I've been a bit busy lately, but after the big dump, it has taken some time for the skiing areas to become ski-able. I know Todd Busteed and his wife finally got out and are now hooked on x-country skiing.
For those of you interested, here is a quick update on skiing conditions locally.
Arrowhead GC (Wheaton): The GC has been groomed, but there are shallow if any tracks for classical skiing. Skating is better, but with the amount of snow and the ability to put pressure on the snow to pack it, the skating is uneven and soft in places. However there is ski rental here and you can venture into Herrick Lake.
DuPage FP (Herrick Lake, Blackwell, etc.) - No grooming has been done, but there are a LOT of skied in tracks to classic ski. Some are better than others.
Bartlett Hills GC - Has been "groomed" for classic skiing. I put quotes around groomed because in some places it is better to make your own track. However the terrain here lends itself to a VERY good workout. No rental here.
Deer Grove FP (Palatine) - I have not been out there yet, but I have heard from a reputable source that the skate road is very good and the skied in tracks around the perimeter are good. Again no rentals, but I believe that the old Bikes Plus shop on Rt 14 and Rt 59 (Village Cycle now???) does rent skis and is relatively close by.
Rockford area: I have not seen any reports about Rock Cut State Park. Sinnissippi Golf Course has been groomed for both skating and classic skiing and they are reporting very good conditions. Sinnissippi does have ski rentals (more info at http://ninordic.org )
So. Kettle (Nordic, McMiller, Scuppernong) - Conditions are very good but soft. The groomers there do an EXCELLENT job. Ski rentals can be had at the General Store in LaGrange (about 1 mile south of Nordic)
That is it for trails within an 1-1.5 hr drive.
Last weekend my family went to the Dells for a long weekend. We downhill skied on Sat at Cascade which was in fabulous shape. Then on Sunday I x-country skied at Mirror Lake State Park. Again, the DNR does a fantastic job grooming. If you ski and are going to the Dells for a long weekend, Mirror Lake is a must do. The trails are not extreme and can pretty much be skied by anyone. Lots of K's to keep yourself entertained.
Finally, two weekends ago I did the Noquemanon 50K Classic marathon race in Marquette MI. Marquette MI is located on Lake Superior in the UP and is where the Univ. of Northern MI is. This was my 9th Noque and second time I classic skied the marathon. Probably not the right choice for this race as skating would have been quicker, but it was a great training race (finished in just over 4 hrs) and will set me up quite nice for the Birkie at the end of Feb. Lots of hills and other challenging terrain. If you are looking to do a nice race, the 25K is primarily downhill from start to finish, but there are some nice climbs in that 25K. I would highly recommend this for next year if you are looking to do something new and exciting.
See you out on the trails,
Jim
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