We are excited to announce our grooming badge program to the general public. The program aims to raise money in support of our cross-country ski grooming program. TART grooms the Vasa Pathway and Leelanau Trail for cross-country skiing. The purpose of the grooming badge program is to provide sufficient funding to pay for trail grooming personnel, equipment, maintenance and program office support.
Grooming badges can be purchased online for $100 here or at the TART Trails office located in Old Town Traverse City. Grooming badge supporters will receive regular emailed grooming reports and a pin that supporters can proudly display on their favorite ski jacket.
TART owns high-tech grooming equipment that is used throughout the grooming season to prepare the trails for skiing. The burly LMC snowcat grooms a 12-foot corridor that sets both a skating lane and classic tracks. TART also owns three snowmobiles with grooming drags and an ASV Track Truck. Typically, the Vasa Pathway is groomed 3-4 times a week. The Leelanau Trail is generally groomed once a week, usually on Friday. TART Trails' executive director Bob Otwell adds, "If you are a cross-country skier who uses the groomed Vasa Pathway or the Leelanau Trail, please consider supporting the grooming program. It is a great resource for our community."
Grooming Reports:
TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report #27
1-3-2008
Paul will start grooming the Vasa trail Sunday morning starting at 5:30AM. This could change depending on the temperature and snow conditions at the start and during the groom. He will be using the LMC and is planning on grooming all loops and resetting the Classic tracks. If the temperatures rise too high or the snow becomes too wet he may have to abandon the groom after completing a loop and return to the trailhead. He will start on the 5K Headwaters trail, then do the 11K loop and the 25K loop finishing on the 3K Meadows trail if the conditions permit.
Jim
TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report # 26
1-2-2009
Doug will start grooming the Vasa Trail Saturday morning at 6:30AM with the LMC. He will groom all loops starting with the 5K Headwaters Trail then the 11K loop and finish on the 25K loop. He will reset Classic Tracks on all loops. He will groom the 3K Meadows Trail if possible.
Glen reported that it was not snowing when he started his groom on Friday morning but that it snowed steadily while he was on the trail. By the time he finished 3-4 inches of new snow had fallen and the trail looked as though it had not been groomed.
Jim
1/2/09 #25 Leelanau Grooming report
Happy New Year skiers,
Dave is filling in for Mark this season on the Leelanau Trail. He has been out grooming the Leelanau Trail all morning. He left the 4th Street Trailhead in Suttons Bay at around 10:30 a.m. There are areas with heavy drifts and 
areas that are windswept with very little snow accumulation. Along the way, he had to cut 8 trees using a chainsaw that had fallen with the recent high winds, so needless to say, it has been pretty slow-going today. Dave groomed to the Cherry Bend Trailhead and is headed back to Suttons Bay. He just finished up in Suttons Bay a few minutes ago. The entire trail is groomed for skate and classic skiing. The conditions are beautiful. For anyone looking for a skiing adventure on the west side of town, consider starting at the Cherry Bend Trailhead, head north and experience 2.2 miles of groomed trail before you get to the first road crossing!
Also, the Cherry Bend trailhead has been plowed several times this winter by a volunteer (THANKS!) and was just plowed again yesterday.
Have a great weekend,
Missy
TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report #24
1-2-2009
Glen started grooming this morning at 6:00AM. He reports that only a trace of new snow has fallen at the trailhead since the last groom. He will be using the Snowmobile and Ginzu to touch up the skating lane on all loops. He will leave the existing Classic tracks. He will start on the 5K Headwaters trail, then groom the 11K loop before moving on to the 25K loop. If necessary he will groom the 3K Meadows trail when he finishes with the other loops.
Jim
TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report #23
!2/30/2008
Paul will start grooming the Vasa trail at 6:30AM Wednesday morning. Snow has been falling for several hours and is expected to continue overnight. The temperatures are low enough so that the trail has set up and he will try to use the LMC. He will attempt to mix the fresh snow into the existing base. He will start on the 5K loop, and then move to the 11K and the 25K loops. If there is enough base left on the 3K Meadows trail he will finish on that. He will reset Classic tracks on all loops.
