The groomers went out during the wee early morning hours to groom and setting tracks after 5" of new fallen snow. Tracks were great. Skating was a workout with snow falling all day and into the evening. We welcomed the Rochester Nordic Club and their awesome coaches getting to ski on nature's real snow. Grooming plans: Volunteer groomers will be out in the morning working with the new fallen snow from this afternoon.

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(Deborah Leonard Greiter)

Appeared the trails were groomed this morning. Falling snow was accumulating so it wasn't easy to skate through but it was slippery enough. Overall a good powder day on the skinny skis. Plenty of base for good skis.

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(Karen Katz)

Great snow! Went classic because I had forgotten how long these uphills were! Tons of other skiers there today, but it didn't feel crowded, except at TH. It was like magic how the snow got thicker even on the drive in about 10 miles from here. Tracks were fast, but had pretty good grip (Toko Red). Glide was amazing (Rex Blue, the One True Glide).

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(Rick Cochrane)

All trails groomed and tracks set. Very good to excellent conditions. The snow we received last night helped! Light snow falling again this morning. Keep up the Heikki Lunta dance!

(Deborah Leonard Greiter)

What a difference 5 miles can make. There appears to be more snow here but that's lake effect for you. Skate lanes were groomed and smooth with plenty of snow. Haven't skied here in a few years so I've forgotten how scenic the area is and how long some of the climbs are. Did not ski the novice loop or cliff hanger so I can't report on them. There was a thin area with some grass showing on pond loop maybe 30 yards it was mostly grass so I doubt I scratched my skis but you can bypass that short loop if you don't want to ski though it. There was some thin and icy patches coming out of Sulo's field but that wasn't for very long. Used the tracks on a lot of the downhills and did a fair amount of double poling, I found them to be firm, fast and plenty deep, wasn't classic skiing so can't speak to the whole system. Gave a B ski rating because I had to choose one, personally I don't take out my good skis out till we are at mid winter conditions so keep that in mind. Had a blast skiing in a pack of 5, sure was nice being able to cruise around again without having to dodge bare spots or rocks! If you're coming to Ironwood to ski this appears to be the place to be. Thanks to the all volunteer grooming crew for a job well done.

(Ken Hazel)

All trails groomed again today. Skate lanes look good. Classic skiers advised to step out of tracks at times, some ice could not be ground up. Light snow falling this morning. Do the snow dance! Grooming plans: Will be groomed again Saturday morning.

(Deborah Leonard Greiter)

I classic skied the two outer loops, Powderhorn and Wolverine, plus the novice loop. Skate deck I only saw 2 or 3 small dirty spots, and on the outer loops the classic tracks had a dozen or so dirty, or refrozen dirty spots. It seemed the trails had been groomed with tracks set Sunday or Monday and then 1-2 inches of medium density snow/powdery snow had fallen yesterday this had been skied nicely in. At 15 degrees with the mix of cold fresher snow and tracks that were glazed underneath the new snow, old reliable Rode Blue Multi kicked great throughout. The skate deck was very good in terms of good push, and plowing and control were easy to get on the downhills. The tracks were medium depth, neither shallow nor deep, but somewhat firm on straight sections, thinner on curves, the novice loop appeared to have 4x the traffic as the outer loops so the tracks were more beat up. B skis if you are from the snowbelt, good skis for us southerners.

(Mark Plane)

Arrived during snowfall to discover 3 inches of fresh powder covering the skate lanes. The powder added to the effort needed to skate but the reward was easier to control downhills. Tracks were not affected as they were probably cleaned out by classic skiers. When I got in the tracks they were definitely faster. Classic was probably the best choice today. Only a few areas lacked tracks. No rocks, sticks or other obstructions. Using your good skis is fine.

(Brian Ciske)

Wolverine was groomed about 6:30 pm. All skate decks were refreshed with the exception of the Pond Loop. Should be good corduroy. Classic tracks are still in decent condition.

(Deborah Leonard Greiter)

The 2" of snow that fell overnight really helped. All trails were groomed and track set this morning. Pond loop has some grass poking thru so use caution. It was a blue bird day but cold.

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(Deborah Leonaed Greiter)