Woodlands ski trails will close for the season? at noon today. First, a big thank you to the all-volunteer Trail Crew who have answered the call day or night again this year as they have for 38 seasons without missing a beat. This season they were able to coax many extra ski days out of a few skinny clippers with their low snow grooming techniques. Next, thanks to all our ski friends who made the trip to Elk River to join in our fun. You are the reason we do what we do. Lastly, as I do every year, I will leave you with our motto; Woodlands, built by skiers, groomed by skiers (and their friends), for skiers. Till next we see you on snow. Enjoy!

(Dave Anderon, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)

Lumberjack just reported in that he and Stormwater just finished pulling the light screens around the outer loop to take a little more air out of the snow and to level the trail a bit. Tracks are set on the grade and west side trails. B ski recommendation for those who skip Terminal and Stony Rollers. In other words, make a couple of left hand turns after the Gravity Box and head back toward the biathlon range. Use the lower trail option on Scouring. The NE wind has made a bit of a mess of the north sides of both Terminal and Stony Rollers leaving some windblown and snirt covered trail sections, so rock skis are recommended if you ski there. Several of the groomers have been out skiing and all have reported it was good to be back out on the trail. Enjoy!

(Dave Anderson, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)

Woodland groomers have been out this morning making a second grooming run on the new snow. Skate lanes were re-rolled firming things up and tracks are being set this morning. B skis reccomended due to lots of sticks and leaves from the high winds. Base was completely melted prior to the new snow so there are a couple areas of very thin snow & snert on Terminal Moraine loop adjacent to the gravel pits.Ski it now! It will go fast.

(Dave Kallemeyn)

Six new inches, rolled. I ran a sled to break trail, leading the way for Shear Pin and Telepathy (that is the only way we can communicate with him because his phone is almost always silenced) pulling the rollers. The outer loop and grade are rolled, but not all the interior trails. Best to skip the high hill on Scouring as the NE wind was not kind to that short section. B skis for sticks and a few windblown spots on the north side of Terminal. Once again, I realized that Woodlands is a community. We put out a call on Saturday to clear the trail of sticks and downed trees that fell after Friday night's big blow. Nine young and old folks answered the call and cleared almost 10 miles of trail in just a few hours. The north half of the winter walking trail is also rolled. No tracks yet. Enjoy it while it lasts.

(Dave Anderson, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)

Trails are closed, temporarily we hope. The trail testers have been out skiing daily and were reporting skiable conditions until now. 99% of the trail is still covered with an icy base. Stay tuned.

(Dave Anderson, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)

Still very good coverage on the trails as of today. Snow was a bit slow due to the tree debris but otherwise no issues. Deer and birds were active throughout the woods.

Photos:

(Peter Aggen)

Really nice skate on the back 40 this afternoon. Surprisingly good conditions - 100% coverage, hard pack, not soft /not slushy. (cloud cover has been our friend!). typical scattered oak leaves and a few minor sticks.

(Kyle Henning)

Moto just reported in that he and new rookie groomer, Ranger (think Iron, not Ford), had just finished their run with the tandem screens. He said the trails are looking plenty good for your Sunday ski. This is kind of use it before we lose it time, at least in the short run. Enjoy!

Photos:

(Dave Anderson, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)

DPR and Lumberjack just finished pulling the tandem screens for our Saturday skiing pleasure. With the melt and refreeze it might be a pretty quick skate trail. Kid Transport carved in some updated tracks for us on Wednesday evening. Enjoy!

(Dave Anderson, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)

It was a fantastic afternoon at Woodlands. It's amazing what 1 1/2" of snow can do. The leaf and twig litter was all covered up and the snow is covering the icy base. There was no shear even on the steep down hill corners. Tomorrow should be another great day of skiing at Woodlands.

(Rob Bullis)