Happy New Year.
Jim
TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report #22
12-29-2008
Paul, Doug and Glen finished clearing large debris and trees from the 5, 11, and 25K loops this afternoon. They reported the skating was OK and the Classic tracks were shallow. The new snow was clogging the Ginzu's and they were unable to dig into the base very deep. They also reported that there were still a lot of leaves, sticks and bark on the trail. They reported that a 4WD vehicle had crossed the trail at the Holiday Hill road crossing while the snow was warm leaving deep ruts across the trail in that area. They shoveled snow into the ruts but skiers should use caution in that area.
Another area to be cautious around is on the 25K loop near the 12K post (near the rock), logging operations are in progress in that area and skiers should be aware of possible equipment crossing the trail or other hazards. Caution signs have been placed on the trail in the affected area.
As of now the forecast calls for cold temperatures overnight with little or no new snow. Tomorrow calls for 1-3 inches of new snow during the day and another 1-3 inches tomorrow night. If this happens then the next groom will probably take place on Wednesday morning. We still need colder temperatures and new snow to groom with the LMC.
Jim
TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report #21
12/28/2008
Paul, Doug and Glen will start clearing and grooming the Vasa Trail tomorrow at 9:00AM. With the high winds earlier today they expect to find lots of debris and probably a few trees down on the trail so they will wait until daylight for operating the chain saws. They will concentrate on the 5 and 10K loops and get them in the best shape possible. They will be using snowmobiles and Ginzu’s as the temperature has not been low enough long enough to refreeze the trail hard enough for the LMC. The temperature is forecast to rise above freezing tomorrow so they may not be able to clear and groom the entire trail system before the snow starts clogging the equipment. If you plan on skiing tomorrow, wait as long as possible to start and plan on the best conditions on the 5 and 10K loops first.
Jim
TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report #20
12/26/2008
When I checked the weather last night it said that little or no snow was expected overnight and that temperatures would be above freezing with freezing drizzle by noon. When I arrived at the trailhead to go skiing I found between 2 and 3 inches of new snow had fallen (much more than in town) and the temperatures were in the 20s. Surprise!!
I groomed the 5K and 11K loops with the snowmobile and Ginzu starting at about 9:00AM. I made two passes on the skating lane and one more to set Classic tracks. By the time I finished snow was starting to clog the Ginzu so I was unable to make a pass on the 25K or Meadows Trail. The weatherman is calling for above freezing temperatures overnight and much warmer with rain tomorrow.
We will not be able to groom until the temperature falls below freezing again and the trail has a chance to refreeze. If the temperatures get too warm and the rain becomes heavy, please stay off the trails. The skate marks left in soft snow are hard to remove after the surface refreezes.
Jim
TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report #19
12/24/2008
I will start grooming tonight at 8:00PM. I will use the LMC and groom all loops starting with the 5k Headwaters Trail and finishing with the 25K loop. I will reset Classic tracks on all trails. The original plan was to groom this morning. The new snow that was supposed to fall overnight did not happen and there was only a dusting at the trailhead. With more snow in the forecast and temperature predictions in the 30's, I decided to do a quick touchup groom with the snowmobile on the heavily used 5 and 11K loops and do a full groom after today's snow and during tonight's colder temperatures.
The forecast is for warmer temperatures on Friday and Saturday with a mix of snow and freezing rain. If the weatherman is correct this may be the last groom until Sunday.
Merry Christmas and if your plans include skiing enjoy the trail.
Jim
TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report #18
12-22-2008
Glen started grooming the Vasa Trail this morning at 6:00AM with the LMC. He reported about 5-6 inches of new snow had fallen at the trailhead since yesterdays groom. The temperature at the time he started was 15 degrees. The forecast for today calls for occasional snow with diminishing winds and a high of 19. He will groom all loops starting with the 5K Headwaters Trail, then the 11K loop, moving on to the 25K loop and finishing on the 3K Meadows Trail. He will reset Classic tracks on all trails.
