Cooled down bit faster than expected early evening so snuck out for one more groom last night on 9km of skate trail. Got out around 8am this morning for a skate ski with Peder. Froze down hard last night and hit the sweet spot from icy to silky smooth corn snow corduroy. Skied most of the time on North Loup which still had 98% good coverage. Finished up with a few laps around the lake. Incredible spring skiing. Even though long segments of snow exist for skiing, we are "officially" closing the trails this evening for safety reasons. Thanks everyone who came to Maplelag this season making it a great year!

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Sunshine and temps in the 50's definitely taking its toll on the snow pack with a few areas opening up but we are still enjoying some awesome spring skiing. The crust skiing has been fantastic on the lakes, sloughs and fields using the trails to link everything together. Early evening we groomed around 9km of trail. 4km of Skaters Waltz and the entire loop of North Loup, refreshing the skate lane and setting new texture. This will be the last grooming of the season. The trails will remain open tomorrow and Friday. With even warmer temps forecasted the next few days, the window of transition skiing will be much smaller and earlier.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Fantastic spring skiing! Went out for a early evening classic ski on a couple trails after grooming 10km of skate trail late afternoon. Textbook corn snow skiing. Glide was great, a bit soft but the skin skis worked great. Will freeze down nicely tonight. Crust skiing will be the ticket in the early morning than transition to the groomed later morning. Get out and enjoy, could be the last good week of spring skiing!

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Excellent spring skiing conditions. No new snow. Bit cooler weather over the weekend delayed the time of "sweet spot" skiing and kept the trails a bit faster over the weekend. Went out for a skate ski late afternoon on all the recently groomed skate trails and found near perfect transition skiing. The crust skiing off the trail was excellent as well. Still tons of snow in the woods, especially on the north loup. The trails will remain open this week and we will most likely groom the skate trails at least one or two more times refreshing the structure. No tracksetting planned but the tracks recently set holding good definition and should be good this week mid morning.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Froze down hard last night and set up yesterday's grooming like concrete. Peder and I skated around 10am and was crazy fast but extremely fun. Just enough to get an edge. Didn't soften up as expected but still fantastic spring skiing. Hopped on the skin skis, testing different pairs and found the best classic skiing on trails tracked before yesterday's snow that were still holding definition and provided incredible kick with the Salomon skins on the frozen granular and fantastic glide. The second pass was even better. Skied a couple of the trails tracked yesterday and they were lightning fast. Didn't soften up enough by the end of our ski so getting kick was a bit harder. Sun came out shortly than was better early afternoon. Crust skiing conditions are very good as well. The only disappointment was we didn't get first tracks! Saturday and Sunday look to be similar as today with no new snow forecasted. Sweet spot looks to be from 10am-1pm. Enjoy!

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Unexpected 2-3" of wet new snow last night. Fell on top of wet corn snow base. 30km groomed this morning. We groomed the 10km fat bike loop first this morning than set track on 10km of trail, than groomed 10km of skate trail. We groomed in anticipation of cooler weather tonight and cold nights on the weekend (and no new snow). Plenty of snow on the trails, spring skiing conditions. Best skiing looks to be from 8am-12noon Friday-Sunday. Fat bike trail will be open for riding before 11am provided it freezes at night. Lots of tracks on the trails this morning!

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Incredible morning of spring conditions. Last night I groomed the 10km of skate trails as the snow was still damp from the warm and sunny afternoon. Since the recent top snow hadn't seasoned because of the unusually cool temps and cloudy weather, it compressed as expected and set up like concrete overnight with temps in the lower 20's. This approach allows the deck to stay firmer longer in the morning versus grooming in the morning when warmer temps are forecasted, such as the case today. After an phenomenal early morning fat bike ride, Ben Olson and I hooked up with Denny Barry who had been crust cruising the area lakes, ponds, sloughs and open areas. We were just hitting the coveted sweet spot at 10:30 and enjoyed a phenomenal skate ski on North Loup and Skaters Waltz until noon. On the downhills on North Loup I jumped in the tracks and they were solid, fast and well defined. A check of the double tracked trails when we intersected found the tracks in good shape. Very warm afternoon today and uncertainty in the forecast has grooming plans on hold but with the base of snow we have, there will be plenty of fun skiing to be had the next few days with proper timing. We will continue grooming when it makes sense until the snow is completely gone. Even after 30 years of grooming, I treasure the spring grooming in various snow types as there is still tricks to learn! Enjoy!

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Dusting of new snow overnight. Cool and mostly cloudy conditions helping keep the recent grooming intact. Got out for a late afternoon classic ski with Peder on all the trails currently tracked. Incredible skiing for April 9th, just a few soft spots with the sun coming out and softening the south facing. Freezing down again tonight and should be fantastic skiing in the morning. With slightly warmer temps the middle of this week, timing will be key. We will be grooming the skate lanes on North Loup and Skaters Waltz as needed and resetting the classic track on North Loup and east side of Sukkerbusk at least once this week.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Fantastic mid-season conditions, it feels like in January. My best skating of the season on Skaters' Waltz, and I am not even good at that technique. Then classic in the afternoon on Sap Run twice, Jib Fly, Sukkerbusk, and North Loop twice. A highly enjoyable day, as the the fellow skiers agreed. Thanks for the superb grooming! Enjoy this late-season gift!

(Istvan Gombocz)

Awesome April skiing. Sunshine, mid 20's. 27km groomed. Just a few spots softening from intense spring sun than glazing late afternoon. Grooming late afternoon on Skaters Waltz and new track set on Mother North Star for now a total of 17km groomed for classic. 10km groomed skate. Also groomed the fat bike trail on Twin Lakes singletrack.Excellent condition. Jonell and I skied early evening and was as good as it gets. Should be fantastic again on Sunday.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)