The XC Skiing thread

[Scott G.]

I read that the fan base for biathlon has grown exponentially. In 1987 (according to the comments from one of the target makers) typical audience for a competition would be in the 100's. Now it is in the tens of thousands (pandemic aside.) I have no idea why the popularity, [snip]

In Finland, it is Putin's revanchist speeches.

[DCT]

Sweet thanks! Now I’m looking at the Rossignol Evo OT 65s for even more versatility (metal edges!) and I’ll most likely get them. I’m not looking to go ultra fast, I’m more looking to have fun around local parks like I did in Boston. I’ve been to a Nordic center with proper tracks maybe twice (Weston), the rest of the time was having a blast breaking trail or riding hardpack on multi use trails (Cutler, Blue Hills, Noanet). The OT 65s will work at the Nordic center but allow more of the skiing I enjoy and have done most. And growing up skiing downhill I’ve always missed edges on XC skis. Now we just need some snow.

When you get hooked, you’ll have more skis than bikes! The plus side is, skis are easier to store.

I’ve got about 8 sets of skis between here and my parents place in Canada. Skate, backcountry, skin, wax. So many choices!

[spopepro]

Blane county Idaho (Sun Valley) might be the best place in the world for Nordic skiing. There is a recreation district that maintains kilometers and kilometers and kilometers of groomed trails and even a lodge and it’s all so beautiful and great skiing. We were able to do a point to point 32km ski with a scheduled shuttle bus ride. My wife fell for this area when she was master electrician for the music and ballet festival, and it’s amazing in winter as well.
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[72gmc]

Sun Valley is where I learned to alpine ski as a kid. Perhaps I should concoct a plan to learn XC skiing there.

[caleb]

Sun Valley hosts a ski marathon that I've always wanted to do. The pics are gorgeous, @spopepro.

[ides1056]

No available lodging. Guess there is demand.

No snow here still. Sucks, but so it goes. Make lemonade. We will all have to get good at it.

[Tom]

I was riding up on the ridge New Year's Day, going up Batter Street towards Mariaville, when I saw a wooly bear caterpillar crossing the road. I know there's a couple of versions of the folklore about the color bands and what they mean for the winter, but what does it mean for the winter when the caterpillars are out and about on New Year's Day in upstate New York?

[mnoble485]

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I know diddly about cross country skiing. I know this isn’t enough but it’s more than this florida boy has seen in 20 years. Woke up to this.

Mike

[gregl]

I know there's a couple of versions of the folklore about the color bands and what they mean for the winter, but what does it mean for the winter when the caterpillars are out and about on New Year's Day in upstate New York?

I'm pretty sure it means that humankind has messed up our climate to the point that all bets are off on future weather. The years we upstaters remember of long winters with few thaws appear to be over. Instead, snow is iffy and we have extended wet and muddy autumns and springs. Here in the snowiest major city in the country, there's just a dusting of snow on the ground and we're nearly 30" below our average snowfall for this time of the winter season. On the plus side, cycling season is damn near year-round...

Greg

[j44ke]

I was riding up on the ridge New Year's Day, going up Batter Street towards Mariaville, when I saw a wooly bear caterpillar crossing the road. I know there's a couple of versions of the folklore about the color bands and what they mean for the winter, but what does it mean for the winter when the caterpillars are out and about on New Year's Day in upstate New York?

I've had cutworms running around on our porch for weeks. Basically a naked wooly bear. This morning the temp is 20F, and the cutworm crowd is frozen solid. I guess temp change was fast enough it caught them out.

[vertical_doug]

The most plausible explanation is Elon Musk saw the movie GeoStorm and thought it was a cool idea. That is the reason he is launching all those satellites. He is behind the weird weather.
(and he is definitely launching a lot of satellites. I rest my case on that evidence. )

[vertical_doug]

at least you can get 20% off

[j44ke]

at least you can get 20% off

What is that an ad for?

[SpeedyChix]

Question for the more eastern states forum members: What are xc skiing options in PA (central-ish). We are looking for a good xc ski location and if it has nearby downhill skiing available that's a bonus for one of the group. Attempting to meet bro-in-law/wife sort of midway for all of us (Michigan <--> NYC).
Groomed classic and nothing steep will work for this group.

[caleb]

Finished the day yesterday with a quick exploratory trip to a new trail that's only a couple miles away. Somehow I'd never skied it.

Noticed this little cottonwood sapling watching the trail.

[vertical_doug]

Question for the more eastern states forum members: What are xc skiing options in PA (central-ish). We are looking for a good xc ski location and if it has nearby downhill skiing available that's a bonus for one of the group. Attempting to meet bro-in-law/wife sort of midway for all of us (Michigan <--> NYC).
Groomed classic and nothing steep will work for this group.

I think anything is a gameday audible at this point. The only place I can think of (not midway) is maybe Blueknob area but it has closed trails for lack of snow. Whole Northeast is a disaster right now. Poconos are also a disaster. Vermont, NY all in sad shape. Maybe President's week will be lucky . .. .

Flights are so cheap (NYC to DTW) , why not have the New Yorkers fly to Michigan and go upstate.

[SpeedyChix]

Flights are so cheap (NYC to DTW) , why not have the New Yorkers fly to Michigan and go upstate.

+1 on this idea. We had reasonable XC conditions a couple hours north of us mid-week. A couple more hours and it's outstanding ATM.

[caleb]

Recent reports are that the ABR trails are A+ right now.

[caleb]

We used MLK Day for a little day trip up to the Snowflake system in Duluth. I hadn't skied there before, but I will definitely go back.

It's a low key local place that reminded me a lot of Lapland Lake in New York.







The sign in sheet had a column for Dog? Y/N


Lotsa history in the clubhouse.








Some amenities were open.




And others were closed due to the plague.




The snow was all natural and the grooming first rate.

[DCT]

New Paltz, NY with IronsightImages.