The first official day of winter is just around the corner, and Wisconsin is already under a blanket of snow.
Madison has accumulated nearly 20 inches of snow this year, according to the Wisconsin State Climatology Office. That’s nearly as much as the city received during all of last year’s winter.
Green Bay already accumulated 15 inches of snow this year, which is 5 inches more than its average for this time of year. Wausau, meanwhile, is below average, accumulating just 13.5 inches of snow this year compared to the city’s 14.6-inch average at this point.
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Carrie Eaton is president of the Madison Nordic Ski Club, a cross-country outfit operating in the city since the 1970s. On WPR’s “Wisconsin Today,” Eaton said it’s a good time to be getting outside.
“We’ve been so incredibly lucky to have this much snow this early in the season,” Eaton said. “Especially to have a good snow pack in November, ready for snowshoeing and skiing and seeing everyone out on the trails. Everyone is so thrilled and happy to just be outside.”
On “Wisconsin Today,” Eaton talked about how people can enjoy the outdoors in winter, the appeal of cross-country skiing and her history with winter activities.
The following interview was edited for brevity and clarity.
Kate Archer Kent: What has your club been able to do already this season that it hasn’t been able to do in past winters?
Carrie Eaton: I think the big perk is just having a groomed and prepared trail for all of our outside winter activities. Our MadNordSki club partners with Madison to groom trails in several of the city parks, so our volunteers are out there before the sun rises, rolling in track setting for our skiers.
We’ve also established some snowshoe trails to make sure that our walkers are included as well. To be able to have those activities ready in November for all of our youth programs that are starting up and our adult meetups is just fantastic, because we’re getting outside on the snow instead of trying to make do on the trails.
KAK: Some people might take the fact that it’s groomed for granted. What goes into grooming a trail?
CE: It takes several hours of our volunteer groomers getting out there with snowmobiles and special pull-behind equipment to turn those snowy trails into something that is skiable. They use a roller to pack the snow down, and there’s a separate groomer for turning that into a special lane for a kind of cross-country skiing called “skate skiing.” That’s what I did. And then we also set tracks for classic skiing.
It used to take us about six hours to groom the trails at Elver Park in Madison, but now we’ve upgraded and we have two grooming sets. We got a second snowmobile and our groomers can do that in about three hours. But often, they are up very early in the morning when the temperatures are nice and cold, because that’s the best way to turn that snow into something that is great for skiing.
KAK: I was on the cross-country ski team in high school and whenever we would finish either a race or finish practice, it was always dark outside. I’m wondering, how do you deal with that lack of daylight and still get out and cross-country ski during a busy week?
CE: I think a big part of it is to just overcome that first hurdle and get outside. If you’re able to take a break in the middle of the day and take in some of that winter sunlight, that’s fantastic. But for a lot of us who work or have school, that can be really tough.
My advice is to invest in a really great headlamp. The winter trails actually take on this magical look in the dark, and it can be a lot of fun to be out in the evening, after work, skiing underneath a full moon in the trees, hearing the owls and just being out there with friends and community.
KAK: Are there other areas of the state that may have either more snow or less snow, be better equipped for these winter activities?
CE: It’s really interesting how the snowfall throughout our state can vary. There have been seasons where our snow is actually better than the snow up north, but there are plenty of really magical places around Wisconsin where you can go ski.
Down in southern Wisconsin, there are great public lands with the Ice Age Trail and the Greenbush area for Nordic skiing. You have the Lapham Peak Unit near Milwaukee and several of our state parks, like Governor Dodge and Mirror Lake also have cross-country skiing options in the winter. And if you want to go up north, the options are just unlimited.
KAK: The weather can really dictate whether someone is getting out or not. On warmer days when there may not be as much snow on the ground, what options do people have to get outside?
CE: Just start by going for a brisk walk in your neighborhood. I’m a runner myself, and so I’ll get up and go for an early morning run or a trail run at the Pheasant Branch Conservancy right near my home. We have a lot of members who are very interested in biking. They take their summer road bikes and turn them into winter fat bikes, so they can take on the trails in any condition. Just finding a way to get a little bit of movement through these cold, dark winter months can be really beneficial.
