News Flash! Knowing he had a lot of work ahead of him, the infamous Blue Hills Bill set his anti-hibernation alarm for an early awakening today. Eager to get a start on things, he munched a quick breakfast, and started digging. With near-record deep snows, he dug & dug & dug... and dug & dug & dug... and just in the nick of time, he crawled out of his burrow at 7:25 this morning and delivered his annual prognostication to the awaiting crowd in downtown Bruce, WI. Read on...

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Ice in early December,

Brought branches and trees crashing down;

Then snows like none could remember,

Polar winds making hardy folks frown.

Said Bill, "Time's a wastin' - Go play!

"Record snowfall's your ticket to fun;

Ski the Hills now, day after day,

No shadow! when snowbanks block sun!

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‍Comments from the crowd

• 2/2: This winter won't last forever, bundle up the kids, we're heading to the Blue Hills Trail right away! --Bruce, WI
• 2/2: Bill says Spring's coming early!  So what if it's cold now, this makes for easy waxing, mint conditions, great classic skiing.  Time to get our kicks! --Rice Lake, WI
• 2/2: Thanks for the advice, Bill.  So much snow, so little time... --Ladysmith, WI
• 2/2: Better ship some of this extra snow to our friends in Folsom, CA. --Sprinter Gypsy Camp, TX

It looked like March would go out as a lamb, but Mother Nature sure fooled us!  It kept snowing and snowing and snowing - topped off by a record setting May 2nd snowstorm that dropped 18 inches in the Hills!‍

Recent comments from the logbook in the warming house

• 3/25: Great night for a ski.  Love how late the sun is out.  Thanks for such great trails.  The skate lane was fast fast fast.  --Bruce, WI
• 3/28: Wow!  Skate trail is amazing.  Thank you to BHTA for a wonderful ski season.  March 28 & the sky is blue, the sun is shining & the skiing is fast. --Rice Lake, WI
• 3/29: Snowshoeing - Awesome. --Australia
• 4/1: Fantastic crust skiing on Westside & over & onto Audie Flowage, & also on Florida Loop.  Early morning skiing is fast & almost effortless.  Edge control is borderline in some places & the steeper donwhills are exhiliratingly fast.  No fooling!  --Ladysmith, WI
• 4/10: The snow cover extends unbroken at least 2 km from the warming house, & undoubtedly beyond.   --Ladysmith, WI
• 4/12: With the new snow one can ski anywhere! --Ladysmith, WI
• 4/13: Another day's pilgrammage to the Blue Hills.  Today I skied the entire Westside with side trips to Audie Lake & from Letter K north.  I recommend it to anyone that wants to leave the beaten track. --Ladysmith, WI
• 4/17: The heavy wet snow that fell 3 days ago provided a new surface which this morning's colder temperatures transformed into a firm crust.  Skating over it was fantastic, so much better than what I expected to find. --Ladysmith, WI
• 4/19: Getting Out There for a classic ski.  AMAZING. --Rice Lake, WI
• 4/24: Eastside crust ski was wonderfully fast on the ski over to the Westside & to Audie Lake.  Saw very large paw prints in the snow (wolf?).  The return ski was slower in the soft snow in the sun.  All in all a wonderful spring ski. --Eau Claire, WI
• 4/25: It ain't over 'til it's over!  Skied much of the Eastside on an unbroken crust covered with a centimeter of new snow, which decorated the twigs & branches of all the hilltop trees - until the sun melted it. --Ladysmith, WI
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A generous snowfall one week ago (February 22nd) initially created 'too soft' conditions despite abundant grooming. Several days later, sunshine and  freeze thaw cycles created an icy glaze, 'too hard'. With the immaculate grooming performed yesterday (Feb. 28), the trails were 'just right'. Goldilocks is pleased. Should be a great weekend in the Hills, give those skis another go-around!‍

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Recent comments from the logbook in the warming house

