Winter 2015-16 arrived late, detained by a strong El Nino event. The Blue Hills Trail had two months of good skiing, shared by many fun visitors to the trails. Unfortunately, mother nature brought the ski season to an abrupt end in early March. Many thanks to all our supporters and volunteers that make this trail system so special.Here’s a bit of a recap:

• A very wet summer/fall 2015 made for difficult trail mowing; and created significant challenges due to trail erosion. In October this included one heavily damaged bridge that was successfully repaired; and abandoning another damaged bridge by rerouting a trail section (this trail revision necessitated bulldozing and hand labor). Twice we also repaired extensive trail damage from illicit off road truck traffic.
• After a discouraging warm, rainy December 2015, the trails finally received a couple inches of snow on December 24th. Another 2" of snow on December 28th allowed our groomers to start working.
• As cold weather arrived in early January, wet spots began freezing. Careful, meticulous grooming then created good skiing throughout January despite minimal snowfall. By the middle of January, conditions were mostly very good to excellent even though the base was thin. A heavy snowfall on February 2nd allowed grooming of the entire trail system and provided excellent conditions until icy trails developed following a record warm day on February 27th.
• This year's "Blue Hills Trail Fun Day" was loads of fun: a potluck full moon party on Saturday January 23rd that was very well attended. We enjoyed temps in the 20s, a roaring campfire, drum circle rhythm, great food, and good skiing conditions despite the moon hiding behind an overcast sky.
• On a warm February 19th, it rained more than half an inch; and on the 20th the trails were saturated wet and very soft after two days with temps above freezing. A skier injury on February 20th led to a local fire department rescue that required the use of a tracked ATV. The rescue was successful, but unfortunately the equipment left deep ruts that closed down about 2 miles of the groomed trails. After repairing one limited portion of the damage, we were able to use a detour of the core loop that kept everyone happy.
• With temps predicted to skyrocket beginning March 5th, we looked at the weather forecast and then groomed one last time on March 1st. Grooming equipment went to summer storage on Friday March 4th, we skied that weekend and then enjoyed one last morning of good classic skiing on March 7th as temperatures pushed 60 degrees later that afternoon.
• From December 24th through February 23rd, we received only 24 inches of snow; by early March the total for the season was only 30 inches, easily the lowest seasonal snow total since we've kept records beginning in 1999.
• We groomed a total of 36 times - and felt lucky we had enough cold weather to enjoy ourselves.
• This winter of 2015-16, we've once again enjoyed sharing the Blue Hills Trail with visitors from near and far. Thanks to everybody that helps spread the word regarding the beauty of this trail system.

A huge 'shout out' to our groomers. Equipment break downs and mechanical problems were handled efficiently & never compromised the grooming. Thank you to our primary grooming team (Steve Gest, Adam Brockman, & Jesse Wimer) - and to our occasional groomers (Mike Cragg, Ron Jasperson, Tom Paulsen, Steve P, and Dave Putnam) - for creating great memories the winter of 2015-16! A sincere thank you to our diverse group of members, volunteers and supporters - you're the best.

January 2, 2016 cross country skiing on the 'Gravel Road' at the Blue Hills Trail

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Unbelievable!  It keeps snowing, & snowing, & snowing!  Accompanied by persistent cold temps (it hasn't been above freezing for 37 days; 28 of the past 31 days have been below zero), every snowfall adds to the last.  Remember those mountainous snowbanks from your childhood winters?  Don't let your kids forget this one. Once again, tip your hat to our groomers when you see them out working their magic. Conditions have been uniformly wonderful, our groomers have met this winter's challenges head on. And if you notice a huge divot next to the trail, that's one of our groomers working hard to push the margins. Even the most experienced groomer gets stuck periodically - then it's time to unhitch the grooming implement, extricate the snowmobile, back up to reconnect to the grooming implement, then off to create more corduroy and set more track. It requires continuous concentration, and lots of muscle - not as easy as it looks. The Birkie is just a few days away, invite your friends to ski the Hills while visiting the area. The beauty is contagious.

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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The infamous Blue Hills Bill crawled out of his burrow this morning and delivered his annual prognostication to the awaiting crowd in downtown Bruce, Wisconsin.  Read on...

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Suffering delusions,

from weather confusion,

To his doctor did go

Blue Hills Bill;

‍For temperature tricks,

Doc offered a fix,

"You must swallow

this nasty big pill."

‍Shadow not missing,

Bill was heard hissing,

"Climate change means

it's time to adapt;‍

With snow in the Hills,

delay not your thrills,

Ski like crazy

'til you are tapped!"

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‍Comments from the crowd

• 2/2: I'm not wasting any time, heading to the Blue Hills right away! --Bruce, WI
• 2/2: Ski now or forever hold your skis. --Rice Lake, WI
• 2/2: Thanks for the advice, Bill.  Carpe diem! --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