The Last Grooming 2008

Here's the grooming update for the last few days. The Forest History Center was groomed 12/26; Stoney Ridge 12/29; Suomi Hills, Amen and the ICC trails 12/30; Wabana and Cowhorn today 12/31. Big Ridge is scheduled for Friday, January 2nd. All trails are in good to very good condition so it should be a great holiday weekend of skiing.

Happy New Year To All And To All A Good Ski! Boomer The Groomer

Legion

Legion trails were groomed this afternoon by Tom Frick. The trail is in great condition for the New Year holiday.

Sugar Hills trail conditions

Tom Frick groomed the Sugar Hills trails Sunday morning, breaking up the ice that had formed from the freezing rain. Trail conditions were good in the afternoon with the downhills being very fast. Conditions should be good for the next few days.

Weather Picture for December 29-January 5 from Tornado Bob

January 2, 2009 noon update:

An area of low pressure is in Montana this afternoon, producing snow in that state. This initial area of low pressure will move eastward over the next 24 hours carrying the snow into North Dakota. This low will then weaken and its associated area of snow will lose its intensity as another area of low pressure develops near the Colorado/Kansas/Nebraska border. The new low will cause a new area of snow to develop in west-central Minnesota then spread over eastern Minnesota and Wisconsin. The snow will become heavy in some areas, particularly along the North Shore of Lake Superior and in far eastern Minnesota. By late Saturday night, I expect about 2" in the western portion of the KAXE area and 7-8" near Duluth with 2-6" in Grand Rapids. If the second area of snow develops a bit earlier and the low moves a bit more slowly than I'm expecting, we the snow totals could be a bit more. If the low moves faster and the second area of snow is slower to develop, the significant snows (more than 2") would be limited to areas southeast of Grand Rapids.

Temperatures will be in the single digits today and tonight, teens on Saturday, then dropping below zero late Sunday and Sunday night.

A map of last Tuesday's snowfall can be found here:
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/mpx/?n=dec30_08snowfall
It shows how narrow and intense the band of snow was.

(Sunday evening post)

The snowy pattern continues this week as a series of weak low pressure systems moves across Minnesota under relatively fast west to east flow aloft. We'll have chances of snow early Monday morning (along and north of Highway 2), Tuesday (south of Highway 2), and Thursday (over the whole area). Each of these events appears capable of providing snows in the 1-4" range, but Tuesday's snow could drop up to 6" south of Brainerd. Temperatures will generally be near or slightly below average for late December. That means high temperatures in the teens and lows a little bit below zero.

Generally, there are no major storms on the horizon, but we'll have a chance of snow about every other day for about the next 10 days. After that, it looks like the overall weather pattern will become somewhat less snowy, but the temperature will probably be good for skiing.

Legion Groomed 12-28

Legion trails were groomed early this morning. The track and skate lanes ought to ski great today.

Rick Mcdonald

Itasca County Trail Update

The Wabana Trail was groomed 12/23 and Bigridge and Alder Pond Trails were groomed 12/24. The Joyce Estate was done this week too and I skied it Christmas Day and it was in great condition.

Lots of skiers at Sugar Hills Friday and the trails will be fast this weekend with the freezing drizzle so be careful. Boomer The Groomer

Bemidji Holiday Grooming Update

Grooming is underway on the Bemidji area ski trails as noted below. It has been a blessing to have received all this snow prior to the Holidays. However, the groomers have had a hard time keeping up with the steady snowfalls of the past week. By this weekend all trails should be "caught up" and conditions will be very good to excellent. The skate lanes will be on the soft side as the very cold temps of this past week have not allowed the snow to firm up yet. The warming temps and skier traffic over the weekend should help pack the skate lanes. It's beautiful in the woods- Winter Wonderland ! - snow is still hanging thick on the conifer trees.
Bruce Slinkman

Bemidji Ski Trails Grooming Report 12/26/08:

Lake Bemidji State Park – rolled and tracked. Excellent skiing.

Hobson Forest Trail- Grooming planned for Saturday, Dec. 27th.

Montebello Trail - Grooming on Friday, the 26th.

Three Island County Park - Grooming in process, rolling and dragging on Friday, tracking on Saturday, Dec. 27th.

Movil Maze Trail – Groomed on Wednesday, Dec. 24th, classic track reported very good.

Buena Vista – Rolled and tracked, again by weekend.

Fond Du Lac Ski Trail

The Fond Du Lac trail was groomed 12/24 and 12/25 for the first time this season. The trail is in good shape and ready for use. The trail is located in NW Carlton county about 5 miles northeast of Cromwell on county road 120.

