With 3 new inches of wet snow overnight, the trail was groomed today and the base is holding up well for skating. Track was also set, it is full-depth in some areas and broken up in others. Conditions are still good!

(Diane Gobin)

The trail was groomed on the 23rd and the base is holding up well for skating. The classic track varies from good to icy or melted, and White Pine trail has some bare spots.

(Diane Gobin)

Skiing was still very good at Afterhours. Very good snow coverage exists on almost the whole trail system, with the exception of White Pine Loop, where one bare spot about 50-60 yards long has opened up due to last fall's logging along the trail there. There are a few other spots on White Pine also starting to open up so you may want to either avoid this loop or maybe plan to take your skis off once or twice, or take Rock or B-skis. Otherwise, just one spot on River Loop is opening up that is pretty easy to get around. I'd expect pretty good skiing through the weekend still, although mornings will be icy most likely. Even with the warmer temps in the afternoon, the snow has been pretty fast corn snow conditions!

(Cordell Manz)

Oh man-we put on as the fresh grooming was starting to corn up and things got really fast. The trail was roughed up to give a stable ski and we were able to ski everything with confidence. A couple thin sections but otherwise it was aces.

(Dan Murphy)

The trail was groomed on the Monday and the base is holding up well for skating. The classic track varies from good to icy or melted, and white pine trail has a couple of small bare spots. Track may not be reset this season unless we receive another snowfall soon.

(Diane Gobin)

Brule is in great condition! We didn't know what to expect this late in the season, but the snow base is even deeper than in the Duluth area. The skate deck is fast and the only bare spots are way out on the White Pine loop. To ski on a sunny beautiful morning in the Brule forest on St. Patrick's day was amazing. Consider a trek out to this hidden gem for a fantastic spring ski!

Photos:

(Andrea Watson)

Very good ski conditions still at Afterhours Ski Trail! As mentioned in a previous post, only one location on White Pine loop has an area that has opened up, but it is easy to get around. The trail is a little dirty, but good skis can still be used with good snow cover everywhere but that one spot. Classic tracks are still holding up well over most of the trail also, despite new ones not being set of late. Should be very good skiing for a while yet.

(Cordell Manz)

Skate lanes were groomed are in good condition system wide. White Pine trail, as of Monday, is the only trail to have open ground bare spots to watch out for, but they are still possible to ski around. Classic track is still set from last week and in good condition. Stretches of classic track will have needle or other debris. Warm sunny days this week will continue to open thin snow base areas to bare ground. The trails will be assessed for grooming on Friday. Enjoy!

(Matthew Leischer, Wisconsin DNR)

Wednesday only brought a dusting of fresh snow. The skate lanes were groomed Thursday morning resulting in a smooth level deck. Classic track is still set hard and in good condition. River trail was freshly tracked and set up well. Some debris, mostly pine cones, can still be present in sections of the trail system. Conditions are still very good to get out and enjoy some great late season skiing.

(Matthew Leischer, Wisconsin DNR)

The Riverview Loppet ski events are Saturday morning, March 3. Registration at the Afterhours warming house. The groomers will be out early the morning of the race to get the race route in excellent shape. The non-race trails were groomed and track set on Thursday. With the warm temperatures (upper 30s to low 40s), the afternoon snow is soft, but the trails are in excellent condition.

(Diane Gobin)