Christmas Grooming Report

Doug worked on the course today (thank you!).  It sounds like both skate and classic tracks are in great shape.  Here's his report:

The trail is groomed and is in great shape for the amount of snow we have.  Just a little precaution going over the cart paths.  The more skiers we get the better the base will be.  The diagonal tracks are much better, only place we see grass is near or under trees. Hope everyone enjoys.

Track Report

Doug spent 3-4 hours Saturday working on the track at the golf course (THANK YOU!).  There's a good base now for skating.  The classic track is mostly good, although watch out for grassy patches here and there.  The wind did blow and drift snow over the track after his work, but hey - that's cross-country skiing for you.  We take what we can get and just enjoy being out.

We expect snow later today and tomorrow.  Bring it on - the more the better (unless it's too much to keep up with...).

Merry Christmas!

Track Report

The track was groomed after our snowfall this weekend.  There's a nice skate track, and the classic is good in some parts.  The snow is still too thin to set the classic well - you'll spend a lot of time scooting on grass.

It's really pretty amazing to have it groomed this early, but please WATCH OUT on the skate track - the snow barely covers some gravel and rocky patches, and some of the asphalt paths.  Whatever you do, just keep an eye open and don't go down a hill or around a corner or even two steps ahead without looking carefully.  There are also some patches of stubbly grass to ski carefully through - try to save your ski base.

Use your rock skis.  If you're not careful, the skis you use will soon become rock skis.

The 7th-12th grade Nordic Club is off to a great start.  We had 21 kids there yesterday, plus a few that couldn't make it.  Spread the word - all you need to do is register at the Rexburg City Recreation page and come to practice with your skis on Mondays and Thursdays when school is in session, from 4:15-5:15.

Notice the classic track - you can see grass, so just watch out.

The City set out a wheelchair accessible port-a-potty this year.  Awesome!  There's room to change in there if needed.

21 Nordic Youth Skiers.  

We have both classic skiers and skate skiers in the Nordic Club.  I wish every kid could have a set of both.  

Duffy cleared the pond south of the Club House.  That's him ice skating like a pro.

First tracks - Teton Lakes is Groomed!

Stephanie can post more later re: conditions but Teton Lakes Trails are groomed.  There are a few spots with grass poking through but it's reportedly good skiing all things considered.  See you out there!

Viable Skiing

There is snow at the Golf Course to ski on!  We've had it all week, so it's turned into a nice crust, with some deeper soft snow here and there, and bare patches in a few places.  There's not a lot of snow - it doesn't cover everything - but there's enough to get a nice ski in.  No track has been rolled since the snow is too thin to protect the ground beneath, but you can wander all over the place on skate skis or classic skis.  Just watch out for asphalt and rocks (use your rock skis, if you have them).

New Season 2017: Nordic Ski Club Info

Hi All,

We’re excited for another cross-country ski season.  Since we already have snow, we can start right in on our skis Monday.  If you don’t have skis yet, come anyway and we’ll figure something out.

Remember we ski from 4:15-5:15 Mondays and Thursdays until Feb 15 (unless we run out of snow earlier).  Please have your skis delivered to the Teton Lakes Golf Course Monday between 4-4:15.  We have a ski shed on site that we lock up the gear in so you don’t have to cart it back and forth. However, please note that we cannot guarantee the safety of the equipment.

Some things to know:

First off, NO SKIS or POLES on the buses.

I don’t know which bus runs to Teton Lakes from the High School, but I assume it’s Bus 01-4 (please call the Transportation Department at 208-359-3265 to verify).

If you are coming from the Junior High, the Transportation Department told me that you can hop on Bus 06-3, found in Slot 6.  You will then transfer to Bus 01-4 at Valley Wide.  They suggested that you double check with each bus driver to make sure you’re on the right bus.  Please let them know you need to get off at TETON LAKES GOLF COURSE.  

Dress appropriately - winter can be so much fun if you’re dressed for it.  Gloves or mittens and a hat are highly recommended (I want to say required, but we won’t kick you off if you don’t have them).  Please.  Also, wearing layers with a good coat is necessary.  Warm winter socks are also a must.  Note, though, that if your socks are too thick and make your ski boots fit tightly, that can backfire - if you constrict blood flow in your foot it will be cold.

