Tuesday Dec 11 |
 | XC Ski (skating) 30:00 [2] 4 km (7:30 / km) | |
| shoes: Peltonen Skate Skiis |
| Early evening ski at Gunstock with Tim. Nice, big fluffy snowflakes coming down at the beginning, but shifted to smaller, wetter flakes, then more of a drizzle.
Tim's first time on skis this year - made more difficult by headlamp and uneven surface.
My headlamp kept turing itself off - need to check out the underlying reason. Batteries are fine, but it will just shut off, generally at the worst time - heading downhill fast with a sharp curve at the bottom, then pitch black... |
Sunday Dec 9 |
| XC Ski (Skating) 1:05:00 [3] 12.8 km (5:05 / km) +300m 4:33 / km | |
| shoes: Peltonen Skate Skiis |
| Arms warmed up nicely - still not a lot of power, but getting there. Was going to be a shorter outing, but each time I got back close to the center, thought how nice it would be to just another short loop. WIth the new trails, there are a lot of just another short loop options.
A few more thin spots developing, but the forecast is for another 1-3" of whiteness overnight. Wish I didn't have to go to RI early in the morning in it, but that's the way it goes. Will be just a day trip, so maybe I can get out on Tuesday for a short session. |
| XC Ski (Backcountry) 1:08:00 [2] 6 km (11:20 / km) +170m 9:56 / km | |
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| Slowed the pace down with a nice backcountry ski, mostly on ungroomed trails and bushwhacking.
Figured out why they haven't groomed a couple of the trails - a tree down and several sections that are still open with open wetness. Not really flowing much, must be spring fed and staying just above freezing, so the snow melted. Would have thought the temps in the teens almost every night the past week should have taken care of that, but no such luck.
Broke trail on the hiking path that takes off up the ridge towards the Pistol downhill trails. KIinda narrow and a few steep sections. Easier to handle going up than they would be going down though. Hmmm, narrow trails, sharp turns, rocks, stumps and deadfall hidden under the snow - perfect to really mess up skis, poles and body - gotta try it some day. Came out on Sidearm - the left most downhill trail looking up the hill. It had been groomed half-heartedly, but with no snow making on it, the cover was a bit thin. Worked my way down - the metal edges on the skis helped a lot - "normal" XC skis would have been more of a challenge. |