I hope to get some xc skiing in this year. I have to travel to snow from here, but it's worth it once I'm there. Y'all are lucky to be able to ski out your door.
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I hope to get some xc skiing in this year. I have to travel to snow from here, but it's worth it once I'm there. Y'all are lucky to be able to ski out your door.
There have been a few inches on the ground in the mts. of Eastern Oregon. I'm ready for it, too. Last year we were skiing before Christmas--that's unusual.
Why do I have to work? It gets in the way of all I really WANT to do.
Whoo Hoo!!! Can't wait to break out the skis..I love cross country and back country skiing. Just about a month or 2 until I can hit the trails!!! YEAH!! Can you tell I am excited!!!
We've had skiable snow for almost 2 weeks. Not enough, but yet enough. The area nearest my house is mostly stubble, grass and rocks, but the MTU trails are fantastic! They have the trails in such great shape that they can be rolled with minimal snow, so they've been really nice. Smooth, fast-ish - even enough for them to set tracks! Plus, they added 10 k or so of more intermediate trails this year, so I could ski for 2 hours without repeating anything. Marquette has had a lot more snow than we have, but so far it doesn't seem to matter.
Whoo hoo!
I'm also trying to put my hands on a new pair of Madshus Nanosonic SCs, but with little luck so far. My local shop no longer carries my beloved Maddogs, and K2 (who is the distributor now, apparently) appears to be out of the ones I want. However, another shop downstate is on the case now, so I still have hope. My old Hypersonics are 11 years old (both pairs), with lots of Ks on them, so I live in fear of breaking one.
Hope all you fellow nordic-heads are out there having fun!
No snow yet.:(
Is this what you are talking about? This is the same shop as WebCyclery and I was admiring all the Madshus over the weekend.Quote:
Originally Posted by Skierchickie
http://www.webskis.com/product.php?p...8&cat=0&page=1
So I have a question, DH and I fell in love with Red River, NM and want to go back in the winter. He wants to try downhill skiing but I am a weenie. Cross country though looks like a lot of fun, is it hard to learn as a newbie? Looks like you just glide along, it can't be that easy? We may do a long weekend in Red River sometime in the winter. We should do that for my birthday in the bitter cold of February. ;)
Amanda, it's fairly easy to pick up. Once you catch on to the kick & glide, you can just enjoy the sights. Stick to the easy tracks at first. It wouldn't hurt to have a lesson from someone. It's lots less expensive than downhill and a terrific workout.
SadieKate: Thanks for the link. Those are almost the ones. I was looking for the SCs, not the Rs. The SC model is for softer conditions. That is a really good price. Skis are one thing I want to handle before I buy - too many things to look at. My shop ordered a pair for me, but both were flawed in the same way in the same place on the ski, and they were the Rs, and were also too stiff.
It doesn't matter anymore - DH lost his job yesterday, so no new skis this year. I'm an emotional wreck right now, especially because I was almost done with my Christmas shopping. I'm more in "what can I return" mode all of a sudden. And crying a lot, when I'm not in denial mode. At least I can still ski as much as possible, just won't be doing any expensive races or traveling. I just looked, and one of my favorite races (which happens to be near my parents' house, so lodging isn't an issue) is up to $76 :( . Sigh.
Skierchic- I am so sorry! My dad got laid off at the beginning of December when I was in 4th or 5th grade, it was very traumatic for us as kiddos. ((HUGS))
Ama - give it a try! It'll be fun! You can get the gist of it pretty quickly, enough to have fun schlepping around.
While I was in Bend this weekend following SK around in various bike shops (many of which were also selling XC gear) I was getting a bit wistful about all the fun XC skiing experiences I had many moons ago back when I was in school in eastern MA.
I never got particularly good at it, but it sure was fun, and really great exercise. (But be warned - after the first day or 2 you're gonna be achey! Lots of muscle groups being employed :cool: )
Hey skierchickie - very sorry about your DHs job loss. My best wishes to you both.
skierchickie -- I'm so sorry. That just plain sucks.
Can you normally rent XC in a ski town? We really wanted to go to California again for my birthday but New Mexico would probably be cheaper. Food is better in California which is another reason not to go. :pQuote:
Originally Posted by jobob
Not worried about being sore, they also have snowmobile tours for the days we are too tired to go skiing. :)
I would say if there's a Nordic area, there would be rentals available. And the rental is way less than for downhill equipment. Be sure to dress in layers that you can easily remvoe. You will warm up for sure.
You can rent x country skis at most ski touring places. Sometimes, it's cheaper to rent from a store near home.
If I can nordic ski, you can. Just realize that there are hills when you x country ski! This freaked me out when I started, but it was before I started cycling. Now, I love the climbing aspect, but I am still cautious on the downhills. I don't like descending in any sport. My biggest accomplishment is skiing down a black diamond run in Vermont last winter. In the west, you don't have to deal with ice, so I imagine it's a lot easier.
