A cold month of February is forgotten, pushed aside by an early March warm-up. However the great cross country skiing conditions the past couple months are well etched in skiers' memories. The Blue Hills microclimate was fortunate to receive adequate snowfall while nearby areas were snow starved. Temps skyrocketed beginning March 8, we looked at the weather forecast and then groomed one last time on March 11. Grooming equipment went to summer storage on March 13, and our skis did likewise. Here’s a bit of a recap:

• Fundraising in April 2014 allowed the purchase of a John Deere Gator with Camoplast tracks for use pulling our mowing and grooming implements. This past winter, groomers thoroughly enjoyed the Gator's ability to navigate the various challenges offered by the trail terrain and weather. And no one complained about operating in a heated cab.
• With an early heavy snowstorm followed by a cold month of November, we started grooming earlier than ever on November 11th, & skied in the Hills fairly regularly since then (120 consecutive days with groomed trails available). The summer and autumn of 2014 were very wet, many of the trails couldn't be groomed in November and December due to underlying unfrozen ground and/or eroded sections - but we did have 14 km of nicely groomed trails for mid-winter skiing in mid-November!
• We groomed a total of 58 times (probably a record for us).
• We survived a prolonged spell of warm, damp weather in mid December that melted much of the accumulated base. When wintry weather suddenly returned in late December, our groomers eagerly put our new John Deere Gator through its tracks and we were skiing on very good conditions by the New Year Holiday.
• After January 1, we received only 14 additional inches of snow prior to the season ending warm-up that began March 8. The snowfalls came in small amounts, just often enough to freshen the trails and help level the base. Despite a fairly dry winter, we had just enough base to maintain great conditions while pleasing the many visitors from snow starved areas to the northwest, west and south.
• The limited snowfall actually worked to the advantage of skate skiers. The skate lane was solid and fast most of the winter.
• February was persistently cold and both classic and skate skiing were consistently good.
• This year's "Blue Hills Trail Fun Day" was perfectly timed: a potluck moonlight ski event on Friday March 6 was very well attended. The previous day saw temps of -25 degrees F that morning; the evening of the moonlight ski we enjoyed temps in the 20s, a roaring campfire, great food, camaraderie, and perfect skiing conditions under the stars and a full moon.
• Despite the frequent grooming, we stayed well within budget, and had fun sharing the Blue Hills Trail with a record number of visitors.  Thanks to everybody that helps spread the word regarding the beauty of this trail system.

A huge 'shout out' to our groomers. Once again, equipment break downs and mechanical problems were handled efficiently and never compromised the grooming.  Thank you to our primary grooming team of Steve Gest, Jesse Wimer, & Adam Brockman for giving us great memories this winter of 2014-15! A sincere thank you to our diverse group of members, volunteers and supporters - your help this past year has been extremely rewarding.

It's cold outside, there's lots of snow on the ground, now's a good time to get psyched for skiing. Check out the following slide show video showing ten years of fun on the Blue Hills Trail. Get your skis waxed, come ski the Hills!‍

Grab a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, adjust your volume control, then sit back and follow the fun. See anyone you know?

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

Great fall hiking is available right now. 20+ miles of trails carefully maintained by our many volunteers.

Many thanks to the crew that turned out for the annual work day on October 15th.  On that day - and on many days in the past few weeks - volunteers have liberated most of the trail system from encroaching branches, briers, and rocks; bridges have been reinforced; creeks have become more passable; & the warming house received a good dusting.

The entire system of Westside trails was cleared on November 7th (a huge thank you to Dick P, Steve G, and Tom P). All of the remaining downed trees on the Eastside were cleared on November 8th (major thanks to Jerry W and John Z).

Earlier this summer, one of our major challenges was repair of our most important bridge. It's on the East Side of the trail system, and allows multiple trails to interconnect with the East Side Core Loop.

The following pictures are from spring/summer/fall 2011 on the Blue Hills Trail.

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.