Still great spring skiing at Swedetown! My skin skis were accumulating snow in the classic tracks, so I skated, and before the warming occurred in the afternoon, the skating was fast and fun. Lots of folks crust skiing earlier in the day.

Photos:

(Nancy Langston)

Beautiful “almost officially spring” conditions at Swedetown. All trails were recently machine-groomed (overnight?) for skate and classic, followed by early-morning below-freezing temps. Mostly fast, hard-frozen granular when we started at 8:30 am, starting to soften just a bit by 10:30. Trails that run through the thick pines are dirty, if that doesn’t bother you then good skis are fine. Plenty of base, so no risk of damage. Very good crust-skiing options off-trail. Lots of skiers out enjoying the warm sunshine and great skiing.

Photos:

(Todd Campbell)

The tracks were great late Sunday evening! When all the rest of the snow has retreated from the north country, Swedetown persists. Thanks, amazing groomers!

(Nancy Langston)

Kudos to the groomers, organizers, and volunteers for giving over 500 skiers an incredible day for the Great Bear Chase. The trail was in mint condition at sunrise when I warmed up for the skiathlon. Firm, fast, and plenty to edge. Amazing the groomers could work that magic considering all the rain and warm conditions. They have really turned this into a reliably super event late in season. They still have over one foot of base left! We had 4 people in our family race today which was a neat experience. Thanks!

Photos:

(Kevin Ousdigian)

Today's groomer report (from website): All trails are open today. Groomers started at 7 AM. It will be a slow tilling process, so if you plan to ski the trails, late morning or afternoon would be the best time to go out. Friday’s predicted high is 24 degrees. Groomers will be out Friday night, as well.
My comments: Swedetown survived the melt down. Plenty of base to work with. Attached web cam shot from 11AM EST. The corduroy in the image wasn't there a few minutes earlier.

Photos:

(Larry Zurawski)

From the Swedetown Trails website: To preserve the ski trails for the rest of the season and for this weekend’s Great Bear Chase ski race, the Swedetown ski trails will be closed on Thursday, March 11.

(Peter Vorhes)

Swedetown trails were closed yesterday and today to protect them in advance of the Great Bear Chase on Saturday and for the remainder of the season. Groomers have plenty to work with to get them back into good shape. Photos are from web cams.

Photos:

(Peter Vorhes)

All trails dragged, with excellent conditions throughout the system. Reminder: As we move into a gradual warming trend over the next few days, please respect the trails by not skiing if you are leaving deep ruts and gouges. Grooming completed at 9:15 am.

(Brad Barnett)

All trails except the Bear Loops and Birch Loop were dragged this morning. We plan to groom all ski trails with the Husky (tiller) Friday. The goal for Saturday will be to finish grooming by 9:00 AM.

(Brad Barnett)

All trails were tilled and tracked, excellent conditions. Please be aware that as we experience warmer temperatures, snow will be unloading from the trees and could be hazardous! Grooming completed at 11:00 am.

(Brad Barnett)