Around 1" of dry fluffy new snow from last night was groomed into the skate deck on Skaters Waltz and North Loup this morning. The new snow mixed in nicely with the frozen granulated snow and made for fantastic skating. We left the tracks alone and the new snow improved the conditions greatly. All the trails are open and people have been skiing on all the trails but we recommend skiing on Poki Loki, Sukkerbusk, and North Loup for classic. Skating best on Skaters Waltz, North Loup and Suicide Hill (use caution on Kamikaze hill segment) We plan on being open two more weeks for ski operations along with two great events the next two weekends, the Great Lakes Indigenous Farming Conference and the MooseJaw Old Time Dance, Music and Clogging.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

I classic skied the North Loup with my "A" skis a few times and the trail was in excellent condition. Very few spots where track was not set. There is still plenty of great skiing to be done at Maplelag!

Photos:

(Tom Dooher)

Temps near single digits last night set up the base rock hard. We touched up select areas on the skate trails, reset track on Poki Loki and renovated and combed the deck on the double track. Nice day for skiing, good reports from the skiers. All trails are open. Use caution on trails that haven't been groomed. Variable conditions with thin/icy sections and couple bare spots. Check board in main lodge for details. Bottom line, there is some good skiing to be had this weekend and skate skiing is really nice.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

We waited until noon to groom today, after the base froze down rock solid last night and than the surface softened a bit from sun and warming temps. We started on the skate trails which groomed up really nice and are providing fantastic skating all things considered with the weather this week. We reset track only on Poki Loki and North Loup. The other trails classic skiing was improved with the very light dusting. Classic skiing fair to good with a couple poor sections. Areas of thin cover, rough etc. The twin lakes singletrack for fat biking was in great shape after inspecting this morning. Full coverage on 75% of the loop, the thin areas had the coating of new snow that is granular/velcro like providing great traction. Touch up grooming on the skate trails tomorrow.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

This morning the skating was some of the best this year during the "spring skiing" phase we are experiencing. Last nights grooming had set up nicely and from 9am-11am conditions were incredible. The corn corduroy had softened just the right amount and glide was fantastic. The trail was busy with skiers including a pulk puller! Lunch time rain moved in than shortly after it turned to snow. It was hard to tell how much new snow exactly as it was so wet but around 1.5" accumulated on the covered trails. Started freezing down at dusk. Once we feel it is time to groom without compressing the current base, we will be grooming the trails with the best coverage. This includes Sukkerbusk, Poki Loki, Skaters Waltz, Suicide Hill, North Loup and Twin Lakes. We will focus on these trails for the weekend totally 23km of trail and confident we will have good skiing for the weekend. We will only set one new track on the doubletrack, leaving the other side for another option. The skating on Skaters Waltz and North Loup should be very good to excellent once everything is groomed proper. The tracks will be fast, possibly icy in spots. Trails not groomed will still be open and provide fair to good skiing, use caution. We will also open the twin lakes singletrack again for fat biking tomorrow.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

We froze down hard last night which was a welcome sight after the rain and melting yesterday. We groomed skaters waltz in the morning and also the start area working up the ice and setting up some structure. Once it warmed up mid morning, the trails were busy with skiers enjoying the transition "sweet spot". Didn't get as warm as forecasted so skiing was good (all things considered) most of the day. Late afternoon cut a new track on Sukkerbusk and Sap Run. Was still a bit warm to groom the skate deck so went skiing on the fresh cut track and had a nice ski. After supper groomed skaters waltz and suicide hill as it was glazing over again. There are some thin areas and bare spots on the trail system but still some great skiing to be had with caution. Should be spring like conditions again tomorrow with best conditions expected 10-3. Grooming planned tomorrow afternoon on North Loup and trails groomed today.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

The trails are hanging on despite warm temps overnight and over a half inch of rain today. I skied trails this morning and afternoon and the coverage held out surprisingly well after today's rain. Handful of exposed areas wearing thin and icy tracks in sections. Few low areas with water but in whole scheme of things on 64km, pretty minor. Folks were out skiing despite the wet weather. Outer trails were a bit soft but the main trails mostly firm and glide was good. I was using good skis but recommend using B skis if you have more than one pair of skis to choose from as the snow is getting dirty and a few thin areas exist. Ski conditions rated poor to good. Trails will be open tomorrow. Cooling down to 32 so could be very fast in the morning before softening up again. Base is holding too much water in areas to groom. Will need at least 24 hours of subfreezing temps.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

After getting the Groomer's son's firsthand trail report (thanks, Jake!), we spent the afternoon (3-5pm) on Twin Lakes trail, and also skied Wavy Gravy and Island Lake trails. The classic tracks remained good on Twin Lakes, and the trail was solid. Mac's Mess is showing some effects of the sun and warm temps but still very skiable. Island Lake and Wavy Gravy trails continue to have very good coverage. Skiing was very fine and great fun.

(Glenn Gifford)

10 K enjoyable skating in the morning- then another 10 K of classic - better and faster than expected. Given the amount of snow and the masterful grooming, the trails should survive a few mild days. Thank you, and I hope to be back at least one more time this year.

(Istvan Gombocz)

Despite another day near 50F, the snow and trails held out well. Few exposed areas wearing thin but overall the coverage is good. Common reports from the skiers today were "better than expected" and "great spring skiing". It glazed over just enough last night for faster skiing in the morning. Skating was reported as very good before noon. Around 4pm I got out with Jake to check a few classic trails. The conditions were much better than I expected as well. The trails that have been groomed at the transition time in the evening which compressed the snow, set up concrete hard and helped keep defined tracks, were skiing very nice. Fast and fun corn snow. I had universal klister on and it worked super. Jake was using Twin Skins and had good results. Looks to stay warm tonight, so no grooming planned. Tomorrow rain is forecasted but the trails will remain open since temps look to stay warm. The rain sometimes can help tighten up the corn snow making for fun skating. Fat bikers were able to enjoy nice riding before 10am before twin lakes singletrack closed. The Twin Lakes singletrack will be closed for fat biking until cooler weather returns. The ski trails will remain open.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)