• 2/18: Loved it!  --Cadott, WI
• 2/18: Enjoyed snowshoe trail. --Eau Claire, WI
• 2/18: Me & my honey. --Rio de Janero, Brazil
• 2/18: Nice day, good snow. --Hudson, FL
• 2/18: Loved the snowshoe trail!  Beautiful 38 degree day!  Thank you for the warm welcome. --Hudson, WI
• 2/20: Best conditions I've skied this winter.  Right up there with the Methow Valley in Washington State. --Sumner, WA
• 2/21: Super grooming! --Madison, WI
• 2/23: Avoiding Birkie crowd in Hayward.  It's just us & the groomer! --Minneapolis, MN
• 2/23: Silence of the North - it's deafening! --Ladysmith, WI
• 2/23: Ahhhh!  The Blue Hills Trail - where the grooming is swoon worthy.  Where every skier can imagine they've won the Birkie!  Thanks to the groomers. --Ladysmith, WI
• 2/23: I'm so blessed!  Wonderful trails - This IS the Life :-)  3 hours of  solitude & beauty. --Chetek, WI
• 2/23: We are so Lucky to have such Great trails!  Thanks to ALL involved! --Ladysmith, WI
• 2/23: The trails are great!  Thanks so much for all your hard work! --Madison, WI
• 2/25: Skate deck firming up nicely.  My last Midwest ski for year :-(  Back to the Cascade concrete.  Hope the snow here holds out thru March. --Sumner, WA
• 2/26: "Spring skiing" is here!  Cool nights, mild days, soft breezes, & fresh corduroy in the Hills - thanks again groomers!!!--Ladysmith, WI
• 2/26: Great skiing today!  It's good to get back here! --Barron, WI
• 2/26: Excellent classic tracks!  The conditions don't get any better. --Exeland, WI
• 2/26: The speed on the skate deck sped up nicely after the sun went down.  Nice post Birkie ski. --Bruce, WI
• 2/28: Waiting all year for a ski like today's!  Totally under control when screaming fast coming around the curve at the bottom of Rut Road.  Yeeee Hawww! --Ladysmith, WI

We were able to enjoy a few more hours of  fun skiing in the Blue Hills this morning. The weather forecast suggests we are done grooming for the winter of 2011-12.Here's a bit of a recap:

1. We started grooming on December 4th, & have skied in the Hills regularly since then (a total of 98 days on groomed snow).
2. We groomed a total of 39 times.
3. December was dry, allowing only 5 opportunities to groom - but we kept skiing on our rock skis.
4. January snowfall picked up, groomers worked on 17 days that month.
5. February was drier again, requiring 11 days of grooming.
6. March produced our only decent snowstorm - & another 6 days of grooming.

We owe a big thank you to our groomers. Equipment break downs and mechanical problems were handled efficiently & never compromised the grooming. Thank you to Dan Bartels, Steve Gest, & Jesse Wimer for capturing every available snowflake & saving the winter of 2011-12! It certainly was an unusual winter (warm & dry). Fortunately, we were lucky to receive just enough snow to enjoy fun conditions for most of 3 months. Welcoming the many happy skiers that traveled to find snow in the Blue Hills was very rewarding.

‍Recent comments from the logbook in the warming house

• 3/8: Great ski today all alone!  Thanks to the groomers for all the great work this winter.  Hate to see it end. --Ladysmith, WI
• 3/9: Awesome! --author's location unknown
• 3/10: Got going 7:30 a.m. when "the window" was still closed & locked.  Thanks to yesterday's grooming (by Dan the man) we threw the window open 'til it started to get slow ~9:30.  What fun! --Ladysmith, WI
• 3/10: Another fabulous year in the Hills.  Thank you to the crew! --Barron, WI
• 3/10: Great spring skiing.  Thanks. --Minneapolis, MN
• 3/11: Great hike thru woods.  Stayed off trails.  This is what makes real outdoors men & women. --author's location unknown
• 3/13: Just checkin' out old playground. --author's location unknown
• 3/13: I was able to ski out the 'gravel road' about 2.5 km, crossing two short bare sections. to a wide melted out area then returned. --Ladysmith, WI
• 3/23: Snow completely gone - can you believe it! --Rice Lake, WI

