A beautiful sunny day capped off a great run of April skiing. A hard freeze overnight set last nights grooming nicely and textbook spring conditions were enjoyed by a good number of folks this morning before the trails closed in the afternoon. Jonell and I classic skied on JibFly mid morning timing the transition from fast to slow and conditions were much better than expected. Thanks everyone that came out this past week. Until the flakes fly again.....Just Ski.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Spring conditions. Morning low 13 degrees, high of 35 degrees. Sunshine, light winds: Comments: Groomed at sunrise conditioning the deck. With cooler than forecasted temperatures took a little bit longer to soften up, especially the track which was not reset. Skate skied from 11am to noon hitting the end of the the sweet spot. Very nice skiing and fun to bump into other skiers. Although it was cooler today than forecasted, the sun did its thing detonating the base. However, there still was enough coverage to sneak an evening groom setting a track on JibFly and compressing the skate deck and setting structure on the late season loop. No track set. Trails will be open until noon. Best skiing predicted to be 9am to noon.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Another great day of April skiing! Grooming this morning was a bit tricky with the very damp snow that froze down hard last night thanks to temps in the low 20's. A few extra passes and the deck and new track were good to go. Nice to see all the folks out today, thanks for skiing in the morning. Snow fell most of the day, accumulation less than an inch. High temperatures were in the mid 30's and thick cloud cover kept melting to a minimum. Early evening Jonell and I skied a lap on the late season lap and was just starting to cool down and firm up again, very nice skiing. Grooming plans: Will be back out in the morning grooming the 4km late season loop, resetting the track and renovating the skate lane. With the sun forecasted to make a return tomorrow, the snow could deteriorate fast and best to ski in the morning, sweet spot 9:30-11:30am is my best guess.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Thanks to Jay and his team, the 4k groomed loop remains in good condition with good snow coverage and no significant thinning noted (yet). Waxless skis worked well again today. Maplelag is a great spot to still sneak in an few extra ski days as winter wraps up.

Photos:

(Glenn Gifford)

Great April skiing: Cedar and portion of Gold trail groomed for skating overnight and were firmly set. Met groomer doing Bronze and Summit while skiing this morning, so there will be 20k waiting for you today!

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(Shawn Callahan)

In my judgment, those who don't mind taking off their skis and walking through the bare spots and puddles can maybe get in some more skiing, but mid-afternoon today it was barely feasible to keep my skis on over the entire roughly 5k of groomed loops. "Special K" had the most bare areas and puddles. In some areas e.g. without southern exposure the snow was still fairly good, although of course soft and melting, So, for anyone still jonesing for more skiing, it might be worth carrying the skis over the bare areas. ( The reported local temperature was 37 F, so below the prescribed cut-off of 40 F, although the sunshine no doubt was increasing melting in areas directly exposed to the sun. I didn't feel or hear anything indicating that I had hit any rocks, but I know they are there!).

(Russ Schulz)

What a difference a day and a ton of use makes! Conditions were significantly different today than yesterday... people must have skied when it was warm and a dog or two enjoyed it also. The trail is still about 99% covered with something, but that something varied. Some was snow, all was very rutted and had deep dog prints. Classic tracks were fast, parts were ice, some was ground or weeds. We timed it right so everything in the skate lane was soft and we were able to stay out there to enjoy the glide. If you want to glide, time it right... should be around for a little while.

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(Eve Graves)

Around 20F and sunny this morning at Pincushion. I skated the greens. Twas a bumpy ride on the deck with the thawed and refrozen ski cuts. A number of spots with sheer ice and a few bare spots. But hey, still navigable. The classic tracks looked well intact.

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(Cory Quirk)

Trail Base: 2-8" with a few bare spots. Thanks to a solid base, a trace of new snow and cool overnight temperatures, all skating lanes have been re-groomed overnight with good results. The classic tracks are well formed and improved by the light snow. There are some icy spots and a few bare spots, so ski with caution. This may be the last grooming session of the season. Conditions are very good late season skiing. During these spring skiing conditions please avoid skiing on the skate deck if it has softened in the warming temps over the next few days. We want to preserve the groomed trails as long as possible. Best skiing conditions will be in the morning before temps rise. Enjoy this late season bonus!