We hold practice on days when school is in session.  If it’s a school holiday, Christmas Break, or if school is cancelled (like a snow day), then there’s no ski club that day.

I will try to keep the blog updated with additional information in the coming months.   

Also, registration is open through the entire season, so if you know of anyone who would like to join please have them come - the more the merrier!  If they can only come on Mondays or only on Thursdays (instead of both), that’s just fine.  Participants are responsible for finding and bringing their own gear (skis, boots, poles), but you can contact Forrest Southam if you need some help locating equipment at: skirexburg at gmail dot com

See you soon!

Sundby V2 SkiPost

Reposted from SkiPost Newsletter

One principle of skating is that the faster a skier's velocity, the more acute the V of the skis can be. Meanwhile, the slower the velocity, the larger the angle will be. We can see that for ourselves: When we V2 fast, the angle of the skis may be around 30˚; and when we're casually skiing uphill, the V expands to 90˚ or more. There are some laws of physics at play here, but in general, we figure this concept out ourselves - it's really hard to skate up a steep hill with a tight V.

 

Another concept is not exclusive to skiing: The quicker you try to do something repeatedly, the less time you have between efforts. That is, if you're skiing 40 strokes per minute, you have 1.5 seconds to move from ski to ski, and if you're skiing at 90 strokes per minute, you only have 0.66 seconds to shift your weight.

 

As you mention, "it seems like the new skate only works at high tempos or going uphill," and I basically agree with that. When the tempo is high, you may not have enough time to shift completely over to each ski (into the "old" toe-knee-nose) - especially if you're going uphill using V1/offset, with a wider V. It's also a safe bet (hope?) that your high tempo is also making your ski speed faster, so the V in V2/one-skate is more narrow; you may actually be getting completely over each ski, but it's a less obvious weight shift.

 

I'm not sure why there are "new" and "old" skates being taught, as both are valid. There's a continuum of how much weight shift and torso alignment you can effectively achieve in different conditions, and you need to figure out what works best for you. Ski speed and the terrain contribute to making this decision, but so does your strength and balance. If you look at this video, we can see that Sundby (leading, red bib) is able to stay squared up to his skis more effectively than Sveen (bib 17), who is using more of a toe-knee-nose approach - but they're skiing at the same velocity...

-Jason Cork

US XC Ski Team Coach

2017-18 Local Race Schedule (Tentative)

Welcome to a new season!

Anyone interested in some fun Citizen Races, check out these sites for more information or ideas:
Teton Valley,  tvtap.org ,
Jackon Hole http://jhnordic.com
West Yellowstone  skirunbikemt.com
Pocatello pokyxc.org
Sun Valley Boulder Mountain Tour bouldermountaintour.com


Races I'm aware of include the following (Note, races are subject to change) -

November 21-25 Yellowstone Ski Festival
December 2 Targhee Tune-up
December 30 Betty Woolsey Trail Creek
January 6 Teton Ridge Classic
January 20 CUPID CUP (this is our Rexburg Race)
January 27 Two Options:  1. Spud Chase (Victor);   2. The  Potato Cup  (Pocatello)
February 3 Boulder Mountain Tour
February 10 Alta Skate Race
February 17 Moose Chase
March 3 Rendezvous Race (West Yellowstone)


This is not an exhaustive list.  You can find a local race pretty much every weekend if you go looking  (local means from West Yellowstone, Teton Valley, Jackson, Pocatello - and Sun Valley or Lone Mountain if you have the time).

Track Report

Doug groomed as much as he could yesterday, but the wind blew apart the track today.  There are three nearly-equal parts to the "Track":
1. Deep drifts covering the track
2. Some visible groomed track, including both skate and classic, that is actually pretty nice
3. Long patches of wind-swept bare grass

I tried skiing today, and it was nice to get out even in the crazy wind and snow (better than a treadmill), but I wouldn't necessarily call it all skiing.  It was more like just covering the distance as best I could while getting lost every few minutes (easy to lose sight of a track when the track is buried or blown away).  Definitely a mix of skating, double poling, walking, and shuffling.  There's always hope that the wind settles down and we get some snow to work with.

