Cross Country Skiing

[Kubla]

Nope, you are not alone. I am hoping for at least one more storm, too.

Never thought I would be echoing this sentiment-but I too am hoping for more snow in the next few weeks. My wider skis are finally due to arrive today. (Note to self: going forward, opt for expedited delivery of seasonal equipment when ordering from an unfamiliar source.)

In contrast-the boots were here in 2 days, via regular delivery. While I expected the skis to take a bit longer, the 11-day wait has been a lesson in patience. We have more new powder this morning and-if it doesn't rain on top of it this afternoon-are going to Borderland State Park in Easton tomorrow.

[roadie gal]

We got over 5 feet of snow over the weekend. Yesterday I took the dogs out for a short ski down one of the local roads that is dirt in the summer. Luckily other people had been out snowshoeing and skiing before me. There was a knee deep trench that we were able to follow. If the trench hadn't been there it would have been too deep for my (fairly large) dogs to walk in. As it was, we went for about 3 miles. They seemed to have a good time. I know I did.

[Crankin]

These are pictures from our ski today. We had just finished skiing down the Old Farm Trail at Windblown and were about to take our skis off and walk across the parking lot.. we were done. Conditions were perfect; I skied down the Open Slope from the top of the blue part of it (sorry, the Black trails at Windblown are like Alpine trails) for the first time. Did about 7 miles. This might be my last ski of the year , since I will be away next weekend.

[mudmucker]

Today I went out with my new backcountry skis for the second time under more favorable conditions. I got 4 inches of fresh new snow last night. However in ungroomed areas, underneath was classic New England crud from melting and refreezing as well as an existing crust from the last sleet storm. So I went out to land behind my house where no one else goes so that I had to break trail. No travel, car stays in yard. If I tried to use my touring skis or even my skinnier backcountry's in this kind of stuff I know from experience I would have a miserable time, since the crud underneath gives unevenly, the skis would twist in or out, and the skis would tunnel under the crud getting caught. So I tested out the fat bc's with metal edges.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE them! I had SO MUCH FUN. I didn't think I would have so much fun. Take it down a notch for speed and it was just this lovely uninterrupted rhythm of kick and glide through untrodden quiet woods. One concern was that I thought the width would be overkill for what I want to do. But no, the width worked out great. I had great float, the ski can cut through anything and I was able to maintain control (while cutting through submerged ice crud buried lower) and able to carve out a couple of turns without the ski hanging up. The wide ski underfoot gave a really nice stable platform. Secondly, I thought maybe because the skis are on the verge of being more tele-like I'd get more drag than glide. Again, not so. They glided so beautifully and I could feel some of the camber working underneath. So glad I got the longer skis. Plus the tip stayed near the top which of course is great for float but also I could always see it - would not be good to hook a ski under an unseen buried log beneath the snow. I was unexpectedly surprised at how nice of a glide I got. These being my first waxless skis I was skeptical of the grip. They climb great with little slippage. Boy, these are keepers! I'm confident these skis can go through anything, and the beauty is that I bet my xc ski season will be greatly extended since these skis will be able to get through all the spring crap.

It was really fun today, just going where no one else was. So quiet. No people, no snowmobiles. Right outside my house, 2 miles into the woods. (Just gotta make sure keep checking cell reception since I go out alone). XC skiing is soul-saving for me but these skis will make it doubly so. I've been wanting to get backcountry skis for 12 years now - finally glad I did.

Untrodden, inviting and all mine


Pond and ridge


Other side of pond

[Kubla]

My wide skis (Rossignol BC 90s) finally arrived late last Monday afternoon. There was only a half hour of daylight remaining but I was able to take them out back for a short test run. They seem to glide well and I'm looking forward to one last big storm in the next few weeks.

Tuesday we brought the 'skinny' skis to Borderland State Park for 3 hours and almost had the place to ourselves. The trails had seen foot traffic and were not ideal-lumpy ice covered by a thin layer of snow-but the scenery and quiet made up for it.

The heavy rain we got Friday did not melt all the snow but left crust and ice behind, now topped with 2 inches of snow received earlier today. The footing was tacky, but I went out for an hour just to get some exercise. Rain is predicted for tomorrow, so any "trails" I made today will disappear.

[lph]

Anyone following the Nordic Ski World Championships? Marit Bjørgen is such an AMAZING athlete, I'm speechless! Maybe I'll even go jostle for the pleasure of seeing her live on the womens 30 K on Saturday.

[lph]

Anyone following the Nordic Ski World Championships?

I guess not. Oslo is going a bit insane here now so I tend to forget that nordic skiing barely exists outside of Northern Europe, at least as a spectator sport.

New question: anyone try the Kuzmin steel scraper on their skis, instead of glider? You basically scrape away all the worn surface until you get to fresh, "new" sole - and leave it that way. Just refresh with a light scrape-over once in a while. The afficionados say it's at least as good as glide-waxing, and a lot less mess. We've bought one and tried, but so far I've just played around with it on other peoples skis . Mine are that new still that the original sole is pretty good. Curious to see how the treatment holds up over time.

www.kuzmin.se if anyone is interested. The guy has written a whole thesis on the subject...

[Susan]

Anyone following the Nordic Ski World Championships? Marit Bjørgen is such an AMAZING athlete, I'm speechless! Maybe I'll even go jostle for the pleasure of seeing her live on the womens 30 K on Saturday.

I do, whenever I can. However they tend to show only the mens runs and not the womens, sadly. Unless, like in the Ski World Championships, the men don't win anything and the girls do, then they hype them for 2 weeks and forget about womens sports afterwards