Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
THERE'S A solid snow base to the trailhead area at the ABR Trails near Ironwood on Saturday.
By RALPH ANSAMI
Ironwood - Groom it and they will come.
The parking lots at the Active Backroads Retreat trails off West Pioneer Road, near Norrie Park, were full Saturday morning as cross country skiers got a jump on winter.
The ABR groomer machines were heading out again around 10:30 a.m. to smooth the trails as temperatures reached the mid-30s.
"It's the only game in town," Bill Richie, who was selling ABR ski passes, said from his small booth, explaining the good crowd.
Richie said business had been "brisk" for a second straight day. "It was a little better on Friday," he said.
The skiers were hoping for more snow, but the forecast didn't look favorable for any substantial precipitation in the next few days and the sun was out all day on Saturday.
Paul Richardson and Julie Cahoy, of Minneapolis, skied up to the warming shack together. They said they are members of the Minneapolis Loppet Club that traditionally skis the ABR trails on Thanksgiving weekend. There were about 14 members of the club out on the trails.
Although the low areas on some trails were beginning to show water, higher areas had a decent snow base.
Around 25 kilometers of trails were open for skiing on Saturday.
ABR planned to close late Sunday afternoon and then reopen Thursday or Friday, depending on when more snow arrives.
ABR was started in 1995 by the father-son team of Dave and Eric Anderson and the scenic trails have been expanded over the years, ranging from hilly terrain to routes along the Montreal River.
