One Last Gasp out of Old Man Winter

Last Thursday on April 10th, Cook County was hammered with 8-12 inches of snow! Hopefully it is the last big snow storm, as the great winter 07/08’ now comes to a close. For the season we received a total of over 85 inches of snow, compared with about 55 inches last winter. We would like to thank all our guests, visitors and staff for a terrific winter season! Lodge crewmembers Matt, Michael Jr, Amanda, and young Ben took advantage of the “fresh powder” on Saturday April 12th to ski at Lutsen Mountains for one last time. They reported that the conditions were “Mid-winter like and excellent!” It sounds like they really had a blast out there that day. Well, that snow is almost all gone now leaving just a sloppy mess in its path. The creeks and rivers have opened up and are starting to “roar!” In the next few weeks they will be upgraded to “raging” status as more snow further inland quickly melts coupled with some spring rainfall and temps in the 50’s. Should make for some great waterfall viewing very soon!

Spring Meltdown

Since the last posting, the resort has seen the snow cover shrink from more than a foot to basically nothing. A string of warm, sunny days has expedited the process. However, a nice family from the cities was able to create this “Easter snow bunny” with some of the last wet, sticky snow. Excellent job kids! The stately front lawns of Cascade Lodge and the Cascade House get some of the most direct sunlight in the county; hence they are now snow-free. Several deer all at once can be seen browsing the lawn grass after sunset. This time of year deer metabolism increases dramatically after the long, cold winter. They come down to the shoreline in droves to forage because there is still lots of snow back in the woods. Food along the shore is now readily available for them to feast on. There is still a nice base of snow for spring cross country skiing on most sections of the trails, especially further inland at the Deer Yard Lake system. The conditions should likely hold for a least another week or so. We are keeping our fingers crossed! Lutsen Mountains is skiing great and is open through the weekend of April 4-6th and will be open one last time on April 12 -13th for the “Mountain Meltdown.” Many fun events are planned including an outdoor concert! So get your skiing in now before it’s too late and have to wait until next year!