By midwinter, things can get a little slow in the lakeshore villages of northwestern Michigan. So when residents of Suttons Bay, a small resort community north of Traverse City started encountering characters dressed in furry white Abominable Snowman costumes lounging around their shops, taverns and restaurants last year, they weren’t alarmed. In fact, they created a festival to mark the occasion.
Mt. Borah, an official sponsor of the 2014 American Birkebeiner, is giving away THREE race entries on Wednesday, January 29th for this year’s race (about one month away.) If you need one, or know someone who does, here’s how to win!
We approached this week of nationals the same way we did last year: to try to find a good under layer, a good binder, and a good top end speed when the days warm to above freezing. For the distance classic day we went with Toko base green binder mixed with a little hard klister to keep the wax on for 10-15k. Toko jetstream red powder was the ticket for the afternoon racers and our...
Despite a below average snowpack in the Wood River Valley the Swix Boulder Mountain Tour course has only a slight change to ensure adequate safety and enjoyment for all. The Organizing Committee announced today that the 32-kilometer course will begin as usual with 25 lanes in Senate Meadows at Galena Ski Trails, do a loop around the Senate Meadows area then cross Highway 75 at the bottom of the meadow at the chain-up area just to the South of Galena Lodge.
Is the ground looking a bit bare where you are? Not here at the Jackson Ski Touring Center in Jackson, NH! Winter is in full swing and we have PLENTY of fresh snow and more on the way, with 98 km of trails open today. The conditions are fabulous. It snowed 1-2" overnight, giving us the most skiing in New England - right now.
Gear up for the Winter Olympics in the sunny Methow Valley! Join Nordic skiers from across the Northwest in the Methow Valley Sport Trails Association’s 30-kilometer Methow Valley Pursuit ski race on Saturday, Jan. 25.
With trails and mountains galore, Glacier Country is a skate skiing and cross-country skiing lover’s dream destination. This healthy, heart-friendly activity offers skiers a diverse selection of destinations, ranging from groomed trails at ski centers to ungroomed trails and backcountry treasures in national forests. Plus, with tracks that offer views of the peaks of Glacier National Park, the Cabinet Mountains and the Swan Mountains, you really can’t go wrong. Glaciermt.com/cross-country.php
Most people go skiing for pleasure or exercise. For Gustav Eriksson Vasa, it was literally a matter of life and death. Back in 1518, Gustav’s native Sweden was invaded by Denmark. His father and brother were killed by the invaders, and Danish troops were hunting for him, too. Fortunately, the young nobleman knew how to ski – so he fled over the mountains to nearby Norway, rallied a resistance movement, ejected the Danes and became King of Sweden.
With the stakes high this Olympic season, US Fischer and Swix athletes took to Soldier Hollow, Utah to make a case for their inclusion to the US Olympic team for the upcoming Sochi games. This week, Fischer and Swix outpaced all equipment suppliers with four wins and twelve podium finishes, including two podium sweeps. USST and APU, athlete, Erik Bjornsen took home the opening win of the US National Championships with a strong final lap...
http://www.hwk-skiwax.us/HF-Wax/HWK-Ski-Wax-HFW-2-Nero.html which had been testing well all week. Our powder and top coat tests were also very predictable. Fluor Powder Warm (-4/+15)
http://www.hwk-skiwax.us/LF-Base-Wax/HWK-Ski-Wax-LFW3-Nero-P1-Nero.html with Polar Extreme Cold Powderhttp://www.hwk-skiwax.us/Powder/HWK-Ski-Wax-Fluor-Powder-Cold-2010-Silver.html hand corked, and Liquo Racing
http://www.hwk-skiwax.us/HF-Wax/HWK-Ski-Wax-HFW-3.html as a base wax and both fluor stick 50Go5http://www.hwk-skiwax.us/Fluid-Wax/HWK-Ski-Wax-Liquo-Racing.html proved to be excellent! The HFW3 is a unique HF wax designed for all snow types. It is very hard and durable and we have seen much success with it this race season in many different snow types! This wax has a silver additive as well that has an anti-static property to it. The fluor stick 50Go5 was ironed at 120C. This application method gets...
You have until this WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15TH MIDNIGHT to save up to 25% on registration fees of the Gatineau Loppet. It’s your chance to take part in the biggest cross-country skiing event in Canada and at a reduced price. Hurry up!
www.Nationalnordicfoundation.org
JACKSON, NH – Jackson Ski Touring Center received three feet of snow in December and consistently had the most trails open in New England. And, during the winter break between Christmas and New Year’s Day, the number of skiers increased by 15 percent over last year’s numbers. Overall, skier visits were up and the conditions made for excellent skiing and snowshoeing. With the 2014 Winter Olympics a few weeks away, Jackson Ski Touring Center is...
Annie Pokorny Eric Packer Skate Sprint- Qualifying- This was a tricky morning of testing, because of the cold, lots of waxes/structures seemed to slow the skis down. The night before I had waxed all the skis with HF blue and X-cold powder mix. I ended up waxing all the race skis with Jetream blue powder and block over the top, which I thought felt fractionally better in the chewed up snow. Not all the athletes...
Human Powered Trail Grooming (HPTG), maker of low-cost Nordic trail groomers for the skier who wants to have a private trail is in the middle of its 5th winter of increasing sales. “This started when I wanted to find a way to ski every day without having to travel far. I wanted a trail I could walk to and train on easily. I wasn’t thinking about creating a business. It turns out a lot of skiers want to groom a couple kilometers right out their door”, says owner Peter Foley.
Although the overnight low was far higher than forecasted, once the day got going, the weathermen proved to be pretty much spot on. In the early morning, the low was around 22f. The air temperature rose to a high of 36f during the day. Snow temps went from 23f to 32f. It snowed for much of the earlier part of the morning but then stopped just before the qualifying rounds which made for conditions that were easier than I had anticipated. The same was true for the heats - the conditions could have made for much more difficult waxing if it had continued snowing at 36f. There was a front with lots of snow on it stuck in the mountains just west of Soldier Hollow, but it never broke through.
The keen eyed perusers of Craftsbury’s website no doubt have already noticed, but for everyone else, heads up! We've posted race info for the upcoming SuperTour - AND registration on Skireg is now live.