If you're dead set on going out, avoid the east half of the Cow Pasture.  The west half is okay and you can ski a small loop on the north and again on the south side.  The rest of the Perimeter is just hit and miss.  And there's no point trying to do the Boot or Clover Leaf skate tracks.

Good luck, if you go out.

Grooming Report

Doug has been working on the new snow at the golf course (thank you!).  Here's what he reports:

The snow is minimal in enough places that I would not ski the track with new skis.  There is not enough snow to have a classic track set.  I groomed (for skating) as much as I could find snow to drive on.  The Cow Pasture on the east by the Freeway was completely melted off and the wind took care of any new snow, but there are some great areas on the east where the trees shade and protect from wind. Go try it - it'll be a different adventure.

Track Report

The skate track is still skiable, although it is breaking down.  Be especially careful to stop before going down hills to scope out the grassy patches.

Track Report

Believe it or not, the skate skiing is really good for much of the track right now - not so great for classic, though (there's no classic track to speak of).  The Perimeter, Clover Leaf and Cow Pasture have all been rescued for skate skiing. The Boot, however, is completely inaccessible because of a huge ice patch.  Don't even try it.  Or go ahead and try, but be forewarned.

So once the snow froze again, Doug was able to skirt around the ponds and create some new paths to avoid the water/ice and bare spots. Please be very alert, however.  There are still some scary patches and you need to be prepared to slow down and double-pole carefully in a few places.

Although we probably have a few days left, I still want to send out a huge end-of-season THANK YOU to both Doug and Randy for the many hours, many gallons of gas, and lots of amazing equipment they voluntarily contribute for the community's free use.  They have worked hard to create yet another magical winter wonderland this year.  Good Skiing = Happy People.  Thank you!

Course and Grooming Update, Kelly Report

Teton Lakes

Randy fixed the broken snow machine that pulls the groomer and got it off the track where it's been stuck for a few days.  Thank you, Randy!  Then Doug called around 10:30 this morning, saying he had managed to groom the skate course (nothing can be done with the classic tracks unless we get new snow).  Thank you, Doug! He said it's not great (very icy), but definitely skiable.  I'm frankly amazed that anything at all could be done so soon after last week's meltdown.

A lot of the water has seeped away making the standing water shallow enough to ice up; be careful, please. I'm not sure where all the water went since the ground is pretty frozen.  Maybe the ground warmed up enough to absorb some of the water?

It's true that the course was not at all skiable on Saturday - except maybe waterskiing - and absolutely not ready for any machine driving over it.  So maybe we can hold the race tonight instead, just for fun... Kidding.  Kind of.

Kelly Canyon 

Pat's suggestion of skiing at Kelly Canyon intrigued me, so I went up this morning.  It's been two years since I tried Nordic skiing there, and it has come a long way since then!  The trails were beautiful and I'm so glad I went.

If you arrive before the resort opens, you can put $5 in the fee box at the trail head.  It was a lot of climbing - you know, like you're skiing at a ski resort - but it was actually really nice.  Unfortunately I took the fast trail back ("Moose"), and it was NOT a friendly trail.  My legs are still shaking from snow plowing on the churned-up trail.  I actually took my skis off and walked for a while, which just shows what a bad hill skier I am.  In hindsight, I should've gone back down the road, "Broadway" trail, instead.  Live and learn.

Winter isn't over

Just because the low parts of our track are in knee-deep water doesn't mean it's the end of skiing!  There is still a great deal of snow on the Cow Pasture (southernmost loop) at Teton Lakes, although the groomer might not be able to get there with all the water in the way.... But if you don't mind skiing in circles on old hard track - practically an ice rink - then that's still an option, I guess.  I haven't given up hope that we will still resurrect the course yet.  There are a few days of snow predicted.  (I'm ignoring the few days of rain predicted).

Nearby Options:

There are lots of places for Nordic skiing.  Besides the nearest ones highlighted below, there's also Teton Canyon (check out tvtap.org), Jackson Hole, and of course West Yellowstone's Rendezvous and Park trails.  We keep a link to some of these places down on the right hand side of the blog.

Kelly Canyon

Pat sent a picture of Kelly Canyon this morning (did you know they groom for Nordic skiing?).

