The XC Skiing thread

[Mark Kelly]

I opened our natural snow season this morning. Definitely rock ski conditions, but doable.

Good to see you still rocking the mismatched poles from last season.

BTW if you break a carbon pole again ping me and I'll run you though how to repair them, it's pretty easy and durable: I am still using a pair of old Exels with two repairs.

[caleb]

But your are snowing on ESPN Gopher game day, dammit...

Ha, if the Gophers and Badgers play in a combination of rain, sleet, and snow, cosmic order will be restored in the world. I'm just down the river from the stadium, and ice chunks started falling 30 seconds ago.

I did talk to a season ticket holder last night who planned to go and tailgate, walk around the pregame festivities, and then go home and watch the game on the couch, though.

Good to see you still rocking the mismatched poles from last season.

BTW if you break a carbon pole again ping me and I'll run you though how to repair them, it's pretty easy and durable: I am still using a pair of old Exels with two repairs.

Good to know. I was skiing yesterday morning with a buddy when we realized we both were using mismatched/replacement poles.



We both agreed that we wouldn't blame someone who skied up behind us and thought twice about sicking our wheels.

If this were a VSalon group ride, TT would be pulling us aside for a quick safety check.

[ides1056]

We had two feet of snow, and Notchview is fine skiing. Hopefully this will continue to be the case. Riding indoors doesn't have quite the allure.

[lumpy]

We had two feet of snow, and Notchview is fine skiing. Hopefully this will continue to be the case. Riding indoors doesn't have quite the allure.

All my responsible talk about not skiing for a few more months of knee rehab in the gym lasted about 3/4 of the way through that storm. Turns out I can shuffle around a flat loop in the field with no problem. Heading out for a quick one now.

[ides1056]

Lumpy- I am sure you know your limits.

[slwrnu]

it is not exactly cross country related but similar. I do not plan to ski hard this winter but my daughter will work a bit for the local ski school. She will finish quite early, so I will skin up to a nice restaurant (c40mins) only about 300 meters up, about 2k distance, meet for lunch, and then ski down on my favourite run - about 6 mins, and get the ski bus back home.

[caleb]

it is not exactly cross country related but similar. I do not plan to ski hard this winter but my daughter will work a bit for the local ski school. She will finish quite early, so I will skin up to a nice restaurant (c40mins) only about 300 meters up, about 2k distance, meet for lunch, and then ski down on my favourite run - about 6 mins, and get the ski bus back home.

Sounds like a perfect day. Please share pictures.

[slwrnu]

wilco thanks, I am rubbish at loading photos so must learn. I am a brit but the ski run I like in tirol is often used, on the quiet, by Austrian and US skiers eg when they are coming back from injury. it is just a t bar and you sometimes find yourself sharing it with a sporty young lady and have a bit of a normal chat and then you get off, she skis off and you think oh yes, she is one of them. There is also a XC Loipe across the car park and they sometimes do a few laps for some fitness work.

[cny rider]

A couple of fresh powdery inches here today on top of a great base.
I had to go ski in our woods for 30 minutes in the dark after work because it's just too good to miss right now.

[Mark Kelly]

FWIW 25 cm of fresh snow on Fall's Creek this week, I almost went skiing there but we have to get things ready for the final inspection on the house.

[caleb]

40 degrees and sunny at the Birkie finish this year. In proper Wisconsin form, folks hung around outside getting a suntan and drinking Spotted Cow.

[robin3mj]

Great pic. Love me some New Glarus.

55 and sunny here in VA today- experiencing the cognitive dissonance of enjoying my book on the front steps while also knowing that the weather this winter in the aggregate is "not a good thing" for those of us who care about more than Exxon's next quarterly earnings call...

[ides1056]

Likely the last day of what has been a generally stellar ski season. There was never much snow, but somehow the crew at Notchview Reservation in Windsor, MA managed to make the most of it. Trails were flat and clean. The base has been two inches of blue ice for awhile with sufficient granular topcoat for speed and stability. Four more months of this and I would be a monster, but I will take what I can get. We have had snow enough to at least stagger around since December, with some patchy weeks I rode the trainer in preparation for riding across the country starting next week.

[lumpy]

preparation for riding across the country starting next week.

You're going to tell us more/post lots of pictures from this trip, right?

eta: Are you starting from your house? Because that could be a pretty tough first week or so.

[ides1056]

Taking Amtrak to Jacksonville: Vermonter to Penn Station then south on the Silver Star, I think. I am following Adventure Cycling's Southern Tier route to San Diego. Depending on how long it takes I may head North to SF as well.

I will be taking a phone- no computer- so I have to figure out the keeping in touch part.

[WFSTEKL]

Taking Amtrak to Jacksonville: Vermonter to Penn Station then south on the Silver Star, I think. I am following Adventure Cycling's Southern Tier route to San Diego. Depending on how long it takes I may head North to SF as well.

I will be taking a phone- no computer- so I have to figure out the keeping in touch part.

Really cool. Good luck!

[caleb]

Taking Amtrak to Jacksonville: Vermonter to Penn Station then south on the Silver Star, I think. I am following Adventure Cycling's Southern Tier route to San Diego. Depending on how long it takes I may head North to SF as well.

I will be taking a phone- no computer- so I have to figure out the keeping in touch part.

[x] Love

But why east to west? Seems like a lot of west Texas wind in your face.

[ides1056]

The wind goes wherever, but if you start in March you hit the desert before it's smokin hot and you start on flat roads. Easy peasy. It will be hard at times no matter what. Temperatures are unseasonably cold now...

[caleb]

I think we're wrapping up the natural snow season.







It's still two weeks until we host the World Cup, and I sure hope the course holds up.

[caleb]

The wind goes wherever, but if you start in March you hit the desert before it's smokin hot and you start on flat roads. Easy peasy. It will be hard at times no matter what. Temperatures are unseasonably cold now...

This trip definitely deserves its own thread. I'd love to hear about the details of your setup.