Skate skied the 10K and 7K loops this morning. With a dusting of fresh snow there was mostly good coverage with some thin spots and a few uneven and rough areas. The thin areas were more common on the far end of the 10K loop from trail markers L to Q. Overall though a very good ski and worth the trip. Rock skis are recommended.

(John Huppert)

I skated the regular 6k blue loop without any issues. There were a few sketchy areas but they were easy to ski around. I classic skied the same 6k blue loop and then connected to the red loop for the full 10k. The remaining 4K of the red loop was much dirtier with many short sections of the trail where dirt had been turned up by the groomer. It was still a good ski with no discernible damage to my classic skis. It was a great early season ski.

Photos:

(Jim Gantz)

The ski trail was groomed today and is in mostly decent shape with some thin and dirty sections. With warm, sunny weather forecast for the weekend though, conditions will be changing. Some recommendationss if you are planning on coming to WinMan this weekend: Get on the trails early if you're biking or skiing. If you're skiing one of the longer loops, take the '6K Easy' option at signpost F to bypass some pretty dirty trail. Don't ski the 10K loop past signpost L and instead return via the 7.5K loop (see second picture to get an idea of trail conditions out that way). Bring your rock skis. Bring snowshoes and enjoy the warm sunny weather exploring our snowshoe trails.

Photos:

(Robert Polic)

This was my first time at WinMan. What an awesome place. Beautiful warming hut, lots of kind and happy people and multiple winter sports options. My friend and I skied the green and red trails. Both were in very good shape. Good coverage with a few marginal spots that you could easily avoid. There were two times I felt grabbers on my ski bases but for the most part, there were no trail issues. I saw a lot of fat bikers having fun and several other skiers. This is a wonderful place. I hope to visit again.

(Jon Hirsch)

We picked a few inches of fresh snow on Wednesday and a few more on Thursday and were out grooming almost everyday this week, leveling out the trails. Last night the entire snowshoe system was groomed and today the 8 miles of fat bike and the entire ski trail (minus Out-n-Back) got the treatment. I did try setting track on the 2.5K loop but was still getting into dirt in spots so will wait until we get more snow. Conditions on all the trails this weekend should be excellent.
Scheduling: The local middle and high school ski team will be here on Saturday from 9AM to 3PM for a practice session - we are expecting 50-60 kids and parents during that period. You have been warned! We will probably be out grooming again Sunday morning to clean everything up.

Photos:

(Robert Polic)

We picked up a few inches of fresh snow overnight and this morning and tidied up all the snowshoe and ski trails this afternoon. Conditions are improving but still have a few bumpy sections.

Photos:

(Robert Polic)

Groomed all three trail systems today - ski, snowshoe and fat bike. Conditions are pretty decent considering how thin our base is. Ski trail is still lumpy, has a few dirty sections and a couple wet spots but has been a blast to ski with a solid base and great glide - still recommending rocks skis though. The 8 miles of fat bike trail is in really good shape also with a solid base and looking pretty nice for tomorrow's Global Fat Bike Day.

Photos:

(Robert Polic)

We lost quite a bit of snow on Friday due to mid-40s and sun and lost more on Saturday due to rain. We've been getting some light snow since but not near enough to make up for what we lost. I groomed/packed the entire system this afternoon including first time-passes on the east end of the 10K loop. Conditions are pretty variable with some decent sections but lots of rough, bumpy, stubbly sections (especially the new stuff opened up today) - overall pretty mediocre. Until we get inches of fresh snow, you're best off looking towards the UP.

(Robert Polic)

We've been getting some nice lake effect snow the last couple days that's added up to a good 3-4". I groomed all the snowshoe trails (including the creek crossing on the Highland Passage) and all the ski trails (including Out-n-Back) except the 10K loop (still seeing vehicle tracks) today. On the last lap tonight, I dropped the knives to see if I can start smoothing out the trail without pulling up dirt and looks like we can. I plan on grooming the fat bike trail tomorrow and then take another pass on the ski trails smoothing and (hopefully) setting track.
We're in the middle of rifle season so wear bright colors.

Photos:

(Robert Polic)

We haven't picked up much new snow since last weekend - maybe a couple inches of fluff - but went ahead and cleaned up all the ski trails but the 10K loop this morning. Overall, the base is in decent shape - firm, dry with good coverage and just a couple dirty spots - but still really lumpy. After grooming, I went for a skijor over most of the trails with Sprocket and other than the lumpiness had a really fast, fun ski. We need more base before I can start setting track (tried last week and hit grass immediately) and leveling out the trail. Bright colors (rifle season is on through next weekend) and rock skis are still the recommendation.

(Robert Polic)