Nice to have tracks set so early in the season! Plenty of fresh snow and expert grooming seemed like mid-winter conditions with exception of a few easily avoided patches of dirt or ice. The Hemlock Trail was exceptionally picturesque today.

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(Tom Rulseh)

Was it worth it to make the round trip (3-1/2 hours each way from my side of town) for a 2 hour ski? For the joy of the season's first ski on Nov. 11th it was. They had 20k or so groomed, mostly the flatter loops connecting to the river trail. Conditions were a bit bumpy but coverage was very good. B skis if you have them. I classic skied and there were tracks on 80% of the trail. There were 40-50 cars in the lot this morning. I think more than half were locals. They are having there sale this weekend and I found a great deal on a pair of Salomon classic boots!

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(Paul Schaaf)

The trails are groomed and ready for skiing on Saturday. The new snow and single digit temps overnight drastically improved the condition from yesterday. We were pleasantly surprised to groom 30 km this morning with mostly full depth classic tracks and groom 20 km for skating. You will find thin areas and some wet or ice areas but the trail is very well covered and is skiing very well for early season. We will be open for skiing at 9 AM.

(Eric Anderson, ABR Trails)

We are opening Saturday at 9 AM Nov 11th! The new snow over the old frozen base is skiable. We will do our final grooming Friday and will open for skiing Saturday at 9 AM CST. Not sure if we will have tracks until Friday...not sure how many k. I am guessing about 20 -30 km of trail will be open. Don't miss the big ABR Fall Ski Shop Sale 10-3 Saturday 20-60% off.

(Eric Anderson, ABR Trails)

We will not be able to open for any skiing or shopping this weekend due to the warm temps we are having today and the forecast. We hope to open for the following weekend weather permitting.

(Eric Anderson, ABR Trails)

I am just coming from checking trails and packing. The 4 inches of new snow on top of the 14 inches is helping build the base but the ground remains warm and our challenge is removing the trees and branches from the trails to be able to quickly groom the trails to freeze the base. We have about 10 k cleared after 3 days with crews working.  We hope to have 10 k or more skiable for Friday but it is weather dependent. My 22 years of experience say it is very likely we will be open Friday for 15 km of skiing. We will continue to work on the other 60 k of trails, Any volunteers that want to clip bent over branches or remove broken branches from the trails please contact me. You will need snowshoes and appropriate clothing. No chain saw work due to insurance requirements.

(Eric Anderson, ABR Trails)