 It's breathtakingly beautiful and worth the trip.
Pat says trail passes are just $5 (I think for half day).  Not surprisingly, the best skiing is at the top of the mountain, which you can ski up (climbing hills is good for us, right?).  However, they also have a one-time chair lift pass for $5 that puts you on top, so that's another option.
The trails are open for fat bikes and snowshoes, too.  Parking is in the main lot with access to the lodge.  Very nice!

Harriman

Jeff spent Saturday skate skiing at Harriman, which was gorgeous.  He said it was a cement track, so it was icy-hard but fast, but there were some sun-exposed portions that were suddenly soft.  I didn't get any report on classic skiing.  Their grooming schedule is Friday evenings and (I think) Mondays?  They update their Facebook page when they've groomed.  Yesterday they wrote that the interior trails were pretty soft and the groomer sunk in a couple of times, so parts of the trails are better than others.

Crust

I can't quite recommend crust cruising yet - still a little early for that, I guess.  My girls and I tried to crust cruise Saturday on the dry farms on the bench above Rexburg.

If you are a 65lb. 9 year-old, you'd have no trouble gliding all over the fields.  My older daughter and I, however, kept punching through, and the crust was pretty pock-marked.  We quit after about 40 minutes, but it was nice to be out anyway.

January Weather Recap

Just for kicks, here's January's Rexburg weather recap from Lee Warnick:

High temperatures: 21.8 / 6.0 degrees below normal

Low temperatures: 5.4 / 5.2 degrees below normal

Zero or below days: 12     Normal: 6.6

Highest wind gust: 36 mph on the 9th, 10th and 11th

Number of windy days: 6    Normal: 3.3

Highest temperature: 38 on the 9th

Lowest temperature: -20 on the 6th

Lowest wind chill: -31 on the 5th

     • January's bone-chilling comparative temps were similar to December's: highs were again 6 degrees below normal, and lows were 5.2 degrees below normal versus December's 6.3 degrees. We amassed another dozen 0-or-below days, added to December's 14. This was the 4th of the past 5 months with below normal highs but just the 2nd with below normal lows.

     • January's high temps were the 4th coldest in 45 years and, notably, the lowest since 1985. The low temps were the 10th coldest in 45 years but the lowest only since 2013. 

     • Despite the month's generally cold vibe, there were a few multi-day surges to or above freezing, also accompanied by the month's snowiest (or rainiest) weather. The high temperature on the 6th was a daily-record-breaking 4 degrees (following a low of 20-below); three days later the high was a balmy 38 and rain was falling.

Cupid Cup 2017 **CANCELLED**

With heavy hearts we announce the CANCELLATION of the Cupid Cup 2017.

We will refund any registration fees via PayPal shortly.

Due to the warm weather several ponds of standing water have developed along the race course. These are large enough that we are unable to work around them to provide a safe and adequate racecourse.

Furthermore, due to the conditions, we recommend that skiers NOT try to access the nordic trails at Teton Lakes until further notice. We worry that skiers will either hurt themselves or the course in such a way as to jeopardize our ongoing use of this venue.

We look forward to an excellent (and perhaps earlier) race in 2018.

Thank you for your support!

Teton Lakes indeed!

Cupid Cup Toko Wax Recommendations

Thanks to Randy Anderson for this wax tip!

Just in case you're worried about Saturday's race conditions, the track is holding up very well.  

Pat reports that when he skied the course at 5am this morning it was wet and raining, but still pretty firm with only a couple of wet spots.  Read on for a race-day forecast. 

Grooming Report

Doug has been out working hard on the tracks last night and again this morning - thank you!  He ripped out the classic tracks and reset them, and he groomed all the skate tracks.  It's beautiful. 

Track Report

The ski tracks are holding up nicely, although there are a few places on the classic track where the walls have toppled and skis have punched down.  The skate track was icy fast this morning around 9:30.  When I finished around 11 there was a thick layer of new, soft snow on top.  Doug was out skating, too, and said he's planning on tuning up the track later today.  We are getting lots and lots of snow right now.   I think we might be just fine for the Cupid Cup, even with some warm days coming later this week.  

