Training Log Archive: CleverSky

Bundschuh pre-party ski/snowshoe outing on the small snowshoes, with Nancy, Teri Magnus, and a bunch of others. We started out with the snowshoe group, but we were getting ahead of the pack, and at some point ended up with the skiers. No problem, we were basically able to keep up. Nice night. I did some of this breaking trail next to the tracks for added exercise. But I passed on the Fireball whiskey.

Snow dealings, round 11e: the rest of Nancy's driveway. Finally decided that it was too much of a pain to be shoveling all the time, so after consulting with a coworker who has owned several models, I bought an electric snow blower which should fit in her shed. It's not as burly as a gas two-stage, but definitely easier than shoveling, it throws the snow pretty far (a lot further than I can get with a shovel), and this was in pretty non-ideal conditions, snow that's been sitting there for a few days, melting some in the daytime and refreezing at night. For the worst bits, it helped to break it up a bit with a shovel first. On fresh snow I think it wil do pretty well, as long as it's not dense wet rain-soaked glop.

C • I have the battery version ... 3

Willard Brook SE, In The Dark, small snowshoes. I had intended to go out much earlier, but I got caught up in doing a bunch of stuff around the house, so by the time I got out there it was getting close to 11 PM. Totally untracked, so I was breaking trail the whole way, sinking in about 6" with every step, a killer stairclimber workout. I had a loop in mind if the trail had already been packed down, but when I got to the "Friends Trail" (aka Old City Road) and that was also unbroken snow, I just turned around, because I was gfeeling about half-cooked by that point. On the way, I spotted a line of reflective thumbtacks heading off into the woods that I had never seen before (not even on the way out tonight, maybe they're angled such that they were more visible on the way back), so I checked it out. They got more and more spaced out, and I turned back when I couldn't spot any more. The return trip was just as much work as the first part, because I don't take Wagon steps even with snowshoes, and retracing my steps, I was actually stepping into the spaces between the footprints, so I was compressing snow again and leaving an almost continuous path, such that someone with skis could use.

Downhill skiing at Nashoba Valley with Nancy. A number of firsts for me: first time at NV, first time (as far as I can recall) skiing under lights, first time with the new (used) skis that Alan gave me (still probably dated, but not as dated as my other pair), and first time with a helmet. I lost count, but we did maybe 15 runs, finishing up as they were closing the lifts at 10 PM.

Snow dealings, round 11d: Mom's roof. Back with the roof razor, this time smart enough to wear snowshoes. 15 minutes for the front and 19 for the back (the footing isn't so great back there). Worked great once again.

Snow dealings, round 11b: my driveway again. Woke up at 6, and was back in the house by 6:40 with everything cleaned up, including the blowing of the mailbox. About 3" overnight, total snow depth on the deck about 22".

Snow dealings, round 11c: Nancy's driveway. She had shoveled herself out last night, so I redid sort of the minimum area, enough to park the car at the bottom, and a path up to the back door. The piles are getting a little tall, so the throwing is taking some effort. And of course the stuff left by the plow is heavy. This snow was medium density, not the fluff we got on Saturday.

Snow dealings, round 9d: my roof. This actually involved snow from rounds 8, 9, 10, and some of 11. I have pretty good insulation, so most of the house has no problems with ice dams or icicles, but the guest room has a cathedral ceiling, so it does get some buildup. I took the roof razor out there with snowshoes and cleared both sides, as well as the section over the furnace room. Time is a complete guess.

Snow dealings, round 11a: my driveway, blowing 7" in advance of Nancy coming over to spend the night because that will make things easier to deal with in the morning because I'll be able to blow our way out, and deal with her driveway later. Snow depth gauge on my deck, as of this writing, is at about 20".

C • More importantly, snow dept... 1