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I thought the snow and trail condition reports from the Western U.P. Convention and Visitors Bureau were done for the year, but it's an APRIL FOOL on all of us here in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan!
LATEST SNOW AND WEATHER:
Yes! Yes! And Yes! Yes, we got the snow...best guess is anywhere from about a foot to a foot and a half or so across Big Snow Country...maybe more in the higher places. I know I blasted through a four foot bank after the plow came in Bessemer...so let's go with LOTS! Yes, our trails are open and the season has been extended until next Sunday, April 6th. And Yes, groomers will be out. Take a look at the Web Cams to see for yourself-link is on our home page at westernup.info
CURRENT TRAIL CONDITIONS:
ONE MORE TIME, TIME JUST GOT BETTER-WAY BETTER! ONE MORE WEEK OF RIDING COULD BE BEST OF SEASON.
Most trails were solid, flat and in really good shape before this snow, so this is going be riding offering up some big time fun. How often can you ride in a sweatshirt?...with temps in the mid-40's? On lots of snow?
Be aware you may into some icy areas and depending when you come you could run into a few wet places-ride accordingly...and as always slow down on corners. If you do want that ONE MORE TIME...it's now. We recommend you STAY OFF ANY LAKES... Just too iffy at this time of year...besides we have miles of trails in great shape. So don't miss this last chance-come on up-have fun-be safe!
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(This report courtesy of the Western U.P. Convention and Visitors Bureau at http://www.westernup.com)
CURRENT SNOW DEPTHS: 18 inches
LATEST SNOW AND WEATHER: In a word...PERFECT! Anywhere from 4" of fresh heavy snow on the ground at Ironwood....7" at Bessemer....the bare cross-streets are covered again...at least for now....Temps for the week are forecasted to be in the mid-30's daytime and teens at night.
If you can get away for a trip - hurry on up....we're getting down to "One More Time, Time."
CURRENT TRAIL CONDITIONS: We are being told by riders BIG SNOW COUNTRY TRAILS are the best they've been in years. We're not going to give specific  trails this time because I know all the groomers from all the clubs are going to be out with the fresh snow. And I know it's going to make for some great riding...especially this late in the season. Be aware some trails will have icy areas and you may run into a few wet places-ride accordingly...and as always slow down on corners.
Overall, I think you'll be surprised at the condition of our trails. The season ends officially March 31st, so don't pass up this chance to get out and ENJOY!
As always, check with your lodging facility on ice depth and conditions before venturing out on any Lake, especially now. Come on up-have fun-be safe!
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WESTERN U.P. SNOWMOBILE REPORT
March 14, 2008
CURRENT SNOW DEPTHS: 18
LATEST SNOW AND WEATHER:
while daytime temps are mild, nighttime temps in the teens firm things up nicely, thank you very much. Even a few flakes falling now and then. Conditions this season have really been amazing, according to riders across the big snow country trail system. However, it's mid-March folks, and we're getting down to "One More Time, Time."
CURRENT TRAIL CONDITIONS:
ON ALL BIG SNOW COUNTRY TRAILS: some trails will have icy areas...slow down especially on the corners.
From the Gogebic Range Trail Authority: groomers out on all trails every day or night-all are good to very good.
From Lake Gogebic: Grooming daily-trails in good to very good condition but again, you will find some icy areas-watch for a few bare spots.
Silver City: Low traffic has kept trails in great shape with the exception of in and out of Silver City. #1 from the intersection of 12 to Lake of the Clouds good with that exception...a few spots of water from 11 to the ski hill on 1...11 from the head of 11N is good to very good.
Ontonagon trails are groomed with good coverage and in good to very good condition.
Watersmeet trails groomed and they're reporting good to very good shape.
Overall, I think you'll be surprised at the condition of our trails. While the season ends officially March 31st, I wouldn't pass up this chance to get out and ENJOY!
As always, check with your lodging facility on ice depth and conditions before venturing out on any Lake, especially now.
