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We started our season with an hour of getting our ski legs back. We're beginners at this sport, but we love it. Fortunately, my neighbor lets us use her open back yard, then we can cut some trails through the woods to make it more interesting.
Would have loved to stay out longer, but reminded myself that I need to be able to move tomorrow. I'll be sitting at my desk most of the day, which would stiffen up the joints even more.
I got out yesterday as well. I took my 11 yo nephew and a couple of four legged friends and we had a great time! Hoping to get out today as well...
Crankin, I think in terms of demoing ski's that the best scenerio is to test them on the same types of trails and same conditions. Differences in strength from one leg to the other, different leg lengths, past injuires can have a huge impact on demoing ski's when using one old ski and one new. But it sounds as though you made a wise decision with the ski's that you have.Sounds like you had a great day... it's amazing how a little bit of snow makes everyone happy!:rolleyes:
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DebW - you're living in Bedford now? I know all of those trails off the Reformatory Branch - great for MTB! ;)
We rode bikes on Saturday (yes, in the snow), but did get out to Weston to ski yesterday. That was my second time there this season. Cover was a bit thin, but everything was open. We went later in the day to avoid the crowds, but we also missed the sunny part of the day that way.
Heading up to Maine for some skiing this weekend. Fingers crossed that the rain holds off up there.
SheFly
Ahhh it's great to hear that all of you were out on your ski's over the weekend. I just came back from taking my favorite companion(shanna, chocolate lab) out for a short ski. It was beautiful out yesterday, but I have to say with the warm temps and possobily rain this week... well hopefully the snow holds out. It certainly is very thin:( I still have not even had the new ski's out yet...
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I was able to take DD XC skiing again. It took us about 2 hours to go 2k . . . but we did sections over and over again--the hills. And we stopped at the Luge for awhile to watch the brave souls make their run. You can ski right up to the course and lean over so that your face is just 2 feet above theirs as they slide by! You could reach out and give them a high-five! Although, I would never recommend that. Taking your hand off the sled is a good way to break an arm. It was entertaining to see the different expressions of the Lugers.
Although I knew that it would be very icey today, I thought Shanna ( my chocolate lab) and I would head out anyway. The weather forecast doesn't look very good tomorrow, so with snow levels so low... umm let's go anyway. It was indeed very icey, but here's to hoping that the weather is all snow tomorrow and none of the other liquid variety.:eek:
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Keep me posted - we're heading up looking for winter...Quote:
Originally Posted by ridebikeme
SheFly
Here's to hoping that we do receive ALL snow and NO snow/rain mix. I was on a snowmobile trail today,and although it had just been groomed there were LOTS of rocks/boulders visible.:( Hopefully they'll be a thing of the past tomorrow....
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I guess I'll be riding outside this weekend, after the rain tomorrow :mad:.
I can't travel this weekend, but maybe next weekend is looking good if there's snow up north.
We've received about 6" so far, with projections to receive another 1-2 more before changing over to a rain/snow mix. Hopefully this forecast will be wrong, although the warm temps may squash my "wishes." For those of you in NE, it has already statred to change over in Gorham NH... perhaps they'll keep it?:rolleyes:
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I am doing a night ride tonight. Cannot believe this weather. A part of me really wishes for snow, but another part is not minding the mild weather either.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crankin
Ahhh I love night rides! Unfortunately I seemed to have lost my group of people that used to ride as well.:confused:
Just came back from a short ski; it was great ! For some reason, I love to break trail, although I know that isn't the norm.:eek:
Have a great weekend and enjoy your riding!!
http://chasecyclery.blogspot.com
We have sno-ow :) :)
Stable, cold snow that has impacted and is nicely groomed. Even the ungroomed trails are now broken by the hordes of eager skiers out there. I'm getting into a nice rhythm of one afternoon/night ski a week, on my way back from work. I used to do this only in my backyard woods, but oh, those final hills kill me, so I've branched out. I now have to take a bus back home, but it goes every 15 minutes and takes 10-15 minutes home, so it's no hardship. And the terrain is so much easier! My favourite trail so far starts out with at least 4 km of gently rolling and flat terrain, which lets me get warmed up and stretched out, then some fun, easy downhills, then a lot of boring twisty uphills, but I least I get nice and warm. Then some very fun and bumpity up and downs, a tremendous roaring downhill, and then a long stretch of gently rolling terrain again, at which point I'm really chugging along.
Fun :)
I have basically written off skiing for this season:( kind of bummed but we just do not have any snow.
LPH, sounds like a great way to commute!! :) It's also great that you are able to get into a routine about going out.
I got out for a short ski today, a bit icey here, but the reality is that we have snow and I'm not complaining.:cool: And we're also receiving a bit of snow now...
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This morning I had to choose between a road ride with my DBF in a group ride he organized or skate skiing alone on the mountain. I decided to ski. It was glorious and I skated for a little over 2 hours and 15 miles (just shy of 25 km). I'm so glad I did. I needed the space and the freedom of gliding across the snow without any pressure of having people with me. The views of Mt. Hood were indescribeable.
