Cross Country Skiing

[Crankin]

Jolt, it's better to go alone, or with one person at first. Take a lesson or two, it helps.

[lph]

First really good day of skiing. Aaaah :-D Last weekend I was out both Sat and Sun on a short round, but there was only just enough snow and everybody and their grandmother was also out, so it was a crowded and busy affair. Today, 25 km on good, soft snow, well groomed, just enough people to smile and nod to :-)

[DebW]

I spent the weekend at Craftsbury Outdoor Center in Vermont. Skiing was great. Skied hard Sat morning til about 1 pm, rested most of the afternoon, then another hour on the trails. Today we did a long snowshoe hike combined with some animal tracking. Temperature 2-4F today but it was sunny.

[Jolt]

Went back to the place I went with the group Saturday, but this time took a private lesson and then stayed and practiced for a while. I think I am getting the hang of things more now, and it was nice to not be worrying about keeping up with anyone. There was a small hill in a wide-open area that I practiced climbing and descending a few times...it helps to not have the possibility of crashing into trees while working on downhill technique!

[Irulan]

I'm taking a private 2 hr skate ski lesson on Friday. I can classic OK. We've got miles and miles of trails around the corner from the alpine area. I figure I should pick it up ok becasue I am in reasonable shape, and I can skate in my alpine gear like nobody's business. Yes, I know there are differences but i hope it will help me catch on.

[Crankin]

I had an awesome ski today, at Northfield Mountain, in western MA. This is actually a mountain (small) that was bought by a power company. In exchange, they had to develop the land for recreation. While there are a good deal of green trails, some of them great for warming up, there's mostly difficult climbing/descending. However, you can even ascend to the summit on a moderately built road that is a green trail. There's no food here, the center is bare bones... but the grooming is stupendous, as is the scenery. I finally feel like I got my ski legs back. Good thing, we are leaving for Stowe in 3 days. I am not sure how far I went, but we skied for 2 hours.

[Jolt]

Lots of good snow lately for skiing! Have gotten out a few more times, including on the trails at a farm here in town which are open to the public and often groomed. They are a little more challenging than the XC ski center a few towns over, partly because of more ups and downs (with curves on or at the bottom of many of the descents) and partly because people walk there with bare boots and tend to mess up the snow. So far the best I have done on that loop is to "only" fall down twice (yesterday)...will feel pretty good when I get to the point of being able to complete it without wiping out, eating it or crashing once! I have tomorrow off so am planning to take advantage of the new snowfall and get some skiing or snowshoeing in.