Starting Wednesday and going through Thursday, the Spirit Mountain trail crew will work on opening the 10k segments. This means that machinery and workers will be focused on cutting trees and packing deep snow. Hours of Work: 0800 to 4:30p.m. both days. We will do our best to clean our tracks after each day; however, you may encounter only corduroy or rough cat tracks as we use the CG, Warming Hut, 3 and 5K trails to access the 10K segments. My compassionate advice: Ski elsewhere until trails are safe and fully open for use. Thank you again for your patience.

Photos:

(Larry Mishkar)

The 3 and 5K at were groomed today, adding a track for classic skiers. Not long afterwards this dandy tree came down at the 3/5K connection, blocking both trails. We'll remove it asap. A few dips on the 5K are soft - be mindful - as the flowing water is eating the snow. Thank you Aga for sharing the tree image. Cheers!

Photos:

(Larry Mishkar)

We opened the 3K and 5K loops today, skate deck only; the Campground Loop is skate and classic. Overnight snow added another 4 inches which tilled in nicely. Small debris will be encountered; feel free to stop and toss sticks off the trail as they continue to drop. Skiing and cold temps will help to firm up the base which was Pisten Bully compacted four times due to super soft and super deep snow. The 10K is next for our crew. Cheers!

Photos:

(Larry Mishkar)

After hours of tree clearing we groomed the CG, the Warming Hut Loop and the 3K with the Pisten Bully. Skate only until the snow firms up (and it stops snowing and blowing). We ventured onto the 5k/10k and still have a lot of tree trimming to do before we groom that. Heavy snow was falling at 4p.m. so expect today's groom to be covered with fresh. The snow is powder and the skate deck is soft until it sets up with colder temperatures and use. You will encounter some low branches that we have yet to trim. Be patient and enjoy what's open.

Photos:

(Larry Mishkar)

One of my favorite loops is the 2k campground loop at Spirit and certainly was not disappointed today. The sharp turns, gradual hills--makes me feel like I know what I'm doing. There was only about another 1.5k groomed (out and back) up on top. All was good skiing with a bit of debris; made it into a loop, repeat interval day. No tracks set yet.

(Jena Ogston)

No classic tracks but used my classic skis anyway. Only a short section of trail is skiable. Conditions weren't that great with a layer of ice underneath a few inches of snow. Several skate skiers were out today making use of the limited snow we have in the Duluth area.

(Matthew Henderson)

I savored skating just over 2K doing many loops on the largest of the remaining patches of man-made snow at Spirit at 66F, for my 202nd consecutive day skating -- every day since November 13, setting a new longest-known XC ski streak by topping the 200 days in a row of the amazing Tom Stensaker of Norway. It's been a wonderful season that kept on giving right through June. The snow is dirty but still fun. Thanks to Spirit and Grand Avenue groomer Larry Mishkar, to all the groomers of Duluth, to everyone who supported me on my quest to ski over 200 days into June, and to everyone at SkinnySki! Cheers, skiers! :-).

Photos:

(Lane Ellis)