Happy, happy.:D:D
Sounds like a wonderful day Wahine! It isn't very often that I choose to ski rather than ride, but knowing that the snow won't be here long well...
Have fun with building the rest of your new bike!! Velocity makes some great rims, have a couple of sets myself.:p
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Wahine, I envy you your mountainview skiing! And your skate-groomed trails. I have lots of xc trails right off my back yard, but they're hilly, twisty wooded trails with no views at all. And just about all of them classic groomed. Which is fine, actually, because I suck at skating :D
We skated again today. Another bluebird day. :D:D:D
LPH - we are really lucky. Our Nordic center has about 20 to 25 km of trail that is groomed for both skating and classic. It's a hilly treed area, so there is a lot of fun ups and downs with turns in the trees but then you come to the opening at a meadow or pond and suddenly the Mountain is right in your face.
But we also have to drive 45 min to get to the snow. The flip side of that is that where we live, there is no snow on the ground for almost the entire year. So it's not unusual for DBF and I to ski in the morning then do an easy recovery road ride in the afternoon.
We are very, very fortunate.
I was up at Lake Champlain this weekend, skiing on the snow-covered lake with views of Mt. Marcy in the Adirondaks under bright sunshine and even an incredible sunset. :)
Sounds like a beautiful day Deb! I've done some riding in that area, but have never skiied there.;)
Got out yesterday wih Shanna, (my chocolate lab) and we had a great day. A shortish loop, but one that wound through some trees and was quite nice. I'll definitely have to remember to get on this trail with my mtn bike... umm perhaps with the studded tires this week.:rolleyes:
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Well, I have to admit that the snow cover is getting very thin. We've been able to ski all week, but now you definitely need to use your "rock" ski's. I'm assuming that by the time that I fully get ready to change over to riding outside each day that the weather will change once again.:p
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We are staying in Franconia for the weekend. No snow here, but we went to Bretton Woods today and the conditions were great. We skied to the AMC Highland Center and had lunch. They were a stop on the chocolate ski tour and we partook a little. We skied a little over 9 miles. I am exhausted.
Finished up the weekend with a 4 mile ski at Bear Notch Ski center. This is a family owned small x country center (about 65k of trails, but very bare facilities) that always has snow. It was between 8-11 degrees and brutally windy, but my friend had just bought new skis in the AM and wanted to try them out. After a brutal climb up a black trail, we had a nice gentle descent. Conditions were slicker than yesterday and a good deal of the trail was groomed, but not tracked, not the best for me. But, it was great.
Going to Craftsbury in 2 weeks.
WOW! it's hard to believe that Franconia and Bear Notch don't have a lot of snow:eek:. Although when I look out the window, I shouldn't be surprised at all! Glad to hear that you had a good time Crankin!!
All I know is that unless we get more sb now here soon, it won't be here for much longer.
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Waaah, it's gonna rain tomorrow :( That could mean the end of good skiing conditions in my backyard woods, though it should last for some more weeks in the slightly higher parts.
Most of all I'm feeling sorry for a friend of mine. She's doing this massive xc ski event tomorrow that circumnavigates most of Oslo. It's 90 km long and she's expecting to take nine hours - in wet snow and sleet :eek: I've never skied more than about half that in one day, so I'm madly impressed.
Well, not sure what the weather will hold for the weekend, but I did get on ski's today and a couple of times this week. The snow level is certainly getting thin, but I'm hoping the storm that is projected to hit here today brings more snow rather than rain;)
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Well, like many parts of the country, we did receive snow!!!:D Although I'm only clearing the driveway, I would guess that we received 6-7". Needless to say, once the driveway is clear..... welll you know where I'll be;)
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Snow is coming! There's an 18 inch base at Craftsbury, with more predicted for the day we arrive.
So glad we waited this year and planned our trip for next week, instead of January.
Sounds like a great time Crankin! I've been out twice since this last snow storm, adn have to admit that it's wonderful to see snow.:rolleyes:I'd forgotton what it is like to ski in snow rather than ice like we've had all year this year. YIPEE!!!
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While I know most of you are not 'thinking' about skiing; I have to tell you that with the new snow we received last weekend....well it's fabulous! My outing today was more like spring type of day by the time I was finishing, sun was out, snow was melting and it was one of those 'blue bird'days. A day certainly that I did not want to go back to the shop:D But with a trainer class tonight, it's time to also think of my bike and the fact that with more snow coming tonight.. it won't be anytime soon that I'll be riding outside.
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I am in Craftsbury and it's like I died and went to heaven. It was 28 degrees and lightly snowing all day. We skied 12K on fresh powder. The trails at the Outdoor Center are so wide and the black trails are not that hard. Tomorrow we are getting dropped off at the center and skiing back down to the inn, about 7.5K and then we will go to Greensboro and ski at Highland Lodge, which is now run by the outdoor center. Well, the trails are being groomed by them, as the lodge went out of business. Trails there are tough, but there is one very long and steep black descent that I will only do on perfect powder and tomorrow might be the day. I did it once, 4 years ago.
