Trails freezing down well last night after mid teens for lows. Mix of sun and clouds this morning, beautiful morning of skiing on tap. Trails are a bit faster but should slow down just a bit with warming temps. Grooming on Skaters waltz and the extension this morning.
Turned out to be a great day on the trails yesterday! The cold temps today made for faster skiing after Wednesday’s warm up but the trails groomed (Roy’s Run, Sukkerbusk, Island Lake and Wavy Gravy) were very nice skiing, excellent reports and good reports from the other trails. Looks to warm up on the weekend but that will soften the snow and slow things down. The snow has transformed so the stickiness factor is pretty much eliminated. The coverage is good, should be a nice weekend of skiing! We will be grooming if weather allows only to improve the current conditions, rated good to excellent.
Trails that have been groomed and open with tracks set: Sukkerbusk, Twin Lakes, North Loup, Rootin Tootin, Mother North Star, Sap Run, Wavy Gravy, Island Lake, Roy’s Run and JibFly. Skaters Waltz, the extension groomed for skating. Please no skating on trails other than Skaters Waltz, and the extension of Skaters. Please note portions of certain trails will not be groomed this year due to change in the lease and management on AMA property.
Total snowfall since December 15th=22″, compacted base on trail 4-7″. Snow depth in the woods 12-16″. Overall the trails have very good coverage, a few rough spots on the marsh/lake crossings to use caution, especially on the north end of Bullhead trail when accessing the Bootleg extension on Maplelag property. Total snowfall since December 1st, 28″. Total snowfall since November 20th= 30″. We had a warm spell that melted most of the snow from November 20th and December 1st other than the north facing areas. First grooming of the season on November 20th after 2″ of snowfall.
The trails are open for public day skiing. Trail access pass is $15. Ski rental is $15 a day. After January 3rd, lunch will be available for day skiers during the Midweek by reservation. Contact us to reserve and for pricing.
Light snow falling early Sunday morning. Mild temps below freezing, great day of skiing on tap! Mid winter ski conditions! Great skiing this week with moderate temps. Frost snow falling on the most recent groom with a few snow showers sprinkled on top making for special skiing. Conditions couldn’t be much better and now is the time to come to Maplelag if you haven’t made winter plans!
Wednesday saw grooming on all the double track trails. Tuesday we set track on Roy’s Run for the first time this year and the entire loop groomed up nicely. Just a very short section at the north end with one small rough area. Grooming on Wavy Gravy and Island Lake on Thursday. Skaters Waltz and the extension groomed Thursday as well and Skaters Waltz groomed Friday evening. Touch up grooming Saturday morning.
Trails that have been groomed and open with tracks set: Sukkerbusk, Twin Lakes, North Loup, Rootin Tootin, Mother North Star, Sap Run, Wavy Gravy, Island Lake, Roy’s Run and JibFly. Skaters Waltz, the extension groomed for skating. Please no skating on trails other than Skaters Waltz, and the extension of Skaters. Trails open with skier made track include Lucky’s Loype and Bullhead. Please note portions of certain trails will not be groomed this year due to change in the lease on AMA property.
Total snowfall since December 15th=21″, compacted base on trail 4-7″. Snow depth in the woods 12-16″. Overall the trails have very good coverage, a few rough spots on the marsh/lake crossings to use caution, especially on Bullhead trail. Total snowfall since December 1st, 27″. Total snowfall since November 20th= 29″. We had a warm spell that melted most of the snow from November 20th and December 1st other than the north facing areas. First grooming of the season on November 20th after 2″ of snowfall.
The trails are open for public day skiing. Trail access pass is $15. Ski rental is $15 a day. After January 3rd, lunch will be available for day skiers during the Midweek by reservation. Contact us to reserve and for pricing.
Chef Deb preparing a fresh batch of home made bagels. December 25th, 2015.
Throwback to last Thursday when Deb served her home made bagels. One of the midweeks perks outside the Holiday season is usually fresh bagels Friday morning. Deb’s bagels ranked as some of the best in the country!