Jim
TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report #17
12-20-2008
The plan is for Doug to start grooming the Vasa trail Sunday morning at 7:00AM. He does not want to start too early as there is a winter storm watch in effect from midnight tonight until 5:00AM on Monday with the potential for significant snow. Check the weather in the morning and plan your ski accordingly. He will groom all loops with the LMC. He will start with the 5K Headwaters Trail then the 11K loop and the 25K loop before finishing on the 3K Meadows Trail.
Skiers may notice some deep ruts and sand on the 11K loop near the 6K sign. Late Friday or early Saturday morning someone with a four wheel drive vehicle got onto the trail and drove between the power lines at the 5K post to the bottom of the hill near the 6K post. They got stuck trying to climb the hill and turned around and got stuck at the bottom of the next hill. It took 3 passes with the LMC and quite a bit of shoveling to repair the damage. The trail is repaired but there are still some deep ruts just off the trail. Please use caution in that area. Just a reminder, if you see anyone with a motorized vehicle on the trail, try to get the license number or registration number and call the DNR or the TART office.
Jim
TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report #16
12/20/2008
I will start grooming the Vasa trail this morning at 4:00AM with the LMC. The system snow that fell yesterday was heavier than the lake effect snow that we have been receiving and should pack down nicely. I will be starting with the 5K Headwaters Trail before moving on to the 11K loop and should finish with the 25K loop around 10:00AM. I will be setting Classic tracks on all loops. With temperatures in the single digits and probably below zero on parts of the trail this morning it should not take long for the snow to set up.
I will make the decision on whether to groom the 3K Meadows Trail after I return to the barn. We are still not sure if there is enough snow for the LMC on this loop.
Jim
12/19/2008
Hello Skiers,
What a snowfall today! Both the Leelanau and Vasa Trails will be groomed tomorrow morning.
Paul will groom the Leelanau Trail beginning at 9:00 am. He's filling in for Mark who is immobile at the moment due to slip and fall accident. He is ok, but will be on crutches for some time. Paul will groom from Suttons Bay to the Cherry Bend Trailhead and back. The Leelanau trail will be groomed for skate and classic.
Jim plans to do a complete groom on the Vasa Pathway starting very early tomorrow morning. He plans to groom the 3, 5, 10 and 25K loops.
Have a great weekend,
Missy
12-17-2008
Glen started grooming the Vasa Trail at 6:00PM with the LMC. He groomed all loops except for the 3K Meadows trail. The snow is still too thin for the LMC on this loop. He reported from 2-4 inches of new snow had fallen since our last groom yesterday. This was enough to cover up most of the debris that had fallen during the windstorm on Monday that we exposed during the last groom. He mixed the new snow in with the frozen base as best that he could and with the temperature at 17 degrees the trail should set up nicely for tomorrow. He finished grooming at 11:15PM and reported that he saw several skiers while grooming.
Jim
12-16-2008
Doug and I will start grooming this morning at 8:00AM. The late start is so that if we need to remove trees that may have fallen during yesterdays wind we can operate the chain saws in the daylight. We will not be able to determine what equipment we will be using until we get to the trailhead. Right now we are planning on using a snowmobile and Ginzu on areas that were low snow before the thaw and the LMC on the rest of the trail. We would advise skiers to wait as long as possible before heading out to the trail today to give us a chance to get the trail back in shape. We will be starting on the 5K loop then moving to the 11K, and finishing on the 25K loop.
Jim
12-15-2008
With temperatures continuing to rise last night until falling below freezing around 4:00AM, We have decided to allow the base to refreeze solid before we venture out on the Vasa Trail with any grooming equipment. The equipment we use will be determined by how much base remains and how much new snow falls. Since it is very windy now the chance of trees falling across the trail are high. We will not be grooming until at least daylight tomorrow morning.
For those of you that decide to ski today please be aware that although many of the ski trails located on private property (Champion Hills, Hanson Hills, and X-C Ski Headquarters) were closed yesterday and today, the Vasa Trail is located on state land and is always open. The biggest problem with that is when people use the trail (walkers or skiers) when the snow is soft they leave footprints or skate marks in the soft snow. When the temperature drops these freeze creating potentially dangerous conditions for skiers who use the trail before we have a chance to groom them out.