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(Timothy Lederle, Pincushion Ski and Run Club)

The trail was still good this morning in a temperature window between icy and soft! Thank you groomers for a fun bonus time. We drove up from the Twin Cities for this! This was my first time skiing here. Pincushion is a beautiful, well designed Nordic trail system. Thanks to all!

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(Scott Kirkwood)

We got out on the trails again this morning to get them in shape for this weekend. We had a dusting of snow yesterday and with the base that we have built up over the winter the trails are holding up well. There are some spots where a little ice is building on low spots and where some ground is showing up under pines and on sunny south facing spots, but there are few and easy to avoid. This will probably be the last weekend to get out and get some kilometers on your skis.

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(John Fredrikson)

Spring hasn't come to the upper Gunflint trail yet. It was -6°F when I left to come up here yesterday morning. It looks like they got a half an inch of snow last night. The trails here are all groomed and well covered with snow with beautiful views looking out over Canada across the Gunflint Lake.

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(Gene Karwoski)

Spring has not quite fully sprung yet up at Gunflint. While we are seeing some signs of spring (see the photos of the Cross River flowing). The ice on the lake is still well over 2 feet thick. We did get a dusting of snow this morning and there is still a lot of snow on the ground. Grooming plans: The ski trail base has held up well, so we will be doing one more grooming of most of the trail system to get one more weekend of skiing before spring rains come. We hope you can come up! Friday and Saturday look like they should still have good skiing!

Photos:

(John Fredrikson)

We had a light dusting of snow again last night so we were out grooming again few of the trails again this morning. The trails are holding up well so far. It was great seeing folks out on the trails yesterday and getting the positive feedback on the quality of the grooming! This morning we groomed Big Pine, Little Pine, Amperage and Lonely Lake. They all are groomed with a skate deck and a classic track. The base is nice and firm with a good bite. With warmer weather on the way mornings will be the best conditions. We hope you can come up!

Photos:

(John Fredrikson)

It was midwinter ski conditions today in April. Really amazing! I skied for 3 hours with almost perfect classic tracks the whole time. Canadian tariff free cold air and John's commitment to grooming has kept these extensive trails almost perfect. Snow dreams are alive here.

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(Michael Wilke)

We got back out early this afternoon to do the remainder of the trail system. The snow is holding up well and should stick around for a while. It was good to see people out skiing and a bunch of skate tracks on the trails heading back to the lodge. This afternoon we groomed Overlook, Highlands, Ham Lake, North Star and Upper West End. All were groomed with a skate deck and a classic track.

Photos:

(John Fredrikson)

We were back out grooming the ski trails this morning with a very slight dusting last night. There were some spots on lower West End that needed some work from the last grooming. The trails groomed up well. Cut Across trail is the only one that I wouldn't recommend. We would need more snow to get that one back in shape and I doubt we will get that. All of the trails are groomed with a skate deck and a classic track. We hope you can come up and ski our trails this weekend!

Photos:

(John Fredrikson)

Three hours of classic skiing on red klister for new wet snow. I didn't need to use my skins. First time at Gunflint Lodge, won't be the last. Your skis don't want to hibernate, get up here for your last hurrah. Thank you John!

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(Steven Ahlgren)

There was about 1 inch of wet snow on top of last grooming. First blue loop, irange and yellow had good coverage today. A few small bare spots.

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(Steve Langenbrunner)

Last dispatch of the season! Jensen trail portion of trails (1-10-18) is still 95% covered with solid base. Good for both skate skiing and classic: in late and last spring skiing style - very little debris, icy in places unless temps are warm, flat with no set tracks, occasional bare patches. West flatter trails are still largely snow covered (90%) and skiable. The hillier East trails are done I think - at about 75% covered - gotta take skis off here and there. So, another couple of days for any diehards who just enjoy being out.

