With the IBU season opening this weekend with preseason races in Sjusjøen, Norway, FasterSkier contributor Aleks Tangen checked out the venue and spoke with some of the movers and shakers at the venue.
While it might be tempting to grind your skis based on the long-term weather forecast, which calls for a cold, wet and stormy La Nina season with lots of snow dumps, experience is the best guide.
After several years of tense waiting for the snow to arrive in West Yellowstone, this year is shaping up to be stress-free. Significant snow has fallen, and trails in town are open and groomed.
On October 26th the Lily Lake trails on Kebler Pass, which is just 6 miles West of Crested Butte, CO, were groomed for classic and skate skiing. A packed base of 1 to 6 inches blankets roughly 5km of good early season skiing. Rock skis are the way to go since there are a number of rocks, sticks and grasses that are exposed or right beneath the surface. Significant snow is forecast for the next...
The Nordic Heritage Center, 2010 XC Junior Olympic host venue, reports six inches of new snow over the last day. Athletes from the Maine Winter Sports Center were excited by the opportunity for some early season skiing and toured around the race trails this morning. Pictured here is MWSC athlete Ben Koons on the 5km classic race course and Koons with fellow MWSC teammate Nick Kline skiing by the lodge at the Nordic Heritage Center.
Mont-Sainte Anne ski resort, in Quebec, reports 25cm of snow. A dozen skiers took advantage of the single groomed trail. The snow won’t last, but preparations are under way for more fall skiing. If there is no additional natural snow, the resort will prepare an 800 meter training track at the top of the alpine resort. If there is enough snow, trails will be groomed at the cross-country area. We received more than 25cm at...
Stockholm, ME — Sure, we all get plenty of reports of early snow each year. And this snow fall is only about 5″. And it likely won’t last more than 24 hours on the ground. But in Stockholm, that’s no reason not to do it right. Thanks to the dedication and enthusiasm of the Snowy Mountain Trails’ groomer/director Tom Campbell, the Maine Winter Sports Center XC squad is already 1 hour into training on groomed trails this year. Most...
The Lander Nordic Ski Association reports extra blue skiing in Wyoming. As we pass the mid-point mark of October, snow reports continue to come in – hopefully an indication of good things to come!
Early this week, more than a meter of fresh snow has fallen around the Alps, especially Austria. Temperatures have dropped below zero in many places around Europe and while the snow has stopped for now, more snow is expected at the weekend. The big falls come in the same week of the year as those in 2008 when the huge dumps that set up winter 08-09 as one of the best in recent years began...
Looking for early snow? Head to Lapland… Cross-country skiing is already possible at many travel resorts in Finnish Lapland. The season opened unusually early this year with heavy snowfall late Wednesday night. At the Levi resort in the area of Kittilä, 19 kilometers of tracks were available by Friday, at Luosto in Sodankylä there were 18 and at Saariselkä in Inari 16 kilometers of marked cross-country ski routes. Other resorts reported shorter tracks open. Source:...
Snow on the Birkie Trail at Mosquito Brook – hopefully a sign of good things to come!