Winter returns! A dusting of snow greeting us this morning with windy conditions making it feel like the single digits. Wow, quite a change from earlier in the week. Looks like an inch additional of snow possible today as cooler weather is welcomed to start freezing down the ground. The trails are in great shape and ready for more snow which looks promising the next 10 days. Thanks to the newly formed Moorhead Nordic ski team for coming out early Saturday morning to help clear trail.
Overall it has been great conditions to be in the woods this fall as we fine tune the trails. We have been mainly clearing deadfall and leaves off the trail, preparing them for the first snows and early season skiing.
October 28th we had our first snowfall of the year which was just enough for a quick morning ski before for the kids before heading off to school! The snow melted off from the warm ground underneath but light snow fell throughout the day. At dusk the snow started to pick up again with almost 4″ setting on the ground. A night ski with headlamps was on order and a fun ski was had on the inner trail. The falling snow turned to rain and temps warming during the night melted off the snow by Thursday morning. Although it was too early for snow to stay, it is always exciting to see white on the ground and trees flocked beautifully.
Overall the trails are looking great as we have been mowing almost daily preparing them for winter. We are over 1000 miles of mowing so far this summer and fall! Sounds like a lot but with almost 40 miles of trails and each trail taking 4-6 passes to mow entire trail and some trails mowed up to 20 times during a season it adds up!
Total rainfall since the middle of May has been around 30″ of rain bringing the water tables to normal levels after a dry winter and spring.
We spend just as many hours if not more on the trails outside the winter season to be prepared for low snow years and to be able to open the trails on as little as 3″ of dense snow. We thrive on grooming and having the trails open on as little snow as possible and prepare the trails in the off season with this mindset. We are now busy as ever on the trails, preparing them for the winter season.
Newly formed Moorhead Nordic Ski team ready for a morning of clearing on the trails. November 14th, 2015. Thanks for coming out to help clear trails!
Winter scene in front of the lodge Thursday afternoon after a short return of winter. November 12th, 2015.
One last mowing/clearing on Suicide Hill. Ready for skiing on just a few inches of snow! November 11th, 2015.
Back bowl area in fantastic shape, ready for snow, skiers and sledders! November 10th, 2015.Kamikaze hill, Skaters Waltz. November 10th, 2015.Skaters Waltz, November 10th, 2015.
Coating of ice on Kohlepp pond. November 7th, 2015.
The tamarack trees are the only coniferous tree to loose their needles and always provide nice color when the other trees have lost their leaves. October 21st, 2015.
View from east end of the island on Island lake. Still have plans for a outpost cabin here. Skiers could ski out here in the winter time and spend a night or two! Ask about it at the resort this winter! October 17th, 2015.Panoramic view of Twin Lakes from mountain bike trail. October 15th, 2015.
Beautiful fall scene at top of Suicide Hill, October 13th, 2015.Scene from the bottom of Suicide Hill. October 13th, 2015. We will continue fall grooming on trails up until the snow flies!Freshly cleared trail on the mountain bike course. October 13th, 2015.
Hail on the ground after a quick moving storm Sunday morning. August 2nd, 2015.
Acorn on the ground. August 1st, 2015.Good crop of acorns this year as seen on a fallen branch from wind earlier in the week. Old timers say cold and snowy winter ahead when good acorn crop!! August 1st, 2015.
Group of trumpeter swans on a misty morning. Twin Lakes. June 3rd, 2015.
Yellow slippers blooming in the past few days. May 28th, 2015.
Nice crop of “Pigs Feet” as seen on Sukkerbusk trail yesterday. May 27th, 2015.Pair of trumpeter swans sharing the waters of Little Sugarbush with a loon and a beaver in the far background. May 21st, 2015.
Sukkerbusk ski trail “greening” up. Won’t be long until we begin mowing the ski trails and preparing them for winter! May 13th, 2015.Ferns in the forest enjoying the sunshine on Tuesday and waiting for warmer temps. May 12th, 2015.Red Headed woodpecker making a visit to the Maplelag grounds this week. May 11th, 2015.
Cardinal one of the many birds visiting the Maplelag feeders this week. May 8th, 2015.
Eagle nest near Twin Lakes crossing active this year . May 3rd, 2015.
Kira and Anna helping plant trees near Twin Lakes this week. April 28th, 2015.