The warming hut at Roger's Lake had a new metal roof and chimney repair courtesy of the Ditchbank Ski Club, as well as a general clean up and is ready for use. Bring a lunch, start a fire, relax take a break and then ski the more challenging back loops. Lonny Gervais

Sugar Hills trail conditions

Sugar Hills trails are groomed and tracked, Ken Vaudrin completed the grooming this morning. Expect some drifting on parts of the trail, which may fill in the classic track. The skate lane is starting to firm up nicely, there are still soft areas, depending on the number of times it has been groomed and the amount of skiing.

Wednesday, December 24th 3:30 p.m.

Boomer The Groomer's Report:

Today I packed and tracked the River Road and Cowhorn Trails which are in very good condition. The Boomer Blue Trail at Cowhorn was packed and tracked too and that trail welcomes dogs and hikers besides cross country skiers. You do need the Ski Pass for these trails so be sure to have one with you.

Rick McDonald groomed Legion Trails today. Both the track and skate lane are in very good condition.

Happy Holidays and enjoy the great skiing!

Coach's Corner by Mark Walters BHS Nordic Ski Coach

Saturday, Dec. 20th our ski team hosted it's annual high school relay event on the Montebello City ski trail system. Friday's grooming, by trail administrator Bob Montebello and Coach Walters, was met with nearly 3 - 5 " of new snow but that did not dampen the spirits of the four large schools that attended the event. Grand Rapids, Brainerd, Little Falls, and Bemidji all enjoyed a snow filled day of ski racing. The format was a two person, four leg relay. Each skier doing one leg of the 2.5 km course classic and tagging their teammate in a transition zone to go out and classic, followed by the first skier being tagged and going out in the skating style, and finishing up with the second teammate going out skate for the anchor leg. It was fast and furious action as Grand Rapid's boys varsity team of Kirk Gilbertson and Ethan Karppinen cruised through the total of 10 km in 32:12 for first place. The girls varsity team from Little Falls, Molly Binger and Jackie Thelen took first in their division with a time of 36:23 and the mixed division team from Grand Rapids made up of Bob Carter and Afton Snyder won their division in a time of 36:25. Relays break up some of the skiing format the high schools tend to run, and gives the skiers a bit of variety and excitement, plus adds to some great team building experiences.

Weather Picture for December 22-28 from Tornado Bob

(Saturday afternoon update)

The freezing drizzle certainly did not help the trail conditions, but I was out at Sugar Hills this morning, and there's only a thin coating of ice, so once the trails are groomed again, the ice should be taken care of. We have a chance the temperatures may rise above freezing again Monday morning. Maybe another chance of snow on Tuesday, but snow chances are very uncertain for the next two weeks as I'm seeing no consistent information regarding any particular storms. Temperatures will likely be typical for this time of year.

(Updated Monday morning)

This weekend's snowstorm generally dumped 3-7" in the KAXE listening area, which is generally less than the amounts expected, but we really didn't need a big snowstorm. The largest totals, in excess of a foot, were along the North Shore of Lake Superior, where onshore and upslope winds aided the snowfall. Snow depths now generally range from 12-16" over most of northern Minnesota, with over two feet in some locations along the North Shore.

There will be more snow this coming week. One trough of low pressure will move through on Monday night and Tuesday morning. Right now, it looks like a 1-5" snowfall over much of Minnesota. Another trough will move through on Friday. There are some indications that Friday's system might become a larger storm (there will be a lot of Gulf moisture available for it), but that's pretty uncertain right now, so we'll just have to keep paying attention to the latest forecasts.

Temperatures will start out colder than normal with highs in the single digits above zero and lows approaching -20 F. By the end of the week, temperatures will moderate considerably, and there may be enough warming to provide a threat of liquid precipitation for at least part of the system coming through Friday/Saturday. Overall, it looks like the colder pattern we've been having for the past month is losing its grip, and we may actually experience both above average and below average temperatures over the coming two weeks.

Sugar Hills Update, Sunday 12/21

Sugar Hills looks to be in pretty good shape, with 90 per cent of the trails groomed and tracked. Skiers will find the skate lane soft yet, but that will improve with both skiing and grooming, the track for classic is new and in excellent shape.

-Steve Fuller

Sugar Hills Update, Friday Evening, December 19

All Sugar Hills trails are groomed and 98% are tracked. Classic skiing would be excellent, while the soft skate lane will make skating a slower and more work slower. Looks like we are in for some more snow this weekend hopefully it won't take a week to get the system groomed next time. Now that we have snow the snowmobiles will have better traction and will handle the hills better.