Come on up-have fun-be safe!
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From the Western UP Convention & Visitor Center (http://www.westernup.com)
CURRENT SNOW DEPTHS: 19 inches
LATEST SNOW AND WEATHER: Forecast looking good with cold nights and mild days. We have a little more fresh snow, super bases, great grooming and the entire western U.P. Trail System is just about as good as it gets. If you're planning one trip, don't hesitate to head on up.
CURRENT TRAIL CONDITIONS: Nothing has really changed...Trails across the whole area overall are Good to Very Good to Excellent. All depends when and where you choose to ride. They really are in primo condition.
From the Gogebic Range Trail Authority: All groomers out on all trails; trail 2 is freshly groomed and good to very good condition. The rest of the trails are in very good condition.
From Lake Gogebic: All groomers out on the entire system everyday and conditions reported very good.
Silver City: Plenty of new snow has trails in very good condition.
Ontonagon: tells us with more fresh snow trails are groomed and in very good condition.
Watersmeet: has all trails in great shape and trails are in very good condition.
Bruce Crossing: Trails good to very good; watch for icy corners.
BE AWARE: Tickets are being issued for illegal behavior and sleds, including trespassing, not stopping at stop signs, riding illegal railroad grades and loud or altered exhausts. Just obey the laws and you'll be fine. As always, check with your lodging facility on ice depth and conditions before venturing out on any Lake. Big Snow Country trails are the best they've been in years- Don't miss out these outstanding conditions...Come on up-have fun-be safe!
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If you're planning a trip to Ironwood or Hurley over the long President's Day weekend here is the weather and trail conditions report thanks to the Western U.P. Convention and Visitors Bureau.
LATEST SNOW AND WEATHER: The snow on the ground at the Ironwood measuring station is now officially 15"...Forecast normal and President's weekend looks like a super time to come play. CURRENT TRAIL CONDITIONS: Snow, Cold and Lighter than usual traffic has the trails in great shape. From the Gogebic Range Trail Authority: All groomers out - trail 2 freshly groomed and good-rest of system said to have good snow and in real good shape.
From Lake Gogebic: All groomers out on the entire system and conditions reported good to very good. Heads up! You MUST follow the rules if you don't want a ticket. This means STOP at Stop Signs-rolling stops do not count. Stop. Tickets are being issued. Also-it is illegal to ride active railroad grades-ditto about the tickets. Silver City: Plenty of new snow has trails in very good condition. Trail 1 from White Pine to Silver City and to the Ski Hill still have a few icy patches under the snow. Ontonagon tells us trails are groomed and in good to very good condition. Watersmeet has all trails in great shape and trails are in very good condition. We are continually hearing our Big Snow Country trails are the best they've been in years- PLEASE NOTE: As always, you need to check with your lodging facility on ice depth and conditions before venturing out on any Lake. Don't miss out the outstanding conditions...Come on up-have fun-be safe!
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We’ve all heard the old adage of “real estate is all about location, location, location” right? Well, twice in the past 2 weeks, real estate became all about location to me, in a very personal way! The outside walls to both bathrooms in my house face west and I learned the hard way about frozen pipes.
On January 29th, Ironwood and Hurley had sub-zero temperatures with a wind chill of -52 (severe NW winds); I woke up to a non-functioning sink in my upstairs bath. A couple hours later I was dealing with a burst pipe and water pouring into a downstairs bedroom closet, down through the heat ducts and a rainfall in my basement! After a minute of running around the house in a panic, I thought to shut off the main water valve into the house and the rainfall stopped shortly afterwards.
Once the contractor I generally use for home improvement and fixits showed up, he gave me the bad news that I don’t have any way to access my plumbing. So we started by sawing a hole in my bedroom wall, which backs up to the bathroom sink and found out that the pipes we could reach there were fine, but the rest of the pipes were underneath the bathroom floor. Fortunately, we could cut a hole in the downstairs bedroom closet and he got to the burst pipe to make the fix. He filled the cavity with spray foam insulation and made access panels for the holes in the walls. I had to wash down walls and windows from all the super fine plaster dust that happened from cutting and got the carpets cleaned too.
