Still want to ski? Head north

Skiing is going downhill in the Duluth area but staying strong farther north.
“We have yet to close down any of our primary runs,” Dan Zierath, a spokesman for Lutsen Mountains ski resort, said Monday. “We don’t plan on doing so any time soon.”
But last week’s sudden onset of balmy weather produced a different picture in Duluth. The Chester Bowl ski area closed last week, and Mont du Lac had its final day of downhill skiing on Saturday.
Spirit Mountain is closed through Thursday, it announced on its website, but its managers hope for a final bow on Friday and Saturday. It will be determined by Wednesday whether SMASH - the Spirit Mountain Annual Spring Happening - will take place on Saturday, according to the website.
Before closing the slopes for the season, Mont du Lac celebrated its annual spring “meltdown” party on Saturday, said its manager, Mike O’Hara.
There may have been some melting, but there’s no meltdown at Giants Ridge Golf & Ski Resort in Biwabik.
“It’s spring skiing,” said Linda Johnson, managing director at Giants Ridge. “That’s what we’re posting on our website.”
That means conditions are wetter than they would be in January, and the slopes might seem a little “used up” by late in the afternoon, she said. But all slopes are open, and the resort is experiencing an influx of Canadian students on spring break this week, Johnson said.
Snowshoe hiking and cross-country ski trails at Giants Ridge closed at the end of the day on Sunday, but a fat bike race on Saturday will take place as scheduled.
For downhill skiers, slopes will be open through the weekend for sure, Johnson said, and the hope is to not close until the end of the day on April 5.
At Lutsen, although conditions are wetter than usual there’s adequate snow depth, Zierath said. Lutsen had a record-breaking snow-making year as personnel worked ahead toward a snowmobile race in late April, he said. That means there’s plenty of artificial snow ready to add to the slopes as needed.
Both Zierath and Johnson said cooler conditions expected the rest of this week should help.
The National Weather Service predicts highs in the 30s and 40s and lows mostly in the 20s in Duluth for the rest of the week. It’s expected to be a little cooler than that in the Biwabik and  Lutsen areas, with forecast lows in the teens tonight.