Jim
12/12/2008
Paul and Glen will be touching up all loops with the snowmobiles and Ginzu’s tomorrow morning (Saturday) starting at 6:30AM. They will start on the 5K then move on to the 11K and finish with the 25K loop. They will set new Classic tracks if needed and also try to groom the 3K Meadows trail.
Tomorrow looks like the best day of the weekend for skiing according to the weatherman, so get out and enjoy the trails. With temperatures not expected to get below freezing on Saturday night and highs on Sunday in the 40’s we will not be grooming again until it gets cold enough.
Happy snowy Friday!
Mark Pleune called in from the Leelanau Trail this morning. He started from the 4th Street Trailhead in Suttons Bay at 7:30 a.m. this morning and groomed 4 miles south to Fort Road where, unfortunately, the groomer is broken down. A lot of new snow has fallen since his full trail groom last Saturday. If Mark gets the groomer fixed and back up and running, he will try to complete a full groom down to Cherry Bend yet this weekend.
Current plans are to groom the Vasa Pathway tomorrow morning beginning at 6:00 a.m.
Have a great weekend and enjoy this wonderful Up North weather!
Missy
12/11/2008
I will be grooming the Vasa trail this morning starting at 4:00AM. I will be using the LMC as we continue to compress the snow we have received over the past 10 days. I will be grooming the entire trail system starting on the 5K loop, then moving to the 11K loop and finishing on the 25K loop. I will reset Classic Tracks on all loops. I will make the decision on whether to groom the 3K Meadows Trail when I finish with the other loops. I may need to groom that loop with the snowmobile and Ginzu.
Jim
12/10/2008
Glen started grooming the Vasa Pathway with the LMC this morning at 5:20AM. He reported about 2 inches of new snow had fallen at the trailhead since yesterdays groom and a temperature of 22 degrees. He will be grooming the entire trail system using the LMC with the possible exception of the 3K Meadows Trail. He will start with the 5K Headwaters Trail, then move onto the 11K loop and finish with the 25K loop. He will be resetting the Classic tracks.
Jim
12/09/2008
Doug and Glen started grooming the Vasa Pathway this morning at 7:30AM. Doug was in the LMC and is doing the 5, 11, and 25K loops with the exception of the area by the bridge and the area on the 25K loop between the 4K and the 7K posts. Glen groomed those as well as the 3K Meadows Trail with the snowmobile. They reported 3 to 5 inches of new snow had fallen on the trail and that it was still snowing heavily at 10:00AM. The good news is that the new snow will probably be enough to allow us to be able to groom the entire trail with the LMC for the next groom. The new snow was wet and causing some problems with the grooming equipment.
Jim
12/7/2008
When the groomers arrived at the Vasa trailhead on Saturday morning only about ½ inch of new snow was on the Vasa trail after the Friday groom. With more snow in the forecast for the day on Saturday they decided not to groom Saturday morning. Waiting to groom also gives the existing base a chance to set up better and the ground below the snow to freeze.
Those who skied Friday or Saturday may have noticed the Classic tracks were set on the opposite side of the trail on the 11K and 25K loops. Dick and I groomed these portions of the trail in reverse on Friday. This allows us to widen the trail a little more, provide a chance for the entire width of the trail to receive equal packing and to move the snow over some of the high/low spots from a different direction hopefully creating a more consistent base. This also allows us Classic skiers to get acquainted with the trees on the other side of the trail.
With the new snowfall that came during the day on Saturday Paul is planning to take the LMC out Sunday morning at 5:00AM. There are some spots that still do not have enough base and I will groom those areas with the snowmobile and Ginzu. They include the area by the bridge and on the 25K portion between the 4K post and the 7K post. Skiers should notice a flatter trail and probably a firmer trail as well after the LMC groom. With the amount of snow we have received on some sections of the trail it will take some time to get it completely packed. Continued grooming, temperature, new snowfall, and skier traffic will all help to determine how long it will take to get packed.
