The 5K loop was groomed this morning. There were a couple areas uncovered before this morning's 4-5", but otherwise, conditions are great!

(Bob Conzemius)

Most trails have been groomed since a dusting earlier in the week. The biathlon lower Loop is icy where the fresh groomed powder was blown away. In the woods and on the groomed grant in aid trails, the Skiing is perfect. There are very few areas where one side of the trail is retreating. The Grant in Aid trails that weren't groomed were also very good skiing with a firm base and maybe an inch of powder. The track on the grant in aid is a week old or so, but looked very solid and was used by several other parties today. With the weather forecast lows well below freezing for the near future, Mt. Itasca could be skiable until late April, as the man made loop is very thick and untouched.

(Alex Kelling)

Two inches of fresh snow and 20 degree temps all day made for perfect skate or classic in the tracks, set last week. The Alpine hills look inviting, but there is a chance of break through since they have not been groomed since March 11. The biathlon and GIA trails up on top are plenty fun!

(Catherine McLynn)

Pistenbully groomed the biathlon/5K loop (including Bittersweet loop up top), and groomed the rest of the grant-in-aid with the Alpine II and Tidd-Tech. Set track on all trails. I'd rate it at the top rating (no damage to skis), but there are a couple bare spots to watch out for: down the hill prior to the Wall, on a tiny segment of Bittersweet (neither covers the entire width of the trail), and the northwestern entrance behind the swamp on the Grant-In-Aid is closed. Otherwise, the trails are in great shape for the last day of March. Enjoy a nice Easter Sunday ski!

Photos:

(Bob Conzemius)

Skated at about 2pm what the Piston Bully had groomed. They made several passes on the 5k Race Loop and service road. Snow was soft, wet, and slow. Two spots off to the side of the trail where ground was showing, but easily avoidable. The rest of the loop was in very good shape.

(Alex Kelling)

Fabulous skiing this afternoon when temps were about 40 degrees. Upper trails were firmly set, but soft enough for control on downhills. No ruts despite recent warm temps. Stadium and entrance seemed icy this morning but was very skiable by noon. Tracks set up well in the new snow earlier this week.

(Catherine McLynn)

I got out and groomed the 5k loop and biathlon stadium with the Pistenbully, but it's still soft after 20" new snow over the past week. I skied it with Minnesota Youth Ski League this afternoon, and it was soft. Better day for classic skiing. Grant-in-Aid side (below Bittersweet) has not been groomed yet. We will either take the Pistenbully through or wait until the snow firms up a bit. The snowmobile groomer is having a tough time with the soft base. Either way, wow! The deep snow is beautiful!

Photos:

(Bob Conzemius)

15" new snow this week. Pistenbully grooming where the trails are wide enough. Elsewhere, we are grooming with the snowmobile and Tidd-Tech. All the new snow is softening the base a bit, causing some difficulty for the snowmobile going uphill with the track setter on the groomer. Please be careful going down the upper portion of Otter Slide because the snowmobile got stuck several times on that section (I tried to repair as well as I could). Otherwise, trails are in excellent shape! Enjoy all the new snow!

(Bob Conzemius)

Probably best skiing of this season at Mt. Itasca. 20 degrees F, perfectly groomed trails. Huge thanks to Bob the groomer!

Photos:

(Vladimir Cervenka)

10" new snow over the past three days. We hosted the JNQ over the weekend and are now busy trying to keep up with the snowy weather. Pistenbully groomed all the biathlon trails and the top loop. The rest of the trails were groomed with the Tidd-Tech. Tracks have been set on all trails. Have made multiple passes, and hopefully, it will firm up again.

(Bob Conzemius)