Mansfield Nordic Club
Ski coaching, training and playing in the shadow of Mt Mansfield for all ages and abilities
Skirack is having its annual Salomon Superfit event this weekend. Stop in from Friday till Sunday for awesome deals on Salomon products, including free bindings with the purchase of a pair of skis!
With COVID-19 in consideration, it’s recommended that you do a little online Salomon shopping first to get a sense of products you may be interested in before entering the store. Wear your mask and happy (and safe) shopping!
Join us this coming Saturday, 10/24 at noon for another work day at the Bolton Nordic trails! The overhanging branches have been cleared, the bridges have been built, and many rocks have been removed.
With the leaves falling off the trees at around 1200′ and above, the next step is to do a final clearing of the trail. This means:
-Continuing to remove as many big rocks as possible/fill in holes with fresh dirt
-Leaf-blowing and raking off the leaves on the trail
-Clearing the leaves and sticks out of the drainage ditches
-Weedwhacking and mowing the grassy parts of the trail a final time
Some tools like rakes, shovels, and wheelbarrows will be provided. Bring a weedwhacker if you have one and we can really motor.
Aside from the rock situation, these are all relatively light tasks and it speaks to our collective effort that we’ve gotten this far already! In subsequent years, light work like this will be the only thing required to keep this trail in the pristine shape we’ve brought it to currently.
Speaking of “light work”…nothing can entice some trail work like an image of our first light post, constructed and completed by Lionel Welch at Green Mtn Electrical Supply! You can expect to be skiing under the lights of these beautiful, efficient LED bulbs and wiring systems…thanks SO MUCH to Lionel, Nate Laber, and the folks at GMES for making this lighted loop a reality.
The Masters showed up in force for the 2020 Southridge rollerski timetrial. With a calm wind and a frosty morning that warmed up to t-shirt temps by race time, it was exciting to get a “race” in. The event was changed to an individual start and there was less casual mingling than usual for a Masters gathering, but the competition was as fierce as ever.
Racers spread themselves out and prepare to start one-at-a-time
The course is 3 successively-shorter laps. Each lap features a slightly different climb to the high point, followed by a long descent and flat cruiser section. On skis, the long flat section would be a lot of V2 work (especially in slow snow) but as each lap went by and I analyzed how my speed was carried in relation to other skiers, I spent more and more of that section tuck-skating…by the last lap, I don’t think I used my poles for a solid minute or so: the combination of being low and aerodynamic in a skate tuck, along with aggressive pushes like a speedskater (my glutes have never hurt so bad from a ski race!) was the way to go.
As luck would have it, we have a video clip of US Biathlete Sean Doherty doing some skate tuck on rollerskis. This is from a training camp in 2016 when I noticed how powerful and smooth Sean’s skate tuck was, so I asked him to do a pass for the camera.
We ski in Southridge a lot, Masters, Juniors, and BKL alike. While we often go down that hill and ski along that flat section, we’re rarely doing it very hard or while carrying speed. So it just goes to show how some of the benefits of a timetrial aren’t just racing and competition: you can really learn a lot about how to ski faster in certain situations, and apply them to your efforts in the winter!
You can check out the historical Southridge TT record below:
Southridge TT ArchiveWe didn’t get many photos from the event, but you can find our Masters fall album linked below. As any photos come to us from the timetrial we will upload them there!
Masters Fall PhotosPlease read!
Craftsbury FIS and Open weekends, December and January 2020/2021
What does this mean for MNC Juniors?
If you are a U18 or U20 and have raced multiple Eastern Cups in the past, and/or been to Junior Nationals and/or Eastern HS Championships, the Saturday races will provide great competition and be a good way to get in high level racing against college-age skiers. This is a great way to build some race stats for college application. Adding on a FIS license is a [relatively, in the grand scheme] cost-effective add-on to your USSA Competitor license.
If you are a U18 or U20 and have not raced Eastern Cups before, or have not previously qualified for JNs or EHS, the Sunday races are a great option to get into higher-level racing.
If you are a U16 the Sunday options are perfect for early season, high-level racing!
MNC will have wax support for all of these events, with coaches and techs in attendance to support our racers on both Saturdays and Sundays.
There’s a series of albums by Australian artist Tkay Maidza titled Last Year Was Weird Vol. 1 and Last Year Was Weird Vol. 2. I thought it was funny and unfortunate that the titles referred to last year being weird, when clearly it’s 2020 that is the strange one. That is, until I learned that the albums are planned as a trilogy, with Last Year Was Weird Vol 3 still to come. How could this one NOT come out in 2021?
Who knows what else 2020 will give us to reflect on when the calendar changes. But in the present, we have to focus on factors we can control and opportunities we can provide. If you haven’t already checked out our Winter Update 1.0 it might be worth giving that a look for some context. This update will try to clarify aspects of that release, as well as bringing everyone up to speed on where/how certain things have progressed.
When the Range was accessible, planning and sharing program details was easy: BKL, Juniors, and Masters all trained there on Tuesday and Thursdays. On other days of the week, our various training pages (BKL Blog, Junior Training Doc, Masters Training Doc) let people know when and where to be.
The Range is off the table indefinitely, and although this is not the first time we’ve all heard this, it’s the first time we have really delved into other opportunities to take more control of our own fate. We had such a great turnout for our first official Bolton Trail Work day and members have been putting in time there ever since, whether solo or in small groups. Before delving into programming, it’s pertinent to give an update on Bolton first:
If you are just catching up, we are making big changes at Bolton. The trail known as “Picnic” is undergoing renovations to become a lighted 1.4km loop with low-snow grooming capability and access.
How you can help out
We had a few inquiries about general work at Bolton. That’s super cool, and we are excited to make this loop the most perfect 1.4km you could ever ski on. If you’re just in the area looking to contribute, or if you’re looking for an after-work or after-school project, there will always be job to do on this loop. A few key ones:
Click through to check snow conditions at Tomasi Meadow in Underhill. Submitted by on-the-ground reports, as current as possible. Read More about “Snow Conditions”…
Our spring 2026 registration is open for Junior athletes! Click through to visit the info page, learn more, and register. Read More about “Spring”…
A piece sharing memories and photos of MNC’s dynamic and inspiring founder, Murray Banks, who passed in February 2026 Read More about “Tighten Your Boots: A Murray Banks Remembrance”…