Take Care & Stay Warm

Steve Fuller

Itasca County Trail Update From Boomer, Thursday Morning, 12/18

Good morning! Here's the latest grooming as of today December 18th:

Packed and tracked:
Joyce Estate
Legion
Forest History Center
Alder Pond
Wabana
Blueberry
Sugar Hills

Today: Big Ridge; tomorrow (Friday): Amen and Suomi will be packed and tracked.

Hopefully Cowhorn and River Road will be packed and tracked on Friday, the 19th.

Bemidji Trails Grooming Update 12/17

Report Date: Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Specific Trail Information

Lake Bemidji State Park – rolled and tracked. Excellent skiing.
14km, Double Classical Tracks, Easy/Interm

Hobson Forest Trail- Lot is plowed, rolling planned for Thursday.
7km, Double Classical Tracks, Easy/interm

Montebello Trail - rolled on Monday & Tuesday & will be tracked on Friday – BHS/BMS race on Saturday. 4.5km, Skate Lane & Classical Track, 2km lighted, Easy

Three Island County Park - Red and Blue trails rolled - Grooming equipment breakdowns slowing further progress, 25km, Skate Lane & Classical Track, Easy/Interm

Movil Maze Trail – Lot is plowed, trail was rolled on Wednesday, will track on Thursday. 14km, Skate Lane & Classical Track, Interm/Expert

Buena Vista –Work in progress. 25km, Skate Lane & Classical Track, Interm/Expert

Sugar Hills Trail Report From Steve Fuller, Wednesday, December 17

We added the Thunders Loop and the East Loop to the SNAG and Long Lake that are ready to ski. All that remains are the Swamp, and the bypass, and the Rajala Run. It is going to be a few day before the rest are completed. They are packed but need to be groomed and tracked. The trail system should be 100% by the weekend.

Blueberry Hills Classic Ski Race December 27th

The Blueberry Hills Classic Ski Race 10k/5k will take place Saturday, Dec 27. Participants need to pick up race numbers at the Outpost Bar and Grill in Deer River (located behind Cenex) between 8:30 - 9:30 am, and will be shuttled by bus to the race start. The race will take place at 10 am at the Blueberry Hills ski trails. Cost is $15 per person.

Itasca County Trail Update From Boomer, Tuesday, December 16

Sugar Hills all trails packed.Long Lk. & Snag loops tracked. Blueberry packed & tracked [today]. Joyce Estate packed. Legion packed. More info later. Boomer.

Sugar Hills Grooming Update From Steve Fuller, Monday, December 15

Volunteers continue to work on packing, and grooming the ski trails at Sugar Hills. At this time two trails have been packed and groomed with track set for diagonal stride and a skate lane. Both the SNAG loop ( 3KM) and the Long Lake loop (5KM) are ready for skiers, the trails will be soft yet and the best thing for them is to be skied on. The remainder of the Sugar Hills trail system is being packed in preparation for grooming, there has been mention of snow on Wednesday. The parking lot has been plowed.

Weather Picture for December 15-21 from Tornado Bob

Friday December 19 Update: Heavy lake effect snow on the North Shore, more snows this weekend over all of northern Minnesota

A lake-effect snow band is extending from Lake Superior between Silver Bay and Duluth to the Floodwood area at 8 AM this morning. This snow band dropped 5-8" between Duluth and Silver Bay and even provided a dusting to Grand Rapids overnight. Expect more heavy snow at the head of Lake Superior today.

A storm system will move into the area on Saturday and stall over us. The amount of liquid equivalent precipitation (melted down snow) will be less this weekend than last, but the snow will be fluffier, so we can expect to see amounts of 5-10" by the end of the weekend. The heaviest snowfall will occur on Saturday afternoon.

Temperatures will remain below average through the middle of next week. Some moderation in temperature looks possible by the end of next week.

Overall, the general weather pattern looks to remain snowy after this weekend.

Original post (December 15):

The December 14 snowstorm dumped 8-12" across the KAXE listening area-- pretty much as expected. The great news about this snowfall is that the there is now plenty of snow for grooming and skiing. We've had about 18" in the past 10 days.

For the next week, we'll have some very cold weather with highs in the single digits above and below zero and lows in the teens and 20s below zero. We will have chances of light snow on Tuesday, on Thursday, and Friday night. A series of low pressure systems will pass well to our south (Kansas-Illinois), but each of these lows will feature a trough extending northward into Minnesota, and there will be a good north-south contrast in temperature that should allow these systems to wring out some snow from this bitterly cold airmass. The best chances of snow and the largest accumulations will probably be south of our area, but I would not be surprised to see a few more inches between now (Dec. 15) and December 22.

