What a great way to end the season, the same way it began back in November: Breaking trail. I skied the Deeryard loop including Fire Tower and the Short Loop today after Friday's snow of a few inches. No grooming had been done but skiing was great. No debris, temps just below freezing. New snow was not sticky. Good skis fine. Great year on the north shore. Very thankful for all the grooming efforts and the great year we have had up on the north shore. There is plenty of snow left as can be seen in the photo.

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(Tim Nelson)

Skied the Deeryard loop around noon today. Conditions were fast with a few low spots where I had to be careful but there is still a great base of around 12 inches, perfectly set tracks and just a few skiers. I guess people don't believe there is snow! Hooking up with a friend to go tomorrow as well. We are going to do the ski down to Cascade around the far side of Deeryard lake.

(Michael O'Phelan)

Skied from the snowmobile parking lot on Hwy 61 up the Ridge Run trail, over to Deeryard, around the loop including fire tower and short loop trails and back down the Pioneer trail. Lots of debris, but plenty of snow. Deck remained firm, Rex Universal Grip tape was wonderful, great kick and no debris. Glide, not so much but fun day but classic tracks are fine.

(Tim Nelson)

We enjoyed great spring skiing conditions at Deeryard Saturday. The trails were groomed great and our hairy skis worked very well for the conditions. Snow depth is excellent, but there is some debris in the tracks so we recommend using your best hairy or other waxless skis. FYI - we also found out the Murmur Creek Rd is not plowed all the way through!

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(Karen Chandler)

I skied from Cascade Lodge up to Deeryard and back. Beautiful scenery and fresh grooming. Trails were perfect in the morning. By mid day the spots in the sun were getting soft and grabby, making my skis slow down rapidly whenever I hit them.

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(Robert Ibler)

Skied Massey and Hall Loops which were groomed on Sunday but by Monday morning had another few inches of fresh powder. The new snow discouraged me from skating it, but the classic track under the powder was firm and this short 10k ski was heavenly in a winter wonderland. Need to do these loops more often.

(Tim Nelson)

Overall in great shape! Some of the lower Norpine trails near Cascade Lodge were slightly icy and had a fair amount of debris in the tracks, with overall good snow coverage. Deeryard trails were pristine with deep, well set classic tracks, little to no debris, and excellent snow coverage.

(Michael Chmielewski)

Classic skied Deeryard loop including Fire tower and short loop. Snow was soft but waxless skis did not sink and grip was good. Poles were useless for pushing as they usually plunged through the deck, so it was a legs only effort. Grooming was old (way too warm) and the tracks had lots of debris, but skintecs cruised right over debris. But all in all coverage was adequate except for the water spots on the lakeside that have been there all year. All we need is a little cooler temps.

(Tim Nelson)

Skied the Pioneer Loop from the snowmobile parking lot on Hwy 61 up to and around the Deeryard loop and back down the second half of the Pioneer loop. It was all piston bully groomed and the grooming was excellent. Firn Deck and firm pole plants. Darn cold and the snow was slow even with Start Green glide wax and Rode Special Green kick. Coverage was excellent even down near the lake. There was quite a bit of small pine cone debris in the track which stopped you dead when you hit it. There was less on Deeryard than on Pioneer. Fortunately the long downhill from the FireTower on Deeryard down to four corner junction had only a few cones as did the downhill portion of Pioneer. The Norpine website says the Short loop was groomed but it is not. More snowfall should fix the debris problem. Great trail, great grooming.

(Tim Nelson)

Scheduling: Fat Tire Norpine Bike race is scheduled for this Saturday morning, Jan 7, between Lutsen Ski Hill Road and Cascade Lodge, utilizing LTTA connector trail, Massie and Hall loops with approximately 150 racers expected. Please do not attempt to ski the system until after 3pm Saturday. The system will be re-groomed as soon as feasible after the race, expect ungroomed erratic conditions until regrooming is completed.

(Elger Lorenzsonn)