A beautiful spring like day on the trails. Great seeing all the skiers out the past few days. We also had productive days transporting snow to the vulnerable areas on Skaters Waltz, specifically the "Kamikaze" hill segment and have been able to maintain coverage and keep this segment open. Went out for a ski after sunset as the trails were freezing down again after a warmer than forecasted day. Despite the warm temps, the base on the 10km of groomed trail held out great overall coverage was very good and skiing was quite fun as it got faster but still some give on the edging. Although the trails remain "skiable" we are erring on the side of caution and temporary closing the trails. We will continue to work on the 10k of trail, patching thin areas in preparation of the next snowfall. With the existing base in place that is rock solid of transformed snow, it won't take much to have good early season skiing again. If we pick up even a half inch of snow, we will press this snow and open the trails again. It was a awesome early season run and thanks everyone for supporting the trails at Maplelag the past two weeks.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

We had a nice weekend of early season skiing with a good number of folks on the trails including the Moorhead Nordic Ski team. Trails remain open this week on 10km of machine groomed. Rock solid base after weekend ski traffic and temps near the single digits last night. Areas of thin cover, rough and organic forest matter. Tuesday looks warm and we ask folks be off the trails by noon and not ski in the afternoon please. Today we are farming snow to the Kamikaze hill segment on Skaters Waltz patching up thin areas.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Great early season skiing. Skied morning and late afternoon. A gambling person can use B skis. A few exposed rocks but easy to avoid. If we had this much snow in the cities we’d host a marathon.

Photos:

(Craig Stolen)

Went out for a ski to flick sticks off the groomed loops. Temp had dropped down to the lower teens last night (thanks to clearing that led to incredible moonlight and fun night ski) setting up the base rock hard. Although there is a fair amount of organic forest matter, I felt the skiing was really good considering the time of year and snow base. With caution there is some nice early season skiing to be had. Trails open include Sukkerbusk, Skaters Waltz and easy loop of JibFly. Recommended to ski Skaters counter clockwise. Also the rough spot on Kamikaze can be avoided by using the last part of Sap Run which is groomed, for a connector. No services in the main lodge. Park in far parking lot and just ski. Purchase pass online please.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Thin dusting of new snow the past 24 hours. Temps holding steady in mid 20's. We combed Skaters Waltz with the Ginzu groomer, roll combed Sukkerbusk and the "easy loop" on JibFly for a total of 10km. The new snow helped with conditions but unfortunately there was a lot wind associated with this last system that brought down a lot of twigs and branches. Regardless, there are segments that groomed out fine, considering the time of year and snow and ground conditions we are working with. The trails remain open and recommended for skiers looking to get some early season mileage and comfortable with areas of thin cover, rough spots and bumpiness which can be a tool for building skills! Sine the base is delicately thin and vulnerable, we will not be grooming again until more new snow. Sap Run was also groomed but strictly for the last segment to be used for a connector to bypass the Kamikaze hill segment on Skaters Waltz.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Went out at sunset to check the trails after temps in the mid 30's today with cloudy conditions. Snow held out and skiing was better than expected. Really nice glide actually as the surface was glazing over. Coverage on the groomed trail was still very good, yes some open spots, but nothing that gave issue while skiing. Little change on Suicide HIll. Was clearing off, moon was shining nicely and deck was really tightening up. Should be faster tomorrow morning with mid 20's forecasted tonight. If we receive any of the forecasted snow, will groom tomorrow evening on the 10km we have open.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

A great opening day, nice to see a handful of folks out enjoying the early season conditions. Temps stayed below freezing and snow held out great despite the warm ground. We groomed an additional 3km of trail to help freeze down the base and made another pass on Skaters Waltz to compress the base a bit more. Looks to be a bit warmer tomorrow before cooling down with some possible snow. Trails will be closed tomorrow at noon to preserve the base on the 10km of trail we have groomed and hope to open back up again on Wednesday and on through the weekend.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

The second grooming run last night set up nicely thanks to temps in the mid teens. Early afternoon Jake and I checked out the fresh grooming and found some of the best early November skiing have ever experienced. Near 100% humidity made for silky smooth skiing but a relatively solid deck. We were using rock skis but personally I would be comfortable using B skis. This evening back out completing the loops on Sukkerbusk and Skaters Waltz bringing the total amount of groomed trail to around 10km. Trails will be open officially open tomorrow. Deer hunting ended today in our area. We will be working on Sap Run tomorrow to bring total open to 12km. We will be focusing on these trails including Suicide Hill, freezing down the base as much as possible this special early season.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

We are constantly monitoring weather conditions and keeping pulse on forecasts and trends. After additional snow today, the time was right, at dusk, for the first grooming of the year run on 5km. We will be back out tonight and tomorrow night preparing for a soft opening on Monday.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Snow! Around 3" of dry snow the past 24 hours. Cold temps (26 degrees at time of ski) made for great conditions for the first outing. Stayed close to the resort with deer hunting going on but found really nice glide considering the ground is still warm and melting from underneath. Always exciting to see the ground white again. If we receive more snow and cold temps continue, we will try to groom after deer hunting ends on Sunday afternoon.

Photos:

(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)