Coach's Corner by Mark Walters BHS Nordic Ski Coach

First Ski Meet of the Season,
Most of section 8 traveled over to Mt. Itasca Ski for a 5 KM freestyle(skate) race on Saturday, December 13th.

Mt. Itasca has the ability to make snow and along with some of the new snow, had a great base and a well manicured course for the skiers to enjoy. For many teams however, it was a reality check; most teams had little or no time on snow and the challenging Mt. Itasca course showed its teeth.

Grand Rapids dominated the event for the varsity level of both boys and girls. Top ranked Addie Byrne of Grand Rapids easily walked away from the girls field with an eighty one second advantage over the second place girl. Grand Rapids boys, as a team took the title with four of their skiers in the top five overall.

Independent skier Conrad Roberts from Battle Lake and the girls from Little Falls all did quite well.

In the J Varsity Bemidji's skiers placed very well and showed some great depth and individual performances that would have placed in the top ten of the varsity event.

Next week we hope to host our annual Nordic Relay event on the city trail in Bemidji (Montebello Trail System) that will have an unusual format. We will have two skiers participate as a team and do a four leg relay consistings of both classic and freestyle skiing.

The snow is piling up and the groomers are gearing up for some work. Hopefully the cold weather will not prevent us from all getting out there and skiing.
Coach Walters

Bemidji Grooming Forecast

Initial grooming has begun on Bemidji area ski trails. The lighted Montebello Trail and Bemidji High School trail were rolled/packed on Sunday as were the red and blue trails at Three Island County Park.

The Movil Maze is being rolled this morning. The Buena Vista trail system will likely be rolled over the weekend and the Three Island trails will receive additional grooming attention depending on new snow fall. There has been just enough snow to begin establishing the base on the trails, so skiers should expect to encounter scattered brown ground exposure on the trails. However, most trails will be skiable (rock skis recommended) and every new inch of snow that arrives will help us groomers add to the base. Tornado Bob has indicated that there is a possibility of significant snowfall over the weekend, hopefully the system will track into the KAXE listening area.

Bruce Slinkman

US Senior National Biathalon Competition Coming To Mt. Itasca In Coleraine

From Amy Dettmer

The racing season is almost here!!

Thursday, December 18, Saturday, December 20, and Sunday, December 21 the US Senior Nationals for biathlon will take place at Mt. Itasca in Coleraine. Biathlon is a sport which combines the grace of cross country skiing with marksmanship. Athletes from all over the United States will descend upon our area for three days of intense racing. Biathlon is an exciting sport because the athletes ski as hard as they can for 1-4 kilometers and then slow their heart rate down to a crawl to hit 5 targets. Any missed targets result in skiing penalty laps. The races start at 11am on Thursday and Saturday and at 10am on Sunday. Volunteers are still needed to help score, pull targets, and provide course control. You can contact Amy Dettmer at 327-1824 or email adettmer@arrowhead.lib.mn.us to volunteer

Amy Dettmer is a skier and an outdoor enthusiast. She grew up in Aurora, started skiing at age 3, skied competitively for the Mesabi East Giants in high school and the Northern Michigan Wildcats in College. Her dad, Jack Jeffery, is the coach of the Mesabi East/Virginia Cross Country Ski Team.

Weather Picture for December 8-14 From Tornado Bob

Sunday Evening December 14 update: totals of 6-12" expected

The band of heavy snow moved in just before noon, and it has dropped 6-10" of snow. That band is starting to move off, and it looks like we're within a couple of inches of our total from this storm (except if you are farther northeast near Ely, where it will snow hard for a few more hours). The subzero weather has arrived a little ahead of schedule, and the temperatures will drop further with strong north winds tonight. Expect only another inch or less near Bemidji, maybe an inch or two in Grand Rapids, and perhaps as much as six inches more in Ely.

We go into the deep freeze after this storm passes, with highs in the single digits above and below zero and lows in the teens and 20s below zero. Expect a few of the colder locations to reach -30 F or colder. Two systems will pass mostly south of us on Tuesday and Friday, hitting southern Minnesota and Wisconsin. There is some chance of light snows in our area, particularly from Friday's system.

National Weather Service Duluth web page:
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/dlh/

Minnesota snow depth maps:
http://climate.umn.edu/doc/snowmap.htm

Posted Monday December 8:

We received 4 to 5 inches of snow in the Grand Rapids area over the weekend. Although it was fairly light and not the greatest for making a trail base, it gets us closer to where we need to be, and we are quite happy to receive it (at least I am)! Up to this past weekend, I had been frustrated by seeing a lot of snowfalls miss us, but the parade of small, light snow-producing systems in northwesterly flow continues, and it just so happens that a couple of them finally hit us in northern Minnesota.

