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Snow delivered on time for Lapham Loppet, weekend events

Posted by Tom Held on Jan. 20, 2012

Nordic Skiing

The steady snow on Friday arrived at the perfect time to freshen the ski trails for the Lapham Loppet on Saturday and the Minooka Park Barnelopet on Sunday.

“With the snow coming in and the temperatures dropping, it should be really good,” said Mary Eloranta, coach of the Peak Nordic Ski Team that trains at Lapham Peak.

Her squad of 35 skiers in high school and middle school will be among the roughly 100 youths racing in the Southern Conference Championship at Lapham Peak. The 4.5K race starts at 10:30 a.m. and is followed at 11:15 a.m. by the 11K Loppet for adults.

Grade schoolers will start the fun by racing Rocky the Flying Squirrel on a 1K loop at 10 a.m.

Registration opens in the Evergreen Shelter at 8 a.m. All proceeds from the races will be directed to the Friends of Lapham Peak snowmaking fund. Registration details and the schedule can be found here.

The Barnelopet for kids age three to 15 starts at 1:30 p.m. in Minooka Park. The event is part of the Waukesha winter Jan Boree.

Non-competitive, recreational skiers also should find nearly ideal conditions throughout southeast Wisconsin: fresh snow groomed over the base set up after the storm on Tuesday.

Based on recent reports, the Greenbush and Zillmer Trails in the Northern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest have adequate snow, but a thin cover in some spots. Trails in the Southern Unit of the state forest, including the Nordic, Scuppernong and McMiller areas, have had good to excellent conditions for much of the week.

If the forecast proves accurate, groomers will have ample time to work in the four to five inches of fresh snow in the Southern Kettle and roughly three inches of snow in the Northern Kettle near Plymouth.