Track Report - Cupid Cup still a go (for now)

These 40F days and rain are killing me!  Doug said this morning that the track is still snow covered, although how long that lasts is anyone's guess.  He also said that if we had some freezing temperatures to stabilize the snow, he could groom, but it's so soft now that the groomer would likely punch through to the grass.

As of now, the Cupid Cup is still a go.  A couple of years ago we had to cancel due to rain melting away our track just days before the race.  Ugh.  I know there's not a thing we can do about it, but it still is frustrating.  We will just have to wait and see how things are at the end of the week.

Grooming Update

Doug just used the new groomer for the first time and said it was great. He also reset the classic track.  Skiing should be pretty wonderful. Thanks, Doug!

Sunday Falun

30km World Cup Classic race this past Sunday.  Lots of double poling!  Listen to the commentary around 17:30-17:40 as they talk about herringbone skiing with a flat or edged ski.

Saturday Falun Sprints - In English

In case you need something to watch, check out this past Saturday's sprint races.  Watch at about 10 minutes to 10 1/2 minutes - the broken pole exchange was smooth!

Grooming Update and Schedule(?)

Randy just finished up grooming the course this evening - yippee! Can you say, "Fresh corduroy"?  😀 Thanks, Randy!

Not to beat a dead horse or anything, but... a rumor is circulating that grooming is done daily, so it's "no big deal" to walk or snowshoe down the middle of the skate lane...

Please remember that grooming is done purely on a voluntary basis by Doug and Randy, and they groom when they can, but there is no schedule. 

We shouldn't have any expectations that the trails will be groomed, and in between we should try to take care of the wonderful grooming we get. 

Messing up the skate track might not seem like a problem - unless you're a skate skier. The holes, ruts and prints left by walkers, bikers and snowshoers ruin the corduroy and can trip up skate skiers, who are often skiing very fast. (It can trip up skate skiers who are skiing slowly, too!) 

  

Doug and Randy work very hard to provide the best classic and skate skiing trails they can. Please respect their work by seeing it for what it is: trails groomed for Nordic Skiing (with snowshoeing off to the side as an acceptable use, too). 

 
See this post from a few days ago for a good overview of ski etiquette at Teton Lakes.

New Groomer

Surprise! Randy came by this evening, sporting a brand new Ginzu groomer on his trailer.  Oh my goodness, it feels like Christmas.

Randy made the trip up to West Yellowstone this afternoon to bring back this marvelous new addition from Yellowstone Track Systems.  Wow, thank you! The old Ginzu has been great, but this new one has some pretty spiffy updates.
Our already-amazing grooming is just about to get even more amazing.

Awesome.

New BYU-I Trail Maps

From Scott: We made some revisions to the trails. The green line is the classic track, the red line is Fat Bike Groomed and then inside that is skate deck.

This map can always be found by clicking on the Trail Maps tab above.

Trail Update and Moose Habitat

Doug tuned up all the trails this morning - yippee and thank you!  The skate track is fantastic (the classic looks good, too).  Get out and ski before the next predicted snow comes!

Oh, and watch out for our resident Moose and their, umm, donations.  There are piles of (as Randy calls it) "Brown Klister" on the trail, left by the two moose who are hanging out at the course.  I'm fairly certain it's the same mommy moose from last winter, along with her growing son (he has a nice rack this year).  They don't seem perturbed by the skiers, but please watch for them and give them their space.

Cupid Cup Volunteers Needed!

Want to help a great cause?  Like cool swag (your own Cupid Cup Multiclava)?  Signup for the Cupid Cup as a Volunteer!

1) Click this link to see our list on SignUp.com
2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.
3) Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.com.

Note: SignUp.com does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me and I can sign you up manually.

Can I Snowshoe / Walk my dog / Snow Bike / Skijor / Sled...?

Some have recently asked for some clarification regarding what activities are recommended on the Rexburg Trails - here's an answer.

