Beautiful ski amoung the snow covered trees today, even if it was a short one. So much snow! Trails were groomed perfectly, deep classic tracks. Just a bit cold, ski was slow. Will be awesome this weekend with warmer temps!

(Laura Beilke)

Skate lanes have been groomed this morning. New classic tracks have been set on all trails. A new classic track was just set through the field that hooks up with Little Ben Trail. There is a lot of ice and snow chopped into the snow after yesterday's glazing.

(Vicki Foss)

All Arb trails groomed and tracked today. Trails have about 2-3 inches of well packed, fine grained, cold power over a hard transformed base. Fairly slow glide, but plenty of kick. Only a very few small areas of dirty snow and a few leaves. South Acorn was the worst trail for oak leaves, but not as bad as it sometimes gets. Final grooming for Sunday's Lumberjack Jaunt will be done on Saturday, with maybe a little more on Sunday morning. This will be the best snow conditions for the Jaunt in several years.

(Owen Baird)

Fresh snow this afternoon -- a light dusting. Groomers have been out this morning. Due to extreme cold and windchill, the Northland Arboretum's Visitor Center will be closed Tuesday, January 29th through noon on Thursday, January 31st. If you chose to come out skiing, please be very, very careful. Parking payment for non-arb members is expected in the self-serve kiosk.

(Vicki Foss)

Three inches of fluffy snow Monday packed down to about one inch over a hard old snow base. Classic track set today was mostly very good, but a few short sections of leaves/dirt. Same for the skating - mostly very good but a few short dirty spots. Could use good skis if you watch out for the dirt. Even if we don't get any more snow we should have good trail conditions for the Lumberjack Jaunt on February 3rd.

(Owen Baird)

Skied all trails this afternoon with while snowing. The fresh snow had covered all the debris (oak leaves, pine needles), so no problem with the kick wax. I used the Start blue Terva and it work well in the fresh snow. Most of the classic tracks had not been skied in since it began snowing here around noon. Glide was "left over" Start green with some graphite mixed in. Given the hard, cold and icy base, the glide worked as well as could be expected in new snow conditions. At 4:30 PM the snow had stopped. Have a great time on the trails and remember to support your local ski club and the organizations (arboretum) that provide space for trails.

(Mark Stadem)

Tons of debris in tracks due to high winds. Icy tracks. Skate course is good -- only slight debris. Seriously cold, dress appropriately.

(Vicki Foss)

Skate lanes are the best since out freezing rains last week. Good condition. Debris from trees. We have granular snow due to ice. It is what it is. The tracks are solid with tree debris due to very strong winds.

(Vicki Foss)

Trails are a mix of old snow, slightly transformed snow, and ice from freezing rain last week. Shoveling by Brainerd HS coaches worked well to cover the bare spots on Big Ben. Snow is dirty with quite a bit of leaves and pine needles with some sections of the classic track filled with oak leaves, but some sections are good. Snow depth in the woods around 8 inches with about 3 inches on the trails.

(Owen Baird)

Groomers are back in action after a brief trip to the motor repair shop. Skate deck is excellent. No set classic tracks yet. Strong winds have knocked down leaves and twigs.
BHS team coming to practice after school 100+ of the nicest, fastest kids around. (You've been warned!)

(Vicki Foss)