We’ve had a lame winter so far, snow-wise. Lately we’ve only had a few thin snowfalls separated by warm-ups. But even that isn’t nothing at all for XC ski buffs.
I’ve been skiing several times now on maybe 1/8″ skim over leaves. …And it works pretty good! I’m getting enough glide for double-poling and am even enjoying some of my usual good ski session feelings.
We’ll probably be getting more thin snow winters in the coming years — if you live in “shoulder” regions for snow country, at any rate. So we better learn to adapt! (Whiners not allowed.)
I give a half dozen ways we can happily adapt to this situation in my book “New Wave Nordic Skiing.” (…Which you can order here or on Amazon.)
Oh, what I mean by ‘good ski session feelings,’ is that I enjoy going out wearing a couple layers of clothes then experiencing how a ski outing changes as I warm up. As many do, I ski loops. And like you see at many trails, I take off a layer every lap as I warm up and I hang my outer layers on a tree at the home-base intersection. (Many trails start to look like Xmas tress at their main intersections as people festoons the trees with warm-up clothes.) I do some easy laps then pick up the pace. After awhile I’m enjoying the feeling of playing in freezing weather without a hat or jacket and having sweat dripping off my nose! …Just like it’s summer. I always get a kick out of that. So even though our snow is thin, I’m still having my kind of fun.
So, I’ve been busy during the holidays but during lulls in socializing we’ve had some thin “skim” snowfalls. I’ve been fortunate to be able to opt for one of the easiest solutions in my list of six: ski the snow you get. And it has been fun and worked pretty well! I haven’t crashed yet or been thrown by a grabby ski. I don’t think I’ve scratched my skis, either. The ground is frozen so any little bit of accumulation has worked for skiing! …I just make sure that where I ski has grass or leaves under the thin snow: not a hard task. Golf courses are an obvious option. But I ski on a forest trail! I just keep flicking aside sticks and walnuts and enjoy smooth sailing. However, I hear our area is in the “snow belt” so far this season, getting the rare half-inch compared to where other pals live who’ve been getting zilch.
I’ve also used another solution: ski on man-made snow. We have a nice snow-making course less than an hour away. A half a dozen of us ski hogs met up out there last week and chased around for an hour of fun.
…I still think that the nearby alpine slope could be developed as a nordic option if approached right and if there was interest. I bet we could develop a fun terrain park sort of course looping around the outer margins of their lift-served snow-making area and get some really fun XC action going. …But that would take work. I suppose I could talk to the manager even if it was just me who was interested. I’d hope that one could get a price-break on a lift-ticket since we wouldn’t be using the lifts. Heck, if we bought a ticket that should do the trick regardless. I’m wondering if XC’ers using the slopes before or after regular hours might also be an option.
Another option that some area skiers have already used is the obvious one of: drive to the snow. There is enough natural snow to ski some fun trails just 2 hours north. More of us plan to roadtrip north this weekend to do this.
A lot of people only alpine ski up north on weekends anyway. They’re not calling it such a bad winter yet, I don’t think. …Though their conditions aren’t ideal, either. No need for us to be any worse off than they are, and probably better off since our trails aren’t trafficked so hard in the first place. We have a good half dozen nice trails just a short drive north.
So during the week we can play on our thin snow and even do some running, roller-skiing and cat-skiing. Then hit the Real Stuff on the weekends and have a fine time.
This works out especially well if you can develop a Club House sort of scene for your weekend getaways. Turn em into slumber-parties. If all the best trails aren’t fully open yet then go for a mix of experiences during a day out: add some backcountry telemark turns to the mix. Maybe even go paddling on a pristine nearby up north trout stream.
I just built a sweat lodge in our back yard. That’s already been a fun addition to our scene. Many up north lodges already have a sauna or hot-tub option to add elements that boost the fun for any getaway, much less one during an otherwise thin snow season.
Even for our simple snow-making loop, we often step up the satisfaction level by having a bonfire and laying out quality picnic supplies at a trailside picnic table. When the snow is great, people might be happy just to drink enough water during an outing and omit much standing around because the skiing is so good. Well, actually it’s always nice to add to the social and cultural experience with a bonfire and quality refreshments and chit-chat. It seems likelier that a scene can recruit, grow, and endure if there’s more to it than the heart-rate. I’ve had enjoyable years of work-out outings where I meet people, hammer, then go home, but I think more depth results from … more depth. (Even if people are busy.)
