A beautiful morning of skiing before getting warm with a little bit of melting and softening in the afternoon. Great seeing everyone out this weekend enjoying the conditions we have. Sunshine and frost made for beautiful skiing despite the thin base. We will have the trails open in the morning Monday and Tuesday for those that have inquired. Expect icy conditions before it softens. No grooming since Saturday evening. We ask people to ski in the morning to help preserve the base of snow we have during this upcoming warm period. Operating plans: We will be snow farming and shoveling snow on Skaters Waltz and Sap Run every day this week for weekend skiing and the section races next week. We ask people stay off these trails to preserve our snow farming efforts. Thank you! Photos from Brittany Diederich.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Snow cover remains good at Maplelag today, and the classic tracks were in decent shape overall. I used Zero skis today and they worked very well for today's spring-like conditions. We were off the trail by early afternoon as the snow was starting to feel like March instead of January. Last night's soft rime ice/hoar frost on the trees was starting to fall from the trees which gave the ski trails a light dusting to freshen things up a bit for Sunday.

(Glenn Gifford)

Beautiful morning/afternoon of skiing Skaters Waltz/North Loop! Blue sky and frosty trees- a lovely gift. Trails beautifully groomed, and snow conditions very user-friendly. Thank you, Richards family!

(Cindy Spidahl)

A beautiful day on the trails. Clouds gave way to sunshine which highlighted the beautiful frost on the trees. A busy day on the trails and thanks everyone that skied in the morning. Trails held out well. At dusk, Skaters Waltz and the skate lane on North Loup was combed and compacted. Looks to be a bit warmer tomorrow, best to get out in the morning again for best conditions. Tracks might be a bit icy early but sweet spot around 10am-12pm. 34km groomed with tracks set, 15km groomed for skate skiing.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Skate deck was in great shape considering the lack of snowfall and warmer temps this season. Members of the grooming team were out tuning the trails while we were there. Shoveling snow into the low spots along with reconditioning the deck. Should be great for the weekend! We didn't classic ski but those trails looked in good condition also.

Photos:

(Ben Olson)

A frosty Friday, high temp around 29F. Snow and base holding out well. 34km groomed for classic, 15km groomed for skate. Reports from skiers good both skate and classic. This evening we groomed the Section Skate course. Get out in morning for best skiing. Photo: Skaters Waltz extension by Peder Arneson.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Sub 30 temperatures remain in place and no melting. We are locked into a zonal flow of upper 20's, thick clouds and high humidity which looks to remain in place looking at the graphs on the NWS. This is keeping the base intact and providing continued skiing opportunities. The base is holding out well and reports from the skiers have been good. No grooming today but we shoveled snow on Sap Run today building up the base in the thinner areas. Best track skiing is on Rootin Tootin, Mother North Star and North Loup. Skating good on all the skate loops, better coverage on Skaters Waltz, couple thin spots on North Loup but totally skiable. Photo from Jamey Jessen on North Loup classic skiing.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

We were slightly cooler today then yesterday for a high temperature (29F) and along with thick clouds above, the base and deck held out well. Skied all the skate trails at lunch time and was pleasantly surprised the deck was a bit more firm than I expected after grooming last night. The thin base and frost down deep keeping the base cooler then the air temperature and helping with snow retention. North Loup and the extension loops of Skaters Waltz a bit more firm now. Skaters Waltz remains the most firm trail on the system. The snow farming crew was back at it this afternoon building up the base on Sap Run and Mother North Star and a new track was set in those areas. Also a new track was set on JibFly which is now double tracked. Before the evening groom on Skaters Waltz, went out for a short spin on the fat bike trail. The deck holding out nicely even after rider traffic today. Just a few areas minor rutting but overall riding great. Best to ride before noon or the evening.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

High temperatures reached 29 degrees this morning. Over lunch hour skied all the skate trails. I was using my good skis (but they were actually slower than my rocks skis I eventually switched to) Skaters Waltz skied a bit faster, most likely due to last nights grooming that gently brought up some sugar snow and mixed it with the thin dusting of silky snow, but still very nice skiing on the extension loops and North Loup to the north. In the afternoon we had a crew out shoveling on the Section classic and sprint courses. At dusk combed out those areas and also all the skate trails.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Temps in the mid 20's, no wind and high humidity made for a cozy day on the trails. At dusk went out on Skaters Waltz beefing up a few southern facing slopes with some shoveling and covered the three flat facing exposed rocks. Used the melted snow from the hi fax which works great to cover the rocks or thin areas, freezes down than cover with snow. Been using the studded track snowmobile which acts like a mini surface tiller, conditioning the surface snow instead of having the stress of running ginzu teeth on the thin base. Also set a new track on Bullhead lake and combed a skate lane for those making a straight run down the hill. Continued shoveling into the evening as a light dense snow was falling. Wasn't much to write home about but should be a nice little refresh for the tracks and make for silky skating tomorrow.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)