Can I:

• Snowshoe? 
• Yes! alongside but not on the ski trails.  Snowshoes are great for walking on... snow.  As a reminder at the bottom of the blog we have a nice little graphic illustration.  Remember, if it looks like it's a groomed trail, it probably is, and snowshoes are for traversing the ungroomed snow.
• Snow Bike (Fat Bike)?
• at the BYU-I trails: Yes
• at Teton Lakes: No
• Ski with my dog?
• It depends - does your dog ski?: this is an often discussed topic amongst the volunteers who spend hundreds of hours of their own time and thousand of dollars of their own money to keep these trails in good shape out of the goodness of their hearts for those who like to ski.  In an effort to provide the greatest good for the greatest number of people who like to ski, we'd prefer not to dictate any rules of conduct but...
• Remember these are ski trails.  Yes, it's a wonderful place to take your dog out, but unless your dog is exceptionally well trained our experience is that a happy dog is very difficult to control with other strange skiers around.  
• Are you willing to keep your dog off the groomed trail, stop, step off the trail and immediately hold your dog's collar whenever another skier approaches?
• If yes then yay! you make every other dog owner look great too
• If no then you're likely to give other dog owners a black eye.  
• No matter how well behaved your dog is, it doesn't ski.  Out of respect for those who work so hard to provide this service for those who do wish to ski on beautifully groomed trails please control your pet as you would if invited into a neighbors home as a guest.
• Walk my dog?
• Nope, sorry.  Please no walking on the groomed trail.
• Snowshoe with my dog?
• Yes, but again please stay off the groomed trail.
• Skijor with my dog?
• No, again sorry!
• Ski with my kids?
• Yes!  But if you're towing a ski trailer please stay on the outermost classic track with the ski trailer ski offset to the outside of the groomed track (not in the skate lane).
• Also please keep young ones and the older folks to off the skate lane (unless they're skating).
• Tow a sled on the ski trail?
• No
• Skijor with my kids?
• Yes, if both the tower and towee are wearing skis.
• Sled on the hill?
• Yes!

Classic Drills for Balance, Weight Transfer and Cornering

Some great drills for any age if you're interesting in honing your classic ski skills.

Grooming Update

Late last night Randy finished rolling the inside skate lanes (The Boot and The Clover Leaf) THREE TIMES!  We have a triple-rolled skate track - awesome.  He also cleaned up the Perimeter and said Doug is planning on tuning up the Perimeter, Boot and Clover Leaf this morning. The Classic tracks are doing just fine.
It's going to be a great ski day.

Grooming Update

Randy and Doug have been working on the tracks this morning (thank you, as always!).  The classic tracks look fantastic.  The skate lanes have been rolled but are still pretty soft.  Doug's going to work on the Perimeter skate loop this afternoon, then Randy is planning on grooming the inside skate tracks later this evening.  I'm banking on tomorrow being a great skate day; late tonight might be pretty good, too, if you're a night skier.

Grooming

Doug just let me know he's heading out to do a quick groom to make things skiable for the day - at least until the snow starts to fly again this afternoon.  Thank you, Doug!

No Fat Bikes at Teton Lakes!

This is a repost from our sister site.  Thank you, Dave - well said!

Rexburg Idaho Cycling: No Fat Bikes at Teton Lakes!:

I got a text from Randy at 1 a.m. this morning. After hours of grooming, the skate track at Teton Lakes was perfect. This morning, someone rode fat bikes on the new grooming. If this was you, never do it again. If you know who might have done this, please let them know that fat bikes are not allowed at Teton Lakes. No one loves a fat bike more than I do, but quality ski grooming and fat bikes do not mix. Ride that fat bike on a snowmobile trail someplace but not on Randy's ski grooming.

Cupid Cup 2017 Registration Live!

We're happy to announce this year's edition of the Cupid Cup: Feb 11th 2017!

All Registrants for the Teen Races on up will receive a special edition Cupid Cup Krieg Multiclava

When:  February 11, 2017

• Registration - Click Here - Open until midnight Feb 10th.  Same Day Registrations will be available at 9AM on Race Day.
• Start Times
• Little Kids  10:00 AM
• 5 & 10K Classic 10:30 AM 
• 10K Skate 11:00 AM 
• Teen 2.6K 11:15 AM

Where:  Teton Lakes Course

What:

• Little Cupid Race - Kids Loop
• Teen Race ~2.5K
• 10 K Classic, timed (2 laps on the Perimeter; optional 5K by finishing one lap only)
• 10 Freestyle, timed
• Cocoa, Cider, Tunes and Party Atmosphere

Why: Because Nordic Skiing is literally COOL!

