Temp was right around 30 and foggy/cloudy so the snow is not deteriorating. I had an absolute delightful afternoon skiing. The snow is lightning fast because of the humidity. All trails have been groomed for skate and classic. The classic tracks do have a little debris in them but the skate deck was pretty clean with some skate grooves to deal with. Only skied the flatter trails. I used my good skis with no worries. I'm ecstatic with how nice and fast it was.

Photos:

(Jeffrey Quam)

Icy this morning-too icy so held off till 1pm. Temps hanging right at the freezing mark. Snow base looked same as yesterday but snow looks dirtier with the warmup. No sun today means the base is holding. Trails were so icy and fast that classic skin skis were not working out. I switched to our Fischer Revolutions (love these indestructible 20+ year old wax less skis). Ended up doing a little treasure of a classic only loop (2 miles exactly for a complete loop) on the resort side a few times. I tried to be hard core and do some skate intervals on the reverse of the 10k loop (the wall that is Badger Hill) but my second time down I didn't make the corner and almost hit a tree. So 20 minutes of V2 skate drills on the flats of Black Bear trail were a better idea. Fast, icy conditions so be careful! Snow is getting thinner in places but still B ski conditions with bad patches still being few and far between. As far as kick wax, skins could be tricky and track conditions could degrade too much for skin skis. My waxless Revolution where awesome but if you are gonna kick wax, these are the temps and conditions where it is just yucky. The snow is getting dirtier with the moisture and any winds create more tree and needle debris. So I got nothing to recommend on grip - I spend too much time in my wax room as it is since I wax hubby's skis too. Time of day and temp range are making it tricky, fun but not worth hitting a tree.

Photos:

(Jill Troutner)

Conditions holding up, morning ski was fast spring ski conditions. Snow temp at -2 at 10:15 am. Blue/green glide was still running well. I would discourage afternoon skiing except for on the lake. Trail should hold up to longer usage with a morning ski conditions. Overcast conditions make it hopeful that the base will hold. We added a classic today since the classic tracks were set on the resort side -a gorgeous classic only trail that we keep forgetting about. A few bad spots but easily avoided and we will be making the switch to classic tomorrow with a few skate intervals on the hills near the main trailhead. Probably switch glide wax to blue/violet tomorrow.

Photos:

(Jill Troutner)

A more relaxing ski without the windchill. Base holding despite the warm up. I would stick with B skis. The classic track is holding up as well but since the lake has great snow I am taking advantage of the opportunity for good skating terrain and classic ski on the lake in the evenings when it is low light and I don't need to be vigilant about thin snow areas. Hawks Hill was thin and I won't do that section tomorrow-the only rock skis section we encountered today. The NE trails with the bigger terrain are more wind and sun protected and the base there on the 10k section is really holding so will to keep skating there through the week on B skis.

Photos:

(Jill Troutner)

Temp 17F, in the wooded classic only trails, very little wind. It was such a fun classic only trails along the River channel between Elbow Lake and Little Bemidji Lake. The classic trails on the 23km system are in good shape even after the wind. The sun was out, and skiing is peaceful and spiritual, and fun.

Photos:

(Amy Xu)

Great skating conditions at Rainbow-I would be comfortable using good race skis if I was careful but today I chose B skis and rock skis since I hoped to tackle the big hills where the snow can be thinner. Finally enough snow and savvy grooming meant we could get out on the big climbs. Snow is cold and dry and green/blue waxes were running great. It was ridiculously fun to finally get outside and on ski trails after how brutally cold it has been here.

Photos:

(Jill Troutner)

Wow! What a gem! Doug (the groomer) did an excellent job grooming the entire 23km trail system. I skied all the track sets he put down. Overnight and morning wind blew hard, but the tracks are in excellent shape except a few spots I stepped out to protect my new skin skis that I plan to race at Birkie, Arctic Circle and Rainbow Rendezvous! It's fun to try out new skis as the man-made conditions are different from the natural snow. I thought unless we ski Birkie and Arctic Circle on man-made snow, I'd better try my new skis on natural snow when the snow conditions are very good! Of course, if you do not like to step out of tracks, I'd suggest you use your B skis or whatever works. As the season comes long, skiing on natural snow in deep forest is such a blessing! I'm so glad to see skiers out there enjoying the "balmy" weather. Before we know, the winter season is winding down. Doug would love to see you ski the well-groomed Rainbow Trails! Also, stop by and have some hot drinks and soups, jump in the hot sauna, stretch/yoga, and try the new thing Rollga!

(Amy Xu)

Had a great ski at Rainbow Resort this afternoon. Skied 15k and the skate deck was great and the tracks were nice considering the snow. A little shallow in a few spots. So nice to get out on natural snow and very peaceful. Thanks to Doug and the team at Rainbow for their great work with their trails and the cider hit the spot in the lodge.

Photos:

(Adam Farm)

Went out this morning at a -5F with the tidd tech and combed all of the 20K trail system; I set track on the 6K loop, part of Wolf Run and Rabbits Trail. I also combed and track set the 3K Classic only trail. Found the average base depth to be 2 1/2" and very firm. Set up with the colder temps the past couple of nights doing it's job. Track sets are fair at best with spots where the track setter brought up leaves and dirt once and awhile. Skating the trails should be good. All trails are open for skiing with exception of Lost Bobcat.

Photos:

(Douglas Schumann, Rainbow Resort)

We had a good surprise today, with snow showers predicted we ended up with 2 1/2" of new snow. I headed out this afternoon at a -5F and some gusty winds out of the NW. What I like about the big woods the most is that those winds are only felt a few times for short distances going thru the forest by open areas. We now have an average 2 1/2" firm base and both the 20k trail system and the 3K loop by the lake are now roll packed. We do not have a track set but are getting real close and the skate skiing is rated as good. Very few areas where a few pesky grasses protrude thru.

Photos:

(Douglas Schumann, Rainbow Resort)