Sounds like a wonderful place to be Crankin... and of course your timing is perfect.:) Have a great weekend, hopefully the projection for Saturday is something that will change.:eek:
Got out today myself, and had a great time. As you mentioned fresh powder with snow coming down; I certainly couldn't ask for anything better. I'm hoping to get up to Kingfield next week and ski into one of the MAine Huts. I'll know more about it over the weekend. Ever been there?
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Yes, I have been to Little Lyford Pond, run by AMC. But, it was in the summer. They have a supported hut to hit ski tour I would love to do. The only issue is using the outdoor bathrooms in the middle of the night at 5 below zero!
I have not been to any of the AMC huts, but have heard great things about them. I'm hoping that we'll make reservations over the weekend and everything will go smoothly:p
Got in a nother 7-8 miles out on trails today; it was wonderful! Got to see more of the trails that I normally ride on my mtn bike... I always enjoy seeing the area in all 4 seasons. They certainly look much different.
Hope you're having a great time, although with new snow, I'm sure your smile is as wide as mine.:D
Well, today was interesting. We drove to the Outdoor center and then skied on the Catamount Trail down back to our inn, about 5 miles. The innkeeper took DH back to get the car and we ate lunch. It was one of the most beautiful skis I have done. So then we drove to Highland Lodge trails in the next town. Apparently, a consortium of groups are keeping the trails groomed since the lodge closed. Well, some were groomed and tracked and some were groomed. We did a very long climb, in the deep woods and went to do the black diamond downhill we had done a few years ago. It was totally ungroomed :eek:. You really needed back country skis, but down I went. I tried to ski in the deep snow, not in my friends' tracks, but I kept sinking. I fell twice in the beginning, but managed to slowly get down without really being able to snow plow. I hope they eventually groom this trail, because unlike last time. I wouldn't be scared. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so we may end up shopping in St. Johnsbury.
A few views of skiing in Craftsbury and Greensboro, VT
Thanks for sharing your pics, Crankin! Have you been able to ski since your trip?
Just returned today from the Maine Hut trip... great time and definitely something I will do again. The hills were much larger than I thought, some were well over 1/2 mile long and fairly steep, especially for 'skinny skis'. Of course, a winter with very little snow made it more difficult. BUT, the staff was great and of course the food even better. :) We skied about 11 miles each day with a fair amount of hills, and some great scenery. The only thing that I will change is that I will definitely buy some ski's with edges, now to decide which ones. HA!
I think I'm done with skiing for the year.
Unless we have a big dump of powder locally. It could happen, but with temperatures predicted in the 50's, 60's, and 70's :eek: for the next 2 weeks, it doesn't look good. And weekends are getting busy, with local things that would preclude going up north.
DH did the spring work on the Kuotas yesterday and we put the trainers away. Although I've ridden my Guru through the winter, maybe 10 times, today feels like the start of the cycling season. Getting ready to head out on a ride in a few.
I can't believe you did that ski without edges. I've had metal edged touring skis for 7 years. My Spyders (the older version) have the metal edges at the front and backs of the skis and some other edge like material in the middle. Given that most of our skiing, in a normal snow year is at Windblown, which has perhaps the steepest terrain of any place I've skied (I can't even look at the black trails there, because I don't have the skill to descend them), I wouldn't even consider skis without metal edges. The friends we ski with love climbing, so we follow :).
I am probably going to get some entry level back country skis/boots for next year. Any recommendations? We most likely will go up to Lahouts up in Littleton, NH to get them, as I am done with REI and the "chain" feeling I get when I go there. It was just dumb luck that I bought the Spyders last time.
To give you a bit more info about the people at the Huts that we met, no one had ski's with edges! I did read all of the information about the Huts pretty thoroughly, and no mention or suggestion of ski's with edges. I also spoke with a couple of their staff before going, and again, something that most people don't have. I was also told by a couple of people that I know that the terrain was simply rolling... But that's probably the perception difference between very well seasoned skiers and myself. HA!However, it is something that I will buy and would definitely suggest to others. With so little snow fall this year, you can imagine how hard packed the trails were.
AS for me, I will still continue to ski, but as you mentioned that may be very short lived. I've rode outside a good portion of the winter, so it sounds as though that may start to happen more on a regular basis.:rolleyes:
I'm not exactly sure what you are looking for in ski's... traditional length, non traditional length, full length edge etc.... I'd be glad to give some suggestions if you want to share a bit more info. I would suggest that if you are at all looking, I would highly recommend Akers Ski here in town. They have been in business for 53 years, all skiers and people that generally care about you and the type of sking that you want to do, no pressure tactics, no egos etc.. In a nutshell, great customer service! Their website is Akers-Ski.com or you can call 207-392-4582.
At this point, I'm looking at the Solomom X Adventure 59, fairly light, traditional length and 3/4 edge. Some other choices, are of course the Fischer Silent Spider 62, or Alpina Discovery. I'll wait until next year to definitely make a decision, who knows maybe there will be some new choices.
I agree with you, I've never been someone that was particularly interested in the 'chain' stores. Somehow I always felt more comfortable with the equipment and suggestions from people that work in the industry all the time.
Have a great spring, and keep those ski's handy... it's hard for me to believe that the snow is gone for the season.:rolleyes: