A half-inch dusting overnight helped a little, but still no classical tracks set. I don't have back-country skis so stayed this morning on the uncleared, paved roads that wind through the campground. The one nearest the main road that runs N-S in the Park had a single vehicle's compressed, wide, tire tracks to ski in. Actually not bad, but I live relatively close, don't need perfect conditions, and wanted to get outdoors in the sun. Looks like late this evening and very early tomorrow morning will be my last skiing on this latest snow. Definitely B-ski conditions, but fun and invigorating.

(Ivar Zzyznius)

Had 5" of somewhat-wet snow yesterday after a big melt earlier in the week. No classical tracks set. Snow was sticky in sunny areas and melting was occurring where sun could reach dark areas under snow. I skied anyway and got in a good workout. Trail conditions will further deteriorate as temps rise, but I plan to try again early in the morning (because we're running out of winter).

(Ivar Zzyznius)

We had 3" of dense wet snow followed by 2" of overnight powder. Conditions are good for light touring to touring skiing anywhere in the forest that has snow cover. Best snow conditions will be after 3 pm today or tomorrow morning before the sun gets too high. Otherwise you'll be dealing with clumping due to uneven snow temps from shade to sun. Avoid the far west side of the red pine trail due to a heavily rutted and puddled road.

(Grant Houghton)

Backcountry only report: Yesterdays' melting and last nights freezing temperatures yielded the seasons first corn snow. Plenty of snow coverage in the woods allowed for some nice skiing on the fire lanes and deer trails. The snow should last through the weekend. We are skiing on short (179-189) metal edged no wax back country skis. A couple of ski shops in northern Wisconsin carry them. They easily double our ski season outings during these unpredictable winters.

(Grant Houghton)

Great conditions on Ridges trail. Skied all three loops red, blue, yellow. Took about two hours, awesome workout. Only saw one other skier at the end.

(Ben Harrison)

East side (Ridges) trail: Conditions are excellent. Trails faster than yesterday. Green kicker on top of yesterdays' wax worked perfectly. At the end of the ski, we followed a group of Special Olympians getting ready for their winter games next weekend. They were skiing a nice flat ski that was keeping them on trail. Very well done! To quote a US Olympic coach to me: "Train hard and race fast" (Marty Hall, April 82). Good luck.

(Grant Houghton)

East side (Ridges) trail: Skied this morning. Trails are set nicely, have very little debris and have had only light use so far. Straight green wax worked well with the freshly groomed trail. West side (Red Pine) trails: There is logging activity on the far west and far south portions of the ski loops. Avoid those areas. There is a shorter hilly area in the southeast portion of the trails that is being set up for skating. It's right out of the parking lot. The snow is perfect for softer skating skis. Backcounty: We skied fire lanes yesterday. The rain that we received Tuesday sunk to the ground and cemented in the subsequent snow that fell Wednesday night. The woods and dunes now have a great go anywhere snowcover.

(Grant Houghton)

After the rain sleet and high winds earlier this week, we pleasantly received 5 inches of new snow last night. Ridges trail (classic ski) was groomed early this morning and is in good condition. A portion of the red pine trail (skate ski) was packed today with plans to groom on Thursday.

(Guy Willman)

The 2" of heavy wet snow covered the debris that fell all week. That same snow made conditions rather slow. Tracks were set by skiers because it was too wet to drag. No wax skis were working well with the warm temps. Hopefully our base will hold until the next snowfall. Guy mentioned that logging operations on the Red Pine loop will be ending soon and they are hoping to get that trail groomed for skating and classic.

Photos:

(Mike Casey)

East side (Ridges Trail): Skied this morning in light touring waxable Fischer skis. Trail is in very nice shape. Well formed ruts with a little debris showing up from the wind. With the warming temperatures, make sure your wax is spot on, or consider waxless skis for the next few days. West side (Red Pine Trail): Due to ongoing logging activity, only a small portion of the trail is open for skiing. A small loop is packed in the southeast corner of the trail system. No track is set at this time. Avoid the entire north, west and far south portions of the trail system. Backcountry (Ice age trail, fire lanes, footpaths, dunes, swales and Molash Creek): Plenty of snow to go anywhere is the forest on snowshoes or back country touring skis. We showshoed a couple of miles yesterday and found deep powder that makes for slow going. Return trip on packed snow was much better. Do not try Molash Creek: It appears well frozen, but does have flow most of the winter.

(Grant Houghton)