Conditions: Excellent. Windy, 20's for temps, felt colder though.
Set fresh tracks on 1km of trail this morning and tilled skaters in the morning to set up some texture and what not. Skate skied with Lars Ellefson in the afternoon on North Loup, Skaters Waltz and Suicide Hill doing some intervals. Was about as good as it gets. Should have the entire trail system groomed before the weekend once the weather settles down.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Conditions: Excellent. Firm base with a skiff of fresh fluff on top.
We enjoyed the pristine trails at Maplelag today. The tracks were firm and a light snow was still falling during the day, just enough to keep things fresh. The trees once again had that magical frosted quality, making for a beautiful view against the sky. A spiky friend was hanging out in the treetops of Sap Run, leaving his breakfast bark scraps on the ground. Tracks were fast and skate lane looked well-set although we did not skate today.

Photos:

(Margaret Adelsman)

Conditions: Thick frost, light snow accumulating to an inch or two the past 48, and mid teens making for dreamy conditions over the weekend. 54 of 64km groomed the past three days, mixing the sugar with the fresh. -8 at 10pm.
Another fantastic weekend of skiing. Snuck out with the Oftedal brothers for a classic ski on Saturday morning which was great and one lap on skaters waltz late afternoon that was splendid. Grooming this week on various trails as needed. Photos from Saturday.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Conditions: Good to excellent for classic, very good to excellent for skate. Morning temp of 28 falling to 20 at 3:3O PM. New tracks set on 12km of trail today.
Grooming today saw full depth, clean and relatively crisp tracks reset. We did not have a meltdown so to speak and with the snow already transformed to frozen granular (sugarlike) erasing the old track and setting new has gone great. I took a quick ski this afternoon to see how the new tracks were skiing compared to the old ones and the skiing was very,very nice. Fast, but cozy feeling for good kick with hard wax and plenty of give between the tracks for edging for those that need to wedge. (waxing bit warmer then air temp) Skate lanes are in great shape and Jake reported the best skate skiing of the year yesterday afternoon. More tracks (around 25km)will be re-set early Friday morning and the skate lanes will be touched up early Saturday morning. Should be a great weekend of skiing.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Conditions: Good to very good for classic and very good to excellent for skate. Morning low of 13 degrees, dusting of new snow, light winds, sunny skies. Feels and looks like winter!!
Its hard for me to curb my enthusiasm because the conditions that exist right now are perfect in my book. Keeping the beginner/first time skier in mind, classic is good. A bit of crunch in the middle but the dusting last night really helped take off some of the hardness on the tracks from the cooling last night after previous days warm temps. Skating was phenomenal this morning. Had to take a quick lap after grooming skaters this morning. Suicide Hill was mint. Also set new tracks on the beginner trails, about 3km, and left the rest alone as the tracks are in great shape, all things considered, and should be some dandy skiing today.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Conditions: Good to excellent. High today 36 degrees....27 degrees at 5pm. Tree litter here and there.
A fantastic weekend on the trails including some gorgeous frost Saturday morning capped off a incredible 2 week Holiday season. Days like today you just need to throw the thermometer out the window, don't analyze the weather on the internet, make a few adjustments and just ski. Snow loss was minimal after three days of near and slightly above temps. Today the southern exposed areas were the only spots to get a bit cheesy, really. I took a check on the trail system late morning while Rochester Area Ski Club was doing a time trial on Skaters Waltz and everything was holding out great. After lunch the temp dropped a few degrees and the snow did just fine. Grooming the past few days occurred between 10pm and 2am. Scratching just enough of the surface to open up the freezer door below and let the cold help set things up making for fantastic skate skiing conditions. No tracksetting last night as it didn't cool down enough but enough km on the system to spread things out other then the main trail, Sukkerbusk. Grooming this week on inner trails then the entire trail system will be conditioned if no new snow by next weekend.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Conditions: Very good to Excellent. 21 degrees at 5pm after a hi of 25. Yesterday early morning low of -17 set base nicely.
Comments: 30 of 64km groomed today. Skate only trails have been groomed 12 of past 14 days making for excellent conditions. North Loup now has a track in addition to skate lane. Track is very good, few soft spots on side etc. Classic trails groomed today skied pretty nice, some tree litter from wind last night and one of the local pileated woodpeckers going to town on trees on Twin lakes and Bullhead lake trails and porcupine dropping scat and twigs on Sap Run. Classic tracks groomed 3 days ago are holding up great, considering the high volume of skier traffic, and will be left alone another day or two unless new snow before the big storm next week. Skate lanes will be groomed daily on until the weekend. Classic trails will be groomed if track can be reset that equals the existing. Ice rink is in great shape and we have been flooding at late night when temp in single digits and lower. Terrain park snow features will be built next week.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Conditions: Postcardlike.
Another nicely frosted day. Can't remember the last time such good conditions the last week of December. Perfect temps, no wind, little bit of fresh snow today...humidity is dropping this evening. Tracksetting in a few hours here should produce good results. Skate lanes have been fast, firm and the right amount of loose on top. Classic has been great too.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Conditions: Excellent.
Another frosty day with absolutely no wind making for a great day on the trails. Early afternoon I ski checked the skate only trails and caught up to the Highland Park and Eden Prairie teams that were out on North Loup having fun. Daily grooming on skate trails has firmed things up nicely but still some silk on top making for ideal conditions. Tracks not setting up quite so hard on some trails with the high humidity and what not but still some fantastic skiing. Trails being groomed daily where needed.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Conditions: Powder/Packed Powder, areas of drifting. Calm, 7 degrees at 11am. 40km groomed this morning. 15km skate only and 25km tracks only set. All 64km open and groomed past 48 hours. 1-2" new snow past 24 hours.
Ideal grooming conditions this morning in the early hours with the full moon and clear skies and then sunrise to follow. Tracks are setting up nicely and skate lanes relatively hard and faster today. Grooming during the wind yesterday didn't make much sense as everything seemed to blow over but it payed off today. Trails groomed yesterday are skiing nice with a few areas of drifts and dusting of snow on top. Trails will be groomed daily this week as needed. Pisten Bully joining forces with the Ginzus yesterday and ready to do the job when needed. Merry Christmas!!

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)