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(Mary Shedd)

Bottom line: west trails are great, east trails not as good. Similar to yesterday for when I skied the Jensen Trail portion of the system (1-18-10) and west trails. Today I tried segments of the Eastern trails and found them more challenging: they are hillier and have more bare patches and icy conditions than the flatter trails of the west. I had to take my skis off to walk down some of the hills. But overall still worth it. There is also a small window of opportunity for skate skiing the Jensen Trail road segment. With its full coverage and hard base, and a little bit of warm temps - skate skiing was great. Skiing from 1-10 and back gives a nice 6 mile round trip.

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(Mary Shedd)

I had a really great spring ski experience Monday. Trail snow coverage is still up over 98% with hard packed base over at least 2-5" with very little debris or rutting on trails. The "spring factors" are there but barely diminish the overall experience: no further grooming; crusty but smooth trails in below freezing temps, with only occasional icy patches; soft, but not slushy in above freezing; and very occasional short bare patches that are easy to get past. In summary: beautiful skiing!

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(Mary Shedd)

The Ashwabay trails have been groomed and new tracks set this morning after 4-5 inches of fresh snow on Wednesday. Skiing is great while the temps stay low.

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(Ashley Georgeson)

Another day of good grooming on plentiful snow! Skiing slowed as temperatures rose, but it was another morning of fine spring skiing. Only Relentless and Papa Bear are not being groomed, but I saw ski tracks heading off on both loops.

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(Peter Vorhes)

Groomed skate lanes this morning. We closed the trail behind the hospital due to washouts and bare spots. Overall still in decent shape for spring skiing.

(Deborah Leonard Greiter)

Our volunteer groomers are the best! Just reported all skate lanes groomed, tracks set again. Cliff Hanger and Pond Loop closed. Everything else open and looking great! Behind hospital has some tough spots but the rest is nice! Go enjoy!

(Deborah Leonard Greiter)

Couple inches of soft snow made for slow skate skiing.
But I won't complain because it was sure nice to afternoon ski in below freezing temps with blue sunny sky. One last chance before its over, at least for me.

Photos:

(Brian Ciske)

Mother Nature keeps blessing us -- 6" of beautiful snow last night so we groomed and track set again this morning. Conditions are really good, probably a classic day today. Light snow still falling late morning.

(Deborah Leonard Greiter)

All skate lanes refreshed this morning There are a few thin spots but 95% is really looking nice and ready to ski. Surprisingly good conditions at this time of year!

Photos:

(Deborah Leonard Greiter)

The skate lanes were in great shape this morning with only a few thin spots. The thin spots will likely get bigger throughout the day, but skiing should be good for a while yet. Classic tracks were not reset this morning, but still present. Fun for sure!

Photos:

(Jonathon Rulseh)

Some skate lanes were refreshed with the 1/2" snow we received last night. Wolverine loop, pit run, novice and stairway to heaven. Should last a while!

(Deborah Leonard Greiter)

We decided to see what was left at Magney today. The first hill is bare from gate to sign. From the top of the hill until the intersection that goes right to the connector or up the hill to the loops, about .25 from the start, The snow is about 85% connected. Once you get there, the snow is about 95% connected. We did take skis off a couple of times. We did not explore Bardon's or Ely's. At the junction of Ely's and the right turn, about 1 mile in the snow is much better, 100% connected and only one set of footprints. So, if you are like me and enjoy skiing until the last drop, have good grass/rock skis you can walk over the non-snow areas, or don't mind taking skis off and walking, check it out!

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(Eve Graves)

I knew we got 9 inches of snow at Magney earlier this week, also knew a lot of it was still there so I ventured out today to see what it was like. It is not groomed, which I knew, and the first small hill from the gate to the map is missing some snow (some people went sledding there and left a lot of footprints causing melt), after that it is pretty much all connected except one teeny tiny spot. A couple of small bare spots here and there nothing much at all, I'd say it is 99% covered. There are some footprints, but the snow was soft and I had great glide on my skins!

Photos:

(Eve Graves)

Trails took a hit today with some areas now void of snow. There are still skiable sections out there, but making a loop without hitting a bare spot would be a challenge.

(Jonathon Rulseh)

I scratched up the skate lanes this morning, and the skiing should be pretty good today. There are some residual footprints remaining. The classic track was left alone and is thin in spots. Get it while you can!

Photos:

(Jonathon Rulseh)