On February 9th, Ironwood again had sub-zero weather with massive NW winds and a wind chill of more than -40. I woke up around 2:30 am, heard the wind and thought perhaps I should turn on the bathroom sink faucet, just to make sure. Oops, already frozen. I just shut off the main valve and went back to bed. Thankfully, my contractor will work on Sundays and he was able to open the access panel, use a hair dryer to thaw the pipe and get my water running again.
And why did the pipes freeze? This is my 3rd winter in the house and we’ve had weather like this before. Best we can figure out is that I have an exhaust fan mounted on the upper part of the wall in my downstairs bathroom and when the wind hit in the right direction it swirled through that and up a couple of feet to the pipes upstairs. And based on how my walls feel to the touch, it’s pretty obvious I don’t have the best insulation between the walls and the siding on the house!
We thought the foam insulation he added would work and it turned out the cavity he had filled was OK, but the cold air moved into another cavity between the upstairs floor and downstairs ceiling. So for a temporary fix (it being a Sunday), we stuffed all the openings with several of my dog’s kennel pads and I’ll leave the faucet running very slowly. Once the weather warms up enough (hopefully in the next couple of days) he’ll take a look at creating some sort of cover for the exhaust vent on the outside of the house and will insulate further into pipes.
Moral of this story? If you live here already, own a recreational property, or are looking at moving to the “great up north” make sure you know where your main water valve is; make sure you know how to turn off the water to sinks and toilets and that the handles aren’t so rusted/corroded that you can’t; think about where your pipes are located – inside walls or outside walls and can you access them in a hurry; find out how much insulation is in your house; check how much draft you get from your windows – basement windows too; and most importantly, make sure you’ve paid the premium on your home owners’ insurance policy!
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Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan (and northern Wisconsin)
Baby, it's cold outside! That about sums up the past week in Ironwood, MI and Hurley, WI with sub-zero tempatures being the norm. Predictions are for a warm up by this weekend though, along with some fresh snow. The weather doesn't seem to slow down the snowmobilers or skiers very much as I've fielded plenty of calls from people wanting to look at homes while they're "up north" for the weekend. If you're not familar with this part of the Upper Peninsula, we're a desination spot for vacationers looking for winter recreation. Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis seem to bring us most of "part-time residents." Between skiers looking at chalets and condominiums at the 4 area ski hills and snowmobilers checking out older "fixer-uppers" in the local neighborhoods our real estate activity has been pretty steady this season.
The following infomation is recapped from the HurleyWI.com website:
Trail Conditions
January 22, 2008
CURRENT SNOW DEPTHS: 20"
LATEST SNOW AND WEATHER:
The official word from the Wastewater Treatment Plant is now 20" of snow on the ground at Ironwood bringing our season total to date to 110". Varying amounts all around Big Snow Country. A chance of snow remains in the forecast- Temps are expected to be in the 20's starting Friday. (Yay!)
CURRENT TRAIL CONDITIONS:
Gogebic Range Trail Authority has had big time groomer problems-they are being addressed and they hope to be and running on all trails by Wednesday night so the system will be freshly groomed for the weekend.
All Lake Gogebic groomers are out on the entire system and they say trails are in great condition-best they've been. Remember to stay off the active Railroad Grades...it is illegal to ride them and you stand a good chance of getting a ticket.
Silver City reporting conditions good to very good-was going to get specific trail conditions for you, but with all the fresh snow and nightly grooming, all are in great shape.
Ontonagon groomers out and again, with the lake effect snow, say trails are the best they've been in years. Traffic has continued to be light, keeping them smooth and in great shape.
Watersmeet groomers are out and are reporting trails good to very good.
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