valley for the season. Thanks to Andy, Ross, and the Cloquet Parks crew for an excellent year.

Photos:

(Tom Urbanski)

I started on the White Pine Trail, which was not groomed on Monday but the classic track was skied-in well and provided mostly good skiing. Tracks are sloppy in places with some glazing but no ice. I then skied the ungroomed connector trail to the 5.5k loop that had been groomed. I skied on the outer 2k loop, skate lane was groomed on Monday and the classic tracks were still very good from Friday's grooming. Snow is showing the effects of sun scalding in the usual places, temperature was 26 degrees. I did not ski on the lighted loop section. Expect some variation in surface snow conditions but it's very good skiing overall.

Photos:

(Tom Urbanski)

At 11am, there was wind-blown snow in open areas and about 1/2" new snow in the tracks following what appeared to be a very nice grooming job yesterday. In the wind blown areas, the classic track was completely covered, and in the rest, 1/2" of new snow made the track somewhat shallow and slow. The strong wind had deposited a substantial amount of pine needle debris, mostly in the first km. I appeared to be the first classic skier since the grooming; a few skaters had done some damage to the classic track. The cold fresh snow made negotiating the downhills somewhat easier, even Gap Hill. With green covering special green, I was able to ski the entire 5.5 k loop without herringboning any hills. Special green probably would have been faster.

(Joel Rosen)

Freshly groomed over 8 inches of new snow. Nice corduroy and tracks are set. Same for the White Pine Trail.

(Tim Blais)

Excellent conditions throughout Pine Valley on Saturday morning. Firm, full-depth classic tracks and a flat skate lane, clean snow. I was skiing before the temperature went above freezing, so no icy spots yet and tracks were still fresh with no obvious glaze. Great kick and glide on skin skis. Very little skier traffic since the last grooming, I didn't see another skier while I was there. The Cloquet City Ski Meet is on Sunday with ski jumping and cross-country events all afternoon.

Photos:

(Tom Urbanski)

15F. Total sad face. The trails haven't been groomed since the deluge on Tuesday. There are many, many large branches that came down and it looks like the trail stewards have been busy just cleaning up the mess. No idea if branches are on the rest of the trail. I didn't go any further than the start of the trails since they hadn't been groomed. I think it will take some significant snow to cover the debris and ice.

Photos:

(Louise Levy)

Very nice skiing at dusk on Tuesday, groomed earlier today and yesterday's new snow covered up most of the pine needles. Still some tree debris to contend with at the start but about half a kilometer in, when the turn to Gillette's Hill begins, the snow is clean the rest of the way. Best classic tracks of the season and the skate lane was level and smooth.

Photos:

(Tom Urbanski)

Nice skiing late Friday afternoon, groomed today with new classic track set. Slightly soft surface snow but firm underneath the new snow. Classic track was mostly very good with a few shallow areas, occasional wiggles, and absent tracks where they usually are set. Some minor tree debris and dirty snow to contend with at the start and finish, plus one tree leaning over the Yeti Crossing trail section.

Photos:

(Tom Urbanski)

Excellent to very good skiing on Saturday afternoon on the 5.5k trail. Skate lane is level and wide, classic tracks looked great. Lighted loop ranks very good due to wear from skier traffic and lingering tree debris in the usual spots. Outer loop is excellent throughout, clean snow and groomed well. Going down Gap Hill was challenging because surface snow was scrubbed off most of the way down but the left turn and runout at the bottom was still good. I used good skis with no worries.

(Tom Urbanski)

We classic skied Pine Valley and White Pine today. I knew they were grooming yesterday which is why we went today instead. They must have groomed the lit loop yesterday and the rest today because we had fresh cord and tracks. The lit loop was well used and in great shape. Firm pole plants, and firm skate deck. The rest had some soft pole plants and some "sinky" feeling in some of the track areas but the skate deck was firm. On the double downhill and beyond for awhile there is some funky terrain on the skate deck so just beware while going down. We were pleasantly surprised that we had White Pine to ourselves and it was free of footprints and walkers when we used it. It is absolutely beautiful out there! Well worth the trip if you haven't been here before!

Photos:

(Eve Graves)