True wintry conditions were enjoyed by a surprising number of skiers Monday morning (March 5th) - & again Tuesday morning.  Obviously these skiers have been watching their calendar and the weather reports.  Cross country skiing of this quality has been sorely lacking this winter.  If you missed out, take a look at a video submitted by a Tuesday morning skier (turn the volume way down if you find southerly breezes disturbing).‍

Recent comments from the logbook in the warming house

• 3/4: Mankind speaks & I long for the whispering silence of the forest; the forest speaks & I forget the clamoring voices of mankind. --author's location unknown
• 3/4: XC skiing for us is one of the most glorious parts of living in northern Wisconsin. Thanks so much to the Blue Hills Bunch for saving winter 2011-12. --author's location unknown
• 3/4: The Lion the Witch & the Wardrobe - Through the Wardrobe into the Winter Magic of the Blue Hills beautifully groomed. --author's location unknown
• 3/5: Monday morning & there were at least 5 cars in the parking lot when we arrived! The conditions were fabulous!! Thank you groomers! --Ladysmith, WI
• 3/5: It was all worth the long wait this snowless winter just to ski on the trail today! Thanks to the groomers & Mother Nature. --Eau Claire & Ladysmith, WI

Freeze-thaw cycles have created a crusty hardpack base.  With temps starting at 14° F, grooming was a challenge early this morning - tough to penetrate that frozen surface.  Almost the entire Eastside skate lane yielded to the knives on the grooming implement, producing enough of a loose surface for skate skiers to ski with abandon.  Rocket fast skating lasted throughout the morning, slightly sticky conditions didn't show until about noon.

Looking at the parking lot by the warming house, this was the place to be! Nice to know that all those skiers don't find themselves crowded while exploring this lovely trail system - they just seem to disappear among the many different loops. If we groom it, will they come? More grooming planned for tomorrow morning!

‍Recent comments from the logbook in the warming house

• 1/29: Beautiful day & trails were so nice!  We especially appreciated the tasty caramel corn! :)  --Chetek, WI
• 1/31: I came to see your wonderful forest! and ski track! --Switzerland
• 1/31: Beautiful grooming!  The Westside was outstanding! --Ladysmith, WI
• 1/31: Skijoured the Westside/team effort/excellent snow! --Rice Lake, WI
• 2/2: That infamous groundhog - BLUE HILLS BILL - couldn't find his shadow anywhere!  Better ski while you can.  Great fun today! --Ladysmith, WI
• 2/2: Very nice.  1st time. --St. Croix Falls, WI
• 2/2: Amazingly good skiing!  Thanks. --author's location unknown
• 2/3: Back again today for some great skiing! --Amery, WI
• 2/3: A little icy at the start, but great "spring" skiing as the sun came out.  Great job groomers, we appreciate your hard work. --Apple Valley, MN
• 2/4: Possible the BEST ski of the season - perhaps my life!  Woo Hoo!  The best line of the week: Groomer replying to person asking how he made the grooming so good, "I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you."  Thank you groomers for scratching up the surface. --Ladysmith, WI
• 2/4: Wow!  Good edge control and blazing fast!  Thanks to everybody that makes these trails GO! --Ladysmith, WI

Local groundhog Blue Hills Bill didn't see his shadow this morning. "You call this winter?"

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Blue Hills Bill spent the past six weeks,

Sunbathing beneath a big tree;

It's been too warm to call this a winter,

And Bill has some advice for thee:

"Do not hesitate,

go ski the Hills now,

'Cause my shadow

I could not see;

Enjoy those trails

while they're covered with snow,

This winter has

perplexed even me!"

The winter of 2010-11 was a roller coaster ride from a weather standpoint. Temps fluctuated widely, precipitation was variable, and periodic warmups and meltdowns added to the mix. But along the way, there was abundant snowfall, great grooming, and loads of happy faces from cross country skiers on the Blue Hills Trail in northwest Wisconsin. To top it off, winter hung on and provided great crust skiing in mid/late March.

This was a great winter for snow enthusiasts, the following pictures tell the story.