Saturday Feb 16 |
 | X-C Skiing race (Gunstock ski-o) 1:22:00 [4]14.5 km (5:39 / km) | |
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| Nice course around Gunstock. They've cut new trails, cleared a stadium area and built a lodge for the nordic association. Make the area great for races.
Snow better than Weston. Very cold, snow maybe 10F around the start. Tilled and groomed, but setup so it was hard. |
| X-C Skiing race (Sprint) 15:15 [5]2.8 km (5:27 / km) | |
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| Nine controls around the stadium area from morning. Good fast sprint. |
| X-C Skiing warm up/down 1:00:00 [3]5.9 km (10:10 / km) | |
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| Picking up controls and cool down after the sprint.
When we left, they were setting up for a valentines paint ball race on Sunday. Sounds like a fantastic concept. I wonder if you can shoot your competitor if they start to pull ahead? |
Friday Feb 15 |
| X-C Skiing race (Weston ski-o sprint) 40:30 [4]6.5 km (6:14 / km) | |
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| Night ski-o. Not as hazardous as it sounds. Weston is a flat golf course, mostly open. There are a few hazards, however, such as bare patches of grass (not bad), asphalt cart paths (very bad), above ground snow making pipes (disastrous). Three maps over the same half-km square area. Lot of loops and detours around the hazards and fencing for the driving range.
The temp during the day was 40F, but dropping really fast after dark. We caught the slush just as it turned rigid, making the trails worse than the ungroomed fairways with an inch or two cover. But you had to avoid the pools of frozen water ice.
Had an hour to do the score-o. Collected all the controls in 40 minutes, except for the one behind me at the starting line on the first map. So missed one. Fun anyway. |
| X-C Skiing warm up/down 20:00 [2]2 km (10:00 / km) | |
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| Warm up and picking up controls and tripods. |
Thursday Feb 14 |
| X-C Skiing (Kingdom Valley Trails) 29:00 [2]6 km (4:50 / km) | |
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| Crunched the trails with the groomer and then let it sit while we went to see our accountant about taxes. Came back for an evening ski. Set up rather firmly with biscuit sized chunks throughout. Made for a fast, but bumpy ride. Needs a few more circuits with the tiller, or better yet, a couple inches of real snow.
Got the Kubota out today. Started to dig by hand, and then said "what the heck", and got the tractor turned around inside the shed so I could use it to dig thru the snow bank. This was no minor feat, as the shed is no bigger than the tractor and has a lot of junk in it to boot. Only smacked one rafter with the bucket as I was maneuvering it over the dead snowmobile. And the roof didn't collapse, despite a huge load of saturated snow on top. But the tractor doesn't go very well in the snow and ice without chains, so I guess I got to get them next. |
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| C • tractor 4 |
Wednesday Feb 13 |
| Cross Training 1:00:00 [3] | |
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| This was so ugly I don't even want to log it. We had 6" of snow and then rain all day. By afternoon, I had no choice but to shovel the slop out of the corners and knock the tops off the snow banks after plowing. The banks along the drive are over 4' and the chunks roll back down as fast as I push them up with the plow. All the turnouts and corners are filled, too. So I shovelled a bunch into the creek, and some I could push over the embankments. Got enough cleared so when it freezes solid tonight I will be okay until the next 12".
I've got to dig the Kubota out of the shed so I can seriously cut into the piles of snow. Unfortunately, the way out of the shed is under the end of its metal roof, and everything that lands on the roof slides down and piles up. Now if I had backed the tractor into the shed, I could use the bucket to clear it away; but alas ... |
Tuesday Feb 12 |
| X-C Skiing (Kingdom Valley Trails) 57:00 [3]11.5 km (4:57 / km) | |
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| Snow still soft, but firmed up since yesterday. Rewaxed to LF6. All made skiing more pleasant today. Included a few single track loops around the Pines extension, practicing the latest techniques.
Almost ran into Ruthie, who was coming the other way around a hairpin turn in the S field. Both of us were on the inside of the corner and I didn't see her in the dark until smackdown was imminent. Managed to make the save and not splatter us both. |
Monday Feb 11 |
| X-C Skiing (Kingdom Valley Trails) 50:00 [3]8 km (6:15 / km) | |
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| Groomed yesterday, but didn't ski. Windy and cold overnight; trails drifted over. Groomed again and skied, but didn't rewax. Skis were really slow, probably waxed 15 degrees too warm. Trail also soft as I didn't let it set up. Still a good rest day with easy laps and a few pickups. |
Sunday Feb 10 |
| Cross Training (Snowshoeing) 1:00:00 [2]2.0 mi (29:59 / mi) | |
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| Tour of the trails with Casey. Up over the top of the ridge, exploring things covered by the heavy snowpack.
Then groomed last night's 5" new snow, finishing just in time for a new snow squall to move in and start dumping. |