This report is only on Ridge Runner. Woke up to about 4 inches of snow and saw Ridge Runner was groomed, headed out to check some things out. Found soft conditions with a couple of thin spots and some rock showing. It is open but I recommend caution and rock skis until we get more snow.

(Ken Hazel)

Piston bully was out setting tracks this morning. Tracks on combi-trails are very good, mostly good skis skiing but some dirt here and there, so would still recommend B skis. Skate deck looked good too.

Photos:

(Will Andresen)

Popple Flats and Popple Climb, Blueberry Bluffs, Memory Lane, Jack Pine and Cherry Derry skied well. Tamarack Two Track and White Pine were groomed for skate and skied the best - really enjoyed skating both those trails. Hautanen Highlands had treacherous sections where the deck was scraped to ice on some downhill turns and was uneven in low wetland spots. River Run was good overall but looked like it had a lot of traffic and some spots were thin. I recommend rock skis because the ice made it hard to avoid debris and it was more enjoyable to ski without planning out every maneuver. Photos are of White Pine and River Run. Hope to be back for the Sisu in 2026.

Photos:

(Karen Katz)

The new snow groomed up well this morning; we groomed up 64k. We had a busy day today and many happy skiers. Grooming plans: We plan to set some or many of the classic tracks in the morning and I am planning on taking out my Pisten Bully to groom the closer combi trails with the powertiller and set tracks. Highlands and tamarack and ridge runner are not quite ready for Crasher with his smaller Pisten Bully.

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(Eric Anderson, ABR Trails)

We are skiing on 71 km of trails. Pig Heart groomed with Crasher this morning, we groomed 47 km of trails -- mainly the main combi trails and a few connectors. The skate lanes are skiing quite well. We are bypassing three of the big hills and using bypasses. The classic tracks on the side of the combi trails are now skiing decently. It is an older track with hard, well formed, sidewalls and has several inches of powder compressed from skier traffic. There are portions where we wiped out the classic track but in general 75-80% of the combi trails have decent track. A hard wax works in this condition and temperature. There are some thin areas and some areas with bare spots, mostly due to the conifers blocking snow and groomers being aggressive, but easy to ski around them. Classic trails have been skiing ok, tamarack close up and jack pine white pine are groomed flat but have decent coverage. Hemlock return, jacks flats, tamarack after. The crossover is skiing ok, sunset is rated up a notch with its hills. We closed Wolf tracks, ridge runner and puumala until we get more snow; they are a bit rough with bedrock outcroppings and are more hilly. Grooming plans: Groomers heading out in the early morning to regroom.

(Eric Anderson, ABR Trails)

We have been out grooming the skate trails daily, the dustings of snow have helped maintain a skiable surface. We have not been able to set new tracks for quite a while. There are some old tracks on most of the combi trails and most of Tamarack in the back portion and hemlock. The quality of the classic track is poor to fair. We are keeping Wolf Tracks, ridge runner and puumala trails closed until we get more snow.

(Eric Anderson, ABR Trails)

Walked out to check out Ridge Runner which was groomed for the first time since the warm-up and rain. Unfortunately there are some bare spots and rocks showing not to mention the things you can't see like the bare granite that is just below the surface and it wouldn't take much to ski that snow off exposing it. Therefore it will remain closed until we get more snow and even with that I will probably have to get out there to do some shoveling. Even though we have been getting an inch or two of fluffy lake effect snow the volume is as much air as snow. I'm hearing a lot of grumblings about conditions and cancellations, remember the only one responsible is Mother Nature so let's hope she changes her mind soon.

(Ken Hazel)

Wully Bully, Snowcross and Pig Heart groomed up 78 km of trail this morning after the new snow. It was so nice to cover some of the thin spots and have fresh snow. Trails groomed are most, trails closed are windy ridge and puumala and wolf tracks. Highlands exit hill is icy, it may be better to take highlands/blueberry connector, blueberry downhill is closed. Grooming plans: We are grooming again tomorrow.

(Eric Anderson, ABR Trails)

The five of us were bundled for -3 degree grooming early this morning, we just hunkered down and got it groomed up. We groomed up 32 km today, no new tracks (yet). We groomed River, Popple, Memory returning on River, Bards, the Tamarack, blueberry to cold feet shortcut. We also groomed Jack Pine/ White Pine, Cherry, Deer Trail and Jacks Flats. Grooming plans: Good news tonight! We received 2 inches of lake effect snow (not forecasted) during the afternoon. This will not make the trails race ready, however it will improve the trails conditions. Three of us heading out early morning to groom, we are not planning to reset tracks yet. We plan to groom more trails but will be "squeegee" grooming the new snow covering some of the debris we brought up over the last week. Check in the chalet for a personal report from Eric or Angela as some trails may not be open or safe. I personally want to encourage the SISU racers to come up and ski the trails here in Ironwood with the other recreational skiers this coming weekend. Skiers have been very happy with skiing in the woods on natural snow.

(Eric Anderson, ABR Trails)

The groomers did amazing work with a thin base! It was definitely worth the trip. I did hit two unexpected rocks. I even saw tracks on a few trails like Hemlock. Most of the trails are closed but there is enough open to keep most skiers happy.

Photos:

(Eric Koch)