Three new inches, rolled. The trails are in great shape with the exception of a few wind blown areas (the start hill by the parking lot and several sections of Stony Rollers) which are icy. This evening I had the pleasure of leading G(R)OAT (Greatest Rookie Of All Time) on his rookie groomer training run, knocking Eagle 17 from that spot. A little scary when I think that I have been grooming twice as long as he has been on the planet. Gives me hope for the future, though. Grooming plans: Evolution will be laying down some fresh tracks in the morning. Enjoy!

(Dave Anderson, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)

Crash and Kill Switch made the Saturday evening grooming run around the trails with the heavy screens. The skate trail surface will be in very nice shape for your Sunday ski, especially if you can beat the heat. Enjoy!

(Dave Anderson, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)

Kind of like the Beatles song, Woodlands gets by with a little (a lot actually) help from her Friends. Twenty-six friends answered the all-hands-on-deck call this morning armed with rakes and blowers to clear the trails of fallen sticks and branches left over from the big blow. With the little bit of new snow from yesterday on top of Wednesdays grooming, the skate trails are in really nice shape for the most part. Don't be fooled by the windblown hill as you first leave the parking area. Once you drop into the woods, it will ski just fine. Enjoy!

(Dave Anderson, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)

The ski trails will be closed until at least noon on Saturday due to plenty of sticks and a few downed trees on the trails. This evenings grooming run is canceled for the same reason. Lumberjack and Ancient One will be heading out in the morning at 7 to buck up the downed trees. The stick raking crew will be following at 8. If you venture out tomorrow afternoon, expect the trail to be hard and still a bit messy. What fun!

(Dave Anderson, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)

Chainsaw was leading (teaching) The Sailor on this evening's grooming run. They were pulling the tandem screens to tenderize the skate trail surface for our Thursday skiing pleasure. The Sailor and others in the Gen II Trail Crew, are of the same vintage as our children, who were in Jr High or younger when the idea of ski trails at Woodlands was hatched 34 years ago. It is our hope that the Gen II groomers, along with their children, will be the next chapters of the Woodlands story. Enjoy!

(Dave Anderson, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)

Skied the 10k loop 2x plus some of the flat/straight away and inner loop. Great conditions and super impressed by beautiful trails - lots of deer spotted. Highly recommend making the trek up there for this gem. Challenging uphills and some super downhills and fun rollers. Gravity pit was awesome!

Photos:

(Kendra Krueger)

After the football party broke up at the Grooming Cave, Ancient One and Babe headed out with the rollers to let some of the air out of our new 1 1/2" of super fluffy clipper snow. Expect plenty good trail conditions at Woodlands for your Monday ski. Enjoy!

(Dave Anderson, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)

The Natural teamed up with Lefty this evening to pull the Godzilla screens around the skate trails. They reported that Thursday evenings bit of new snow was was wearing a little thin in some spots, but that conditions should still be fair to good for your Sunday ski. Lefty is living proof that even a guy with only one and half good arms can ski a couple of laps in Mora and drive around on a Skandic for a couple of hours in the same day. Now that is dedication to our sport! Enjoy!

(Dave Anderson, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)

This was my first time skiing Woodland and I had an absolute blast! Totally worth the drive up from the Cities as the conditions are just about perfect and the trails are beautiful. Talked to a friendly groomer before starting and took his suggestion of trying the 10K outer loop. Trails were freshly groomed with no ice to be found. Quite a bit of trail debris, mostly smaller sticks and leaves but some bigger chunks to avoid here and there. I only have one pair of skis but if you had multiple I'd say B skis would be a good choice. If you're looking for another place to ski this is it! No crowds, great conditions and fun wooded trails :).

Photos:

(Erika Pond)

The combination of a little ice mixed in with a little fresh snow by this mornings grooming run was a big hit with all of the skiers I spoke with today. Shear Pin and his grooming partner BR just finished their evening run with the tandem screens. They reported that the skate deck groomed up nicely and we should expect good trail conditions for our Saturday ski. While Shear Pin is always excited when his grooming run leaves the trails in good shape, this evening he was more excited about his new streak of grooming runs without putting a sled on its side; one. Dress warmly and enjoy your Saturday ski, wherever it may be.

(Dave Anderson, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)