Beginner trails are usually entirely flat, though.
Crankin- I think REI or Sun and Ski *might* rent skis but otherwise you are kind of hard pressed in Tejas! We are still muling it over for my birthday, skiing sounds interesting to me. Too bad my birthday is President's Day weekend it is probably crowded. We started to travel for my birthday present a couple years ago but never decide until after Christmas.
Yes, it might be crowded, but that's prime x country ski season! Once March comes, even if there's snow, around here, it becomes like mashed potatoes once the sun comes out, because the temperature tends to be higher.
Well, this is a late post, but thought that I would pass it for future references. There's ski shop here that it probably one of the biggest(if not the biggest) in the US. They carry alot of current models, but also lots of closeouts as well. They have been in business over 50 years, and are very family oriented and a shop that will sell what you want and need rather than what they have. I think their website is AkersSki.com... listed in Andover, Maine.
Have a great season!
Went skiing for the first time yesterday...we got a dump of snow this week.
No classic trails yet, but was still fun...and above 0 degrees (celsius) too. :cool:
I prefer to call it the bunny ear. We live in the bunny ear. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Skierchickie
Tech is AWESOME! I've gotten out for three or four skis over the last two weeks - prepping for finals, so not much time or energy. I went snowshoeing yesterday morning at Tech. Wow. We live in such an incredible place. :)
Okay Di Bear, I'll accept "bunny ear". However, I hope you know this puts Hancock in the bunny ear canal! :D
Tech has been great! Swedetown is pretty darn good now, too. I'm just eating my lunch now before heading there to beat the next 8-14 inches they're predicting. Sounds like it will probably be wet, heavy, base-building stuff. Then, back to 10 degrees.
Have fun out there, ladies!
Bunny ear canal sounds about right since we have so much wax floating around here. ;)
Wow - I'm embarrassed to say that went COMPLETELY over my head. :confused: Ski wax?
We're having an unbeleivable snow fall here in Eastern ORegon. Several of us went to the golf course today and skied all 18 holes. It was really fun. Even though the snow wasn't very deep at first, if we went through to the fairway, it was still smooth and good gliding. Going back on Saturday and then having hot chocolate & peppermint schnapps in the bar. Wheeeeeeeeeeee!!!!
We are sooooooo close to being able to ski from the driveway again. Of course, this is just in time for us to be leaving for SLC.
Aaahhh. (Comfortable sigh). First xc ski of the season. Feels darn good again. It has been snowing non-stop since Friday noon. By Saturday morning I had a foot, then slow flurries all day Saturday for about another 4 inches, then picked up again like gangbusters today Sunday and still going. Today I decided to have fun first, and then spend the time to snowblow myself out. The conditions were perfect! Perfect snow, 20 d perfect temps to keep snow dry, and perfect wax = nice effortless FUN glide. I don't have to drive - I just go up the road 800 feet to where there is 2000 acres of 'never to be developed' watershed area and use wood roads. Today I skied right from the cellar door. I didn't go far into the woods. I just didn't feel like breaking trail as I didn't have my floaters but my narrower skiis. I actually skied the roads - which are not heavily traveled in the vicinity of my house - it was great - just a thin veneer of about 2-3" over packed plowed road. My own personal groomed trail and I was able to get some skating in. I only had to move over for 4 cars in an hour and a half. Kind of stormy - people weren't out.
We went "cross city" skiing today... it so rarely really snows around here that there are no real snow clearing provisions. The side streets are like beautiful groomed ski tracks. We probably put in 10-12 miles down to Lake Washington and back.
I went skiing yesterday for the first time this season. The conditions were superb. However, I had limited time, so after I had completed all of the trails on the easier side of the touring center, I knew it would take me too long to go back the way I came. I got to the road that divides the 2 areas and I gingerly skied down the street, where there actually was enough snow snow to do this, until I got to another trail that would take me back to my car more directly. It was strange to be skiing down a road that I usually am riding on!
However, I was very slow, but it felt good. I took a stupid fall on a downhill; the kind where I didn't fall all the way down and lay there splayed in the snow, but my bum sort of touched the ground, I recovered and got up, and continued down the tiny little hill. Right now I can't conceive that last winter I actually skied down a black diamond run.
What I noticed is that my skill level is just like my cycling; I am not fast like the real fast skiers/racers, but I am faster than someone who is just plodding along. I had to help one woman who had fallen and couldn't get up.
It's raining today :(, so there go the good conditions.
Here are some fun pictures from a XC ski today here in SLC. SadieKate and Bubba are visiting Bubba's mom and we've been traipsing about.
