Just under 3" of new snow past 24 hours. We kept close eye on the temps and dew points today, waiting for a few degrees drop in both than went out grooming after communicating with the skiers the grooming plan to allow trails to set up but still provide fresh grooming for skiers that skied the trails groomed first after a few hours. All double track trails renovated, mixing the frozen/slightly damp granular snow with the new snow than new tracks set. We combed all the skate trails, pressing new corduroy on the skate deck as well as Suicide Hill and segments used for the Section 8 course. Late afternoon we packed the new snow on the twin lakes loop for fat biking. Conditions are very good to excellent across the board for both. Still a few rough spots on the singletrack classic trail but grooming will smooth everything out and by Friday morning everything should be near perfect. Base ranges from 8-18". Total snowfall on the season at 54".

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Skied the classic trails over the weekend. Lots of snow. Fast tracks (with little ice) made for overall very good conditions. Additional snow Sunday afternoon made for great conditions Mon morning. Good skiing and the always great food made for a very enjoyable time.

(Tran Alfrey)

We were looking for nearby ski trails without the frozen icy crust following the recent January thaw. We headed up to Maplelag and had a great day. We classic skied Sukkerbusk and the North Loup on Sunday afternoon and both were in nice condition, well-groomed, and not icy. It was another good day on the trails in the northwoods. If you go to Maplelag, check out their whiteboard just inside the main entry to see the "Groomer's Choice"--if the groomer says it's good, that's all you need to know.

(Glenn Gifford)

All skate trails groomed and new track set on 30km of trail. Low dew points relative to the cold temps setting everything up rock hard again at night. We will be back out in the morning touching up skate lanes and setting new track on a few trails. Some of the singletrack classic trails a bit rough. The crust cruising is awesome. The lakes, meadows and open areas adjacent to the ski trails make for fun adventuring. Just watch out for the post holes from the deer, some are very deep!

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Great conditions for Skate Skiing. Plenty of snow. Firm base. Groomed perfectly. No crowds. What more can you ask for? Twin Cities skiers should come up for an alternative to Hyland and Elm Creek. Looking forward to doing it again tomorrow!

(Bob Wilson)

Skate lanes were groomed again this morning, renovated the frozen granulated surface than combing out to a mostly corduroy finish. Skating is fast but good edging and reports of really fun skiing. We also reset tracks on a few more classic only trails. It takes a few passes to erase the old tracks than set new ones but we are shaving small layers of the frozen crust before going deeper into the base, than resetting. Some of the outer classic trails are a bit chopped up from skiing on the soft snow last weekend. Colder temps along with lower dew points setting everything up hard. Extra caution must be used if venturing out on those trails until we groom them. We will be back out in the morning working on more classic tracks on the more popular trails, renovating than resetting. The Twin Lakes singletrack is open again for fat biking. The surface is abrasive frozen granular. Good grip and traction and some of the best riding of the year.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

We had a nice day of skiing for the North Star conference meet. The morning groom provided very good conditions. Fast snow but just enough loose for good edging on the skate and grip for classic. Skaters Waltz is a lot of fun right now! All 64km of trail open, grooming to focus on 40km next 4-5 days unless new snow than we will re-groom entire system.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

We had a fine weekend of skiing on corn snow under spring like conditions. We were grooming select trails early morning. Last night out for a skate ski as the snow was glazing over and had one of the funnest skis of the year. We froze down nicely last night and snow remained hard other than the trails groomed this morning. Mid afternoon I skied the groomed trails and found fast conditions but enough loose for control. At sunset went back out grooming on course for tomorrow's conference meet. Will be back out in the morning touching up skate lanes and setting tracks. Daily grooming planned on through the weekend. No bare or dirt spots, 8-16" base.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

This morning Skaters Waltz, the extension of Skaters and Suicide Hill groomed, pressing new structure on the deck. Also, new tracks set on Sap Run, Sukkerbusk and Twin Lakes. Reports all good from skiers today, with comments "better than expected" and "there is still a lot of snow out there". The afternoon I skated on skaters waltz and double poled segments of the classic trails to check out conditions, hooking up with the Washburn Nords. Bit slower with the soft and warm snow but the deck was firming up and great skiing with good waxing or waxless skis. We plan on grooming in the early morning on the same trails and a few more classic trails.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Spring conditions! Past 24 hours all skate trails groomed than right track on all double track trails cut fresh as well as new singletrack resetting on Wavy Gravy this morning. Temp warmed up about 10 degrees warmer than forecasted/expected today to a high of 47 but the snow held out great. A classic ski at dusk found soft and slow conditions but beautiful in the woods and everyone I talked to was enjoying themselves and the outdoors. Was just starting to glaze over as I finished up skiing. Depending on precip type, air and snow temps, dew point and humidity will determine when we will groom next. Either tonight, tomorrow morning, Friday evening or early Saturday morning. Bottom line there is a solid base of snow and plenty of skiing opportunities on through the weekend.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)