Western IA, new ski trail listing

Another trail has come on board the ski trail update.
Adams Homestead & Nature Preserve
just NW of Sioux City IA. Being it's late in the season I doubt if we get any postings from them but It will be in place for next season - Brett

Mines of Spain Trails

Trails were groomed at the Mines of Spain Recreation Area on Thursday and looked pretty good. The classial tracks are not set very deep. Was not a lot of soft snow to get them pushed down, but trails should be good for the weekend. Enjoy the snow:)

MNRA

Ahhh... the final grooming... bittersweet memories of a fantastic winter of freezing my butt off and broken equipment with the best snow conditions ever.
MNRA was groomed tonight. Everything was pretty icy on top so I put the teeth down and tenderized it all. Still many icy spots but lots of real good snow too. Should be rocket-fast but remember, rockets have no brakes. I couldn't get tracks to set deep enough so classic people are on their own. Looks like warm temps this week and I'm off to Moab next week so, looks like our time has finally come this year.
and I promised I wouldn't cry...

Trail Report - Carr Woods

I skied at Carr's Woods today. There was some fresh snow this week. There is still about 1-2 inches of packed snow on the trails and 3-4 inches of snow in the woods. I found the trails freshly groomed. Also see below.

Hello Skiers,

I will be heading out to Carr Woods at 2:30pm or so to groom. It's spring skiing to be sure, but the trails are definitely still ski-able, especially back in the woods. I don't think that there is enough new snow to reset the classic tracks, so except in places where snow has really piled up I will just give everything a quick combing, widening, and trail cleanup.

Enjoy the skiing this weekend! I never say never, but this may be the last weekend of real skiing in Ames for the year, so get out there while you can.

Best,

Mike The Groomer

Wapsi River EEC

Thanks to much snow fall this season most twigs/branches are unseen though some may be visible along stretches. Staff has been out to pack previous tracks after light flurries this past week. Earlier week warm-up iced trails a bit but now should be set for better skiing. Some stretches are quite deep (south trail) but makes for good tracking. Staff anticipates hitting trails again next week. Much wildlife has been seen including eagles, turkeys, deer, gray fox, and mink! Trail maps are found on kiosk as you enter, in front of caretaker residence - J. Dave Murcia

MNRA Conditions

My wife just reported to me that MNRA was "pretty icy" for striders and the skate lanes looked pretty icy too. She said it really needs worked on and recommended I head out there tomorrow night to groom it. She also asked me to call her before I drive home in case she needs me to "pick something up." Coincidentally, I swear I saw Brett (Bart...whatever)'s car leaving my house just as I returned home the other night. Should I be worried?

Ashton Groomed on 3/5/08

I was sent this by Mike Klug regarding Ashton, apparently it was groomed yesterday.
The skating lane should be firming up with the falling temperatures, and there was a shallow classic track set along most of the trail. I skied this afternoon between 4:00 and 5:00 and found generally good conditions. There are some icy patches where slush froze that cover a few low-lying parts of the trail. Ashton should provide a fast surface until it warms up later this weekend.

MNRA

MNRA was groomed and tracks set tonight. Tracks are shallow in places but should be good in most thanks to a couple big cinder blocks on the setter. All trails were tenderized and should be scary fast tomorrow. Careful on the old road leading back to the peninsula, it's icy in spots and looks like it might have some puddles during the day, the field with the osprey tower is marginal on the outer loop but the shortcut is good. Other than that, the trail should be stellar. Get on it people!

Carr Woods groomed

I groomed the trails last night. Skating should be pretty good in most places, save some icy spots here and there (be especially careful on the back straightaway of the prairie loop. In most places the base was too shallow/icy to set a classic track. I set some new classic track in the NE corner of the trails system out by the NE Prairie where there was more snow due to drifting. In many places, the old classic track were still there and are being skied in. I left them as is. In these places classic skiing should be fair - Ryan

MNRA conditions @ 5:30am

Jason sent me a note stating that MNRA was very fast as of 5:30am. Apparently he went for a very early morning ski before his flight to Europe today.

MNRA

MNRA recovery phase one is completed comrades. All trails were tenderized to try to reduce ice, footprints and ski marks. Everything should be skate-able tomorrow but beware the devil ice in spots on the old road bed to the peninsula and in the open field on the peninsula. Everything else seemed to groom up real nice. I apologize to my classic friends, no tracks tonight. I should be out there again Tuesday evening to tidy up the skate lanes and lay some fantabulous classic tracks... what did those Decorah folks say about skiers paradise??? It's right here in South Eastern Iowa.

Decorah--Not enough new stuff

We had a skiff of snow last night, but with the melting of the last two days, it is not enough. We skied on Saturday morning. It was like skiing on Jello, which sometimes slid and sometimes stuck to our skis. With 22 degrees this morning, everything is icy under the light snow.

Nancy

MNRA

As long as temps stay down, MNRA should get a groming tonight. I'll post when I'm done.

More snow?

Amazing, we might be able to ski a bit more this year! I'm hopeful actually but I keep that to myself around most folks as the Winter blues are prevalent around Iowa City. This might be more to do with our raunchy side street conditions right now.