I can't tell you how many pictures I have from over the years of SK sticking her tongue out. Today was no exception:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...rah-tongue.jpg
And then we ran into this really neato snowman. He had boots on! (I'm on the left and SK is behind Frosty)
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ah_snowman.jpg
It was a great day and the snow was wonderful. So nice to have SK in town to play with!! :D
Honey, I'm ho-ome! (As snap would say.) But it rained and our lovely snow is nearly gone. Pooh.
And Sunnyside Sports is having a huge sale on everything including skate boots . . . . Bubba picked up some of those Toko pants for 30% off and no tax.:rolleyes:
Sunnyside was very nice in the midst of sale havoc and heated up my Rossi BC 7s and gave me a lead on someone who may be able to help with my right boot problem so I can then spend more money. ;)
Me had fun in SLC. Mercy buckets.
Here we are skiing at Pendleton Country Club on Dec. 20th before the snow melted. I'm in the blue about to cross the creek (crick if you're in Eastern Oregon!)
Yes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Skierchickie
All these pictures look wonderful.
Just taking a stab here hoping that someone might be able to suggest a good xc skiing spot, with nice trails and decent snow, within a 3-4 hour drive of Washington DC. I'm dying to get out this winter, and my dog groomer said she'd go with me, so I need to figure out where! Thanks in advance.
A co-worker loves Whitegrass, in Davis, WV.Quote:
Originally Posted by divingbiker
I've never been, but would love to try it. My poor skis haven't been out of the garage in several years, and only see our unplowed streets on those VERY rare big snowfalls. :(
Oh...also Wisp, of course, out in western MD.
Wonder if they have snow now???Quote:
Originally Posted by 7rider
Wanna go some weekend?
At each of those sites..look for the link for daily snow reports or conditions.Quote:
Originally Posted by divingbiker
Looks like Wisp is closed and Whitegrass reports "frozen" conditions with some bare patches. Yuck.
I'd love to go - when they get some snow.
Skierchickie,
Was that you I saw at Tech, tonight? I was wearing the blue and black jacket with the gray cyclocross hat and the gray neck gator that hid my face. :D I like to keep my face warm.
Di
Possibly, possibly.... I was there from 4:30 until 6:15-ish. Light blue jacket, white & blue hat, off-white hood under the hat, black pants. Seems like I saw somebody fitting your bundled-up description toward the end. I was with DH & my best buddy. Belated "Hi Di Bear!". I think we were deep in a discussion about whether we wanted to actually observe New Year's Eve, and what on earth to do. Sounds like we'll probably go to a movie.
It was fun tonight! My buddy wanted to do some drills, which nearly killed us all (3 minutes hard, 3 easy, 2 hard, 2 easy, 1 hard, 1 easy). Turns out that first 3 minutes at race pace is hard. We ditched the second set.:rolleyes: Then we just skied easy-ish down to the Nara trails & stuff. We might try to do increasingly bigger sets of that weekly. I ski a lot, but I don't seem to do drills & intervals and stuff anymore.
I just signed up for 4 races for this season (before all the prices go up after tomorrow).
1) 21km at ABR in Ironwood
2) 25K Noquemanon in Marquette
3) 26K Pre-Birkie in Hayward, WI
4) 26K Bear Chase (home turf)
All freestyle
Whoo hoo!
Anybody else want to share their race schedules for this season?
Yeah, that was me. I skied from 4:20 to 6:10. I twisted my ankle earlier today, so skiing was a little painful after about 10K.
Just got back from 4 days in Jackson, NH. Went up New Year's Eve and stayed at the Inn at Thorn Hill. We've been there before and it is the nicest inn I've been too. The breakfasts and dinners are included in the room price, although you can go there and not get the dinner included. Thursday was the coldest day in a long time! We started to ski out of the inn to connect to the Jackson x country area and it was a mess; covered with branches from the ice storm and very icy. After I fell like 4 times we all turned back. I was hurting and not in a good mood when we finally got in the car and drove there. So, we decided to just do the river trail while our friends did some blue trails. It was a good idea, I got my ski legs back a little and didn't fall for the rest of the day. I was very glad our room had a jacuzzi, though. I noticed one little bruise on my lower hip.
Friday we went to Bear Notch, which is one of my favorite touring centers. It is small and has homemade soup and bread for lunch. We did about 6-7K with lots of climbing and a few good downhills, which I managed to stay upright on. And, it was a balmy 25 out. When we got back, I noticed that I now had 3 bruises (2 small) on my right hip, butt, and hamstring. No wonder they started aching after all of the downhill. Today we checked out and drove to Bretton Woods. We did about 10.5k with a little climbing and some nice intermediate downhills. It was freezing again and the wind was whipping across the open field you have to cross before getting into the woods. I was unzipped quite a bit when we stopped at the yurt for a snack, but the last 1k on the way back was brutal, blowing snow on icy terrain. Bretton Woods has a nice locker room with showers, so we changed and cleaned up before heading home. As I was changing, someone called my name and it was SheFly! She had been trying out skate skiing.
A good vacation and I am very sore!