We have groomed 4 out of the past 6 days for a total of 72 man hours on the Vasa trail so far this season.
Jim
12/5/2008
Dick and I will start grooming the Vasa Pathway this morning at 7:00AM. We will be using the snowmobiles and Ginzu’s and trying to level, pack and widen the trail further. We will be setting Classic tracks whenever possible. We will be grooming the 5K loop first, then the 10K followed by the 25K loops. The 3K loop is still pretty thin and we will not groom there unless we received some good snow in that area.
Paul and Glen reported that the trail was looking good and that about 6 inches of new snow had fallen on portions of the 25K. Other sections of the trail received less.
Jim
12/04/2008
Paul and Glen will start grooming the Vasa Pathway today at 10AM. After yesterday’s warm temperatures and slushy snow we wanted to wait for the snow to set up and freeze before we attempted to groom again. They will be using the snowmobiles and will decide on the proper drag (Ginzu or roller) after they arrive at the trailhead and see what works best for the conditions. They will be concentrating on leveling the trail and widening it wherever possible. They will also be setting Classic tracks where possible.
Jim
12/03/2008
It was another long day on the Vasa trail yesterday for Paul and I. Packed snow depths on the trail range from barely covered on the 3K Meadows Trail to 9 inches on the 25K loop. Most of the trail system has from 2 to 5 inches of packed base. Yesterday we concentrated on widening, leveling and packing the trail. Yesterday the new snow since Mondays groom ranged from 1-5 inches. The snow remains somewhat slippery and steering control of the snowmobiles was less than good. Also the snow has not bonded with the ground in most spots and it is very easy to slip the track and bring up dirt. The best conditions will be on the 5 and 10K loops while parts of the 25K loop will remain soft.
With temperatures already above freezing and predicted to remain there for the day we have decided not to groom today. The warm temperatures cause the grooming equipment to clog up. The weather forecast calls for temperatures to fall after today and more snow to arrive. We will continue to use the snowmobiles and Ginzu’s to groom with until we get a 4-5 inch base built up over the trail and the ground to freeze then we can use the LMC. Any less base and the tracks on the LMC will bring up dirt.
Jim
12/2/08
Yesterdays groom of the Vasa system could be best described as long, cold and wet. The heavy wet snow that fell overnight Sunday caused many trees to be bent over the trail loaded with snow. It also caused hundreds of branches to fall onto the trail and several trees to come down. We spent much of our time removing debris and shaking the snow off of trees so that they would spring back to vertical. We used three snowmobiles to pack the trail first then we ran the roller and Ginzu to flatten the snow.
Snow depths varied over the trail system with the trailhead receiving 6-8 inches and portions of the 25K loop receiving 10-12 inches of new snow. Portions of the 3K Meadows trail received only about 2-3 inches.
Paul and I will start grooming this morning at 6:00AM. We will be using snowmobiles with two Ginzu’s in an attempt to further pack, widen and level the trail. Skiers will notice that areas of the trail with heavier snowfall will continue to be softer than areas with less snow but each groom and skier traffic will help to pack the entire trail consistently. We will be setting Classic tracks whenever possible and should be successful in most areas with the possible exception of the first downhill when leaving the trailhead. When setting tracks yesterday in this area we brought up some dirt. We will once again be starting on the 5K loop then moving on to the 10K loop and finishing on the 25K loop. We will probably not be grooming the 3K Meadows trail again today unless snow fell in that area overnight.
Jim
12/1/08
Hello Skiers--
December arrives with a wintry blast! Wow! 6-8 inches of snow have accumulated at the Vasa trailhead as of 6AM. Paul, Glen and Jim started grooming this morning at 6:00AM. They are using snowmobiles and Ginzu’s to pack and level the trail. It’s slow-going as there are many trees and branches down, so they have chain saws with them to clean things up along the way. They called the office at around 9:00AM and had already groomed the 5K Headwaters Trail. They are currently working on the 10K loop and have plans to complete the 25K loop. They also plan on grooming the 3K Meadows trail when they get back to the trailhead after grooming the rest of the system.
Happy trails, Missy