Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

Hey fisheater, I've noticed that you've posted a couple times about skiing the Saugatuck dunes. I was <10 miles away on Monday for a family holiday event. The snow was actually stacking up nicely out there finally. There is a GREAT lakeshore forecast for the entire lakeshore to get hammered with LES. Plan a trip! I may take a run out there this week Sunday myself.

Is anyone else in here hitting the dunes anywhere along the lakeshore ?

When dunes are good they are tough to beat. Can be REALLY great skiing. But perfect conditions are spotty due to typical heavy wind and the wind scours the snow and/or deposits tonnes of beach sand in the snow. Grippy but slow haha. Reference the classic defunct Michigan ski area, Carousel Mountain, a rope towed dune that has become a nice neighborhood, thus largely unskiable.

But dunes are fun because trees are generally not as big a problem.

anemic wrote:Hey fisheater, I've noticed that you've posted a couple times about skiing the Saugatuck dunes. I was <10 miles away on Monday for a family holiday event. The snow was actually stacking up nicely out there finally. There is a GREAT lakeshore forecast for the entire lakeshore to get hammered with LES. Plan a trip! I may take a run out there this week Sunday myself.

Is anyone else in here hitting the dunes anywhere along the lakeshore ?

When dunes are good they are tough to beat. Can be REALLY great skiing. But perfect conditions are spotty due to typical heavy wind and the wind scours the snow and/or deposits tonnes of beach sand in the snow. Grippy but slow haha. Reference the classic defunct Michigan ski area, Carousel Mountain, a rope towed dune that has become a nice neighborhood, thus largely unskiable.

But dunes are fun because trees are generally not as big a problem.

Hello Anemic,
I will be heading north this coming weekend, to ski Sat/Sun, 1/13-1/14. I didn't know what weekend my son was going to get off from work. It turns out it is this coming weekend. The only dunes I will be skiing are the enhanced dunes at Caberfae. My new norpine ski area in leathers / tour for turns (dunes like Saugatuck) where you spend some time touring to get some turns ski arrived today. It is an Anses Falketind 62. I am clueless as to where to mount the bindings (3 pin cables, I plan on skiing with leather)
I will be up a Caberfae this weekend. Not sure what I will be skiing on, but my son an I will be skiing.

Might see you there this Saturday.


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yes...lets get out to the dunes!

did you see batman at caberfae?? i guess he is a real nice person

pm me if any of you are gonna hit the dunes and i will do what i can to meet up with you. haven't skied them all winter

I did speak with batman last weekend! Caberfae is full of characters. The Captain and his Head Standards, the worlds first fiberglass ski, and his Captains Hat, good right down to about -5F, with sunglasses and the USA varsity jacket.

Dunes are currently wiped clean but at least it's cold again. Heading up there for alpine ski meet Friday. Could head back over the weekend but scheduling looks tricky.

Thanking Ullr for snowguns at Cannonsburg...the only option for snow in a 100 mile radius

hahaha, right on man! i've never actually been out there, but my cousin is a regular. he has a blast. yeah, snow's basically gone in a lot of the bc.

i was able to get out last night but i probly shouldn't have been out there. about 4-5 inch base still on the main trails...but the bigger hills i like to run are clean if you were here yesterday you had a great day for being outside! 52F !!!!!

fresh 2nd hand dunes report. skied-in trails are not bad. the dunes are wind jacked for descending. not much there yet but it wouldn't take much more to bring up to snuff.

i got out there there this weekend for a minute. it was snowing hard and i accessed by the dh day group campsite and headed south next to the bikepath. the back dunes are in decent condition. heading out to the lake it was really varyable. some tops were windblown and exposed, even in the hard snow. the lee sides were pretty awesome. windward slopes not good.

where do you guys normally access? down by empire i think would be great but i haven't gone that way yet to ski.

As a GR resident, I'm more of a Holland area dune skier. But as you say, conditions are highly variable and dunes can be fun, but it requires a pretty deep snowpack to make it all the way fun and that is hard to come by.

Have any of you MI guys skiied the dune climb in Sleeping Bear?