Trails once again glazed up overnight so we hit the skate lanes with the Ginzu knives and blended up the crust with the snow below. Results were awesome - super smooth, great glide, good edging with firm pole plants on a solid base. Classic skiers had no complaints with the track and there were no reports of ice. We will continue grooming early mornings everyday during this warmup. Be here by 8 or 9 and enjoy a few hours of spring-like skiing.

Photos:

(Robert Polic)

Got hit with another 6 inches of snow overnight. All ski trails were groomed and trackset today. Trail should set up well overnight and be in great shape tomorrow. Snowshoe trail was also groomed. Work on the fatbike trail will begin tomorrow.

Photos:

(Robert Polic)

Picked up a good 8-inches of heavy, clumpy snow overnight and into the morning. All 20K of the ski trails were rolled, groomed and trackset. Ski trail should set up well overnight and be in good shape for Saturday. Snowshoe trail was also groomed and is in good shape. The entire fat bike trail was packed and some of it had a first pass with the groomer (Twins, Demo, Yellow to Cutoff, Hub and Green Trail) but will need a second pass and a little time to set up before it's not punishing to ride. The plan is to hit it early in the morning.
Apologies to the classic skiers - got the Gator stuck going up the steep hill on the far side of the 10k loop, winched it out, came back and groomed it backwards to clean up the ruts and swept out some sections of the classic track. Will fix it up with the next grooming.

Photos:

(Robert Polic)

We skied WinMan trail for the first time today. Last night's fresh snow made for slow skiing. It should firm up overnight. All loops were freshly groomed and tracked. If you haven't been to WinMan it's worth trying it for the beautiful new shelter. The woods were beautiful. One disappointment is that the terrain is fairly flat. There are also great looking groomed snow shoe and fat tire bike trails at this facility, too.

(Jack Stellpflug)

The snowshoe, fat bike and ski trails were groomed this morning. The ski trail was also tracked and looks to be in great shape (about to test it). The fat bike trail feels a little soft, will let it set up overnight and plan to groom it again on Wednesday.

(Robert Polic)

The skate lanes were groomed again this morning and after testing them this afternoon, can report that they are in excellent shape - firm, smooth, fast and fun. The track was set yesterday and not reset today but the classic skiers reported it still being in great shape - fast but not icy.
The entire seven miles of fat bike trail was also groomed this morning and has a rock hard, smooth base. Stay on the 3-foot wide trail and you'll have a great time, wander off trail and you'll find yourself waist (or face) deep in powder.
Snowshoe trails were last groomed on Thursday to remove the glazing from Wednesday's warmup and are in excellent shape too.

(Robert Polic)

Saturday's fresh snow had been well groomed over the weekend. The WinMan skate deck had been refreshed this morning leaving the whole trail system in excellent condition. It was single digits above zero cold this afternoon under sunny skies with a significant wind chill. The skiing was excellent but given the cold conditions the snow was "squeaky" and not rocket fast. Having raced over the weekend (Wolf Tracks Rendezvous) my companion and I were looking for a recovery ski and very happy with what we found. The WinMan warming building is luxurious by skier standards, clean, and well looked after. Caretaker Robert Polich was friendly and a fount of information about trail conditions and skier options. Well maintained snowshoe and fat bike trail options are available for those so inclined. With coffee shops and refreshments available in nearby Manitowish Waters, what more could you ask for? Check it out.

Photos:

(Mark Nienstaedt)

Great skiing at WinMan around noon. Two inches fresh snow and snow falling as we skied, parking lot was full. A combination of skiers, snowshoers and bikers. Everyone was having a great time, beautiful new lodge to change and have lunch. You have to try it, you will like it.

(Larry Heathman)

We decided to try our luck at the WinMan trails again today as yesterday did not work out for us because of the glaze ice. Mother Nature delivered two inches of fresh snow on the trails which groomed the trails naturally. It was snowing lightly all morning and early afternoon making for a most enjoyable outing. After that fresh snow was skied into the tracks, conditions were good to very good. I classic skied about 25k, red loop, all the diversions, and then the blue loop. It was a good day of skiing. I encountered only a couple of skate skiers but many classic skiers. I did not try skating but it looked like skate conditions were marginal.

Photos:

(Jim Gantz)

My wife and I arrived around 10:30 am with the hope of skiing the trails. I would skate while she would classic ski. Unfortunately, the trails were glazed from the warm temperatures yesterday. Icy trails were not going to be acceptable for my wife so we left for Minocqua Winter Park instead. The trails may have shaped up with other skiers and temperatures around freezing but we did not want to wait for conditions to improve.

(Jim Gantz)