The weather will continue to be active over the next week. We have some scattered snow in the area today (Monday December 8) from a storm system that will reorganize well to our south and mostly hit southern Minnesota. Then, we have one or two more of these light snow-producing systems headed through the area from Alberta, Canada. The strongest of these looks to come through on Wednesday, and this system will most likely produce another inch or two of snow (maybe a little more in some areas and less in others).

After the system comes through on Wednesday, the upper level flow will start coming more from the southwest, and that will provide a better chance for heavier, more significant snows in Minnesota, most likely some time this coming weekend (December 13-14). Weather predictability is not very good that far out, but on a large scale, the basic ingredients will be in place: plenty of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, and a bitterly cold Arctic airmass settling in over the plains of Canada, setting the stage for a "clash of the airmasses" somewhere over the north central U.S. Stay tuned! I'm sure I'll be updating the blog as this weekend comes closer.

Coach's Corner by Mark Walters BHS Nordic Ski Coach

My name is Mark Walters, I've been coaching the Bemidji High School Nordic Ski Team for the past six years and skiing/ski racing personally for thirty years(this season will be my 26th consecutive American Birkebeiner). I have extensive experience in Nordic retail, repairs to equipment, waxing, training, teaching, trail grooming, and just plain having fun with Nordic skiing.
I'll be doing some journaling of our Nordic skiing program throughout the season and be available to answer any ski related questions you may have.

Trails Are Ready - Awaiting Snow!

Nordic ski trails in northern Minnesota have been cleared of summer / fall deadfalls and have been mowed. The groomers have had preseason tune ups completed on their "working class" snowmobiles and the gas tanks are filled with "cheap" $1.90 per gallon premium gas. The only thing missing is the SNOW!

Southern Minnesota received skiable snow in the past few days, there has been excellent early season skiing in the Ironwood, Michigan area since Thanksgiving and they are receiving more lake effect snow today into Friday - up to 12 inches are possible. We would be happy to start with a mere 6 inches for starters, that would get us groomers to fire up our machines and make first packed tracks on the trails!

Bruce Slinkman,
MNSA President and Bemidji Area Cross Country Ski Club Groomer

Weather Big Picture From "Tornado Bob"

We've gotten off to a really slow start to the snow season in northern Minnesota, but it looks like our snow chances will begin to improve. A weak disturbance moving southeast out of Manitoba on Friday evening (December 5) will bring us a somewhat heavier version of the snow showers we've experienced over the past several weeks. This will only be enough to provide up to about an inch of snow. Another light snow-maker will move in late Sunday (December 7), and perhaps another on Wednesday (December 10), but then it looks like we'll have a better chance of more significant snows as the weather pattern is beginning to look more favorable by around December 14 (although that is a long ways out to forecast). Stay tuned, and keep your fingers crossed! For the short term, we will have excellent snow-making conditions, so any area that is capable of making snow should have great conditions!

Editor's note: "Tornado Bob" is Bob Conzemius. Bob is a weather research scientist with Wind Logics in Grand Rapids. Bob is an avid skier who will provide weather commentary and updates from time to time . Bob also does regular weather commentary on KAXE's Morning Show.

From Boomer The Groomer

This is Boomer the Groomer with my first posting at this blog site. As the ski season kicks in, I'll be posting reports for specific trails in Itasca County at this site. You can use the DNR ski trail site for state trails, and Skinny Ski for other trails, but for some ski grant-and-aid trails like Sugar Hills, Blueberry and Wabana you'll have to check in here for our local updates. And be sure to use the "comments" spot below to tell us about your trail experiences.

Ski Passes

All skiers, 16 and older, on public trails must have a Minnesota ski pass. You can get one at any electronic licensing station. For example, anywhere you get fishing and hunting licenses you can get a ski pass. Money from ski passes is used for maintaining trails. A one-day pass is $5. A one season pass is $15. and a three season pass is $40.

As for today, pray for snow and go for a hike and pick debris from the trail. And join a ski club! In Itasca County it's the Nothern Lights Nordic Ski Club. Call Scott at KAXE for more information... 326-1234.

Welcome to Ski Talk

Hello, I'm Bruce Slinkman, President of the Minnesota Nordic Ski Association (MNSA). Over the next four or five months I and other members of our Association will be posting reports on cross country ski trail conditions throughout north central and north eastern Minnesota. We will also have information about high school ski competitions and other ski events. We will also share other Nordic ski related information.

At the bottom of each entry there is a place for your questions and comments. Please feel free to give us your feedback. Your can also get great ski information and trail reports from all around the upper midwest at skinnyski.com. DNR trail report web link