Grooming Update

At 1am last night Randy finished buffing up the track (Wow!  Thank you!).  He reports that everything is in primo condition.  It should ski about as good as anyone could want.

Grooming Update

Randy groomed the entire course tonight using both the roller and the Ginsu groomer.  He made three passes on the inside skate tracks, got the entire Perimeter and Cow Pasture groomed for skating and also set the Classic tracks.  Many huge thanks for this wonderful work!

Trails Report

The Perimeter and Cow Pasture skate deck (I just found out it's called a skate deck, not track...oops) was tuned up sometime earlier today or last night, and the classic tracks are looking good. There were actually four classic sets on much of the Perimeter - two old and two new. The Boot and the Clover Leaf skate decks are icy and rutty, but still skateable and very fast. The icy track/deck may be fast, but it can also cause some muscle fatigue as your body works to stabilize itself as it's sliding around. Good stuff. I hardly dare say this after the piles of snow we've had, but it might be nice to have just a little fresh snowfall to work into the trails.  Still, no complaints. The course has been beautiful the past few sunny days.  Even though it's been frigid, the wonderful sunshine has helped drive off the bone-chilling cold - unless you're an early-morning or night skier - brrr.
Enjoy!

Grooming Update

Randy tuned up all the skate tracks and set the Classic track where needed yesterday afternoon.  It was fun to see him out while the Ski Club was holding practice.  We had over twenty kids skiing around, half of them skating on fresh corduroyand half skiing in the classic tracks (they were thrilled!).  Go out and treat yourself to a great ski on a great track.

Grooming Update

Randy tuned up all the Skate lanes early this morning (yippee!! THANKS!).  He said he broke through a puddle on the Boot (one of the interior skate loops), so heads up on that.  The Classic continues to be mostly self-maintained by the many skiers, although Randy did work on the Classic Tracks "short loop" - the loop that heads north from the parking lot, turns right (east) at the edge of the Golf Course, then loops back south after you cross the bridge.

He also groomed the Kids Practice Loop - a short loop right by the parking lot.

I skied on this warm snow yesterday and was anticipating Mashed Potatoes, but it was actually a really, really nice skate track.  The base was hard packed, but there was a soft groomed layer on top that made it a fast - but not icy fast - skate.  Jeff went out later last night and found similar conditions, with actually some crust available when he was skiing on ungroomed trails.  Everything is groomed now so it should be wonderful skating.  Enjoy!

Grooming Report

Randy just finished tuning up the Perimeter and Cow Pasture skate and classic tracks this morning (thank you, as always!). The inside Skate tracks (the Boot and the Clover Leaf) haven't been done yet. We have really soft wet snow, and lots of wind. More snow is predicted this afternoon and overnight.

2017 Cupid Cup

Registration site will be up soon!

Grooming Update

Randy tuned up the track this evening (and yes, the wind chill is -20F right now!). He said with all the drifting that the skate track is fine but not perfect.  He will try again to smooth it out, but it's definitely skiable (thank you!). He was able to set one of the double classic tracks. Have fun skiing in this weather.

Nordic Ski Club - Thursday

Hi All,

The windchill is going to be brutal tomorrow (Thursday).  If school is cancelled (not likely, but possible), ski club will also be automatically cancelled.  However, if school is held, we will hold practice as usual.  Because of the cold, if there is practice we will just ski (no instruction) to keep moving and keep warm.  If we all get chilled, we can get some hot chocolate at Redd’s Grill (bring $2 for that, or $3 for Hot Chocolate plus Fries).  

Pretty please let me know as soon as you can if you are going to brave the cold and ski tomorrow - and dress warmly - or wait until Monday (if nobody is going to show up, then it’d be nice to know).  

Thanks!

Grooming Update

Doug groomed the skate trail this morning (thank you!) so it is smooth, but has about an inch and a half of new snow on it already (it's snowing right now).  He reports that there is plenty of traffic on the classic tracks so they are being self-maintained.  As soon as the snow quits, he'll head back out to tune things up.