Author Archive | Liz Hollenbach

Update: Practice is canceled for today – Thursday, January 15  — We were hoping for snow in this storm, but the rain has wiped out more snow at Tomasi. We are canceling practice for today for JackRabbits and Arctic Foxes. Racers and Devos your practice is still on at Sleepy Hollow. In the meantime check out this neat old ski movie featuring Vermont Olympian Bill Koch and some Putney, VT Youth Skiers at practice – The Nordic Experience.

Tomasi took a hit with the rain on Saturday night and things are a bit icy. Coach Peter is going to groom Tuesday for skate skiing. But because of the conditions we are going cancel Penguins tomorrow and encourage those that join us to be intermediate to advanced skiers. It will be very challenging skiing for kids that are just learning and still finding their ski legs.  Please email your child’s coach if you aren’t sure of  if they should come. Ski Group List

Penguins are canceled for tomorrow Tuesday, January 13. 

We had a fun time in very tricky conditions at the Mad River Scramble over the weekend. Nice work to everyone that raced and a couple that tried racing for the first time!  We will post results here once we receive them from the crew at Mad River.

Tuesday 1/13: JackRabbits, Arctic Foxes and Racers  *Read the info above about practice on Tuesday*
Location and Time : Tomasi Meadow, Jericho from 3:45-5:15
Details: Skate skiing for Jack Rabbits, Arctic Foxes and Racers. Devos check the Juniors training doc for practice details and skiers in the Racers group can choose to go to practice at Tomasi or Sleepy Hollow. Skiers going to Sleepy Hollow will also be skate skiing.

Thursday 1/15: JackRabbits, Arctic Foxes and Racers – Practice canceled. (Racers and Devos your practice is still on at Sleepy)
Location and Time : Tomasi Meadow, Underhill Center from 3:45-5:15
Details: Classic skiing for all groups at Tomasi.  Devos and Racers have the option for practice at either Tomasi or Sleepy Hollow (4-5:30). Skiers going to Sleepy Hollow will be classic skiing.

Saturday 1/17:  Racers and Devos Practice
Location and Time : Craftsbury from 10:00-11:30
Details: technique tbd

Monday 1/19:  Vermont State Ski Meister Details and Registration
Location and Time : Cochran’s and Sleepy Hollow
Details: This is a really fun event for both kids and adults and a great way to spend Martin Luther King Jr Day. The event starts at Cochran’s with a two run alpine race and finishes up with a Nordic race at Sleepy Hollow. It’s also really fun to spectate!

Sunday 1/25: Mansfield Nordic Skiathlon at Sleepy Hollow, Huntington. This is our home race and there are racing categories for every age group including kids! Get involved! Volunteers Needed (please email Christine Massey if you are interested christine.massey@uvm.edu)  | More Info and Registration

NENSA BKL Festival Feb 28- March 1 – Registration is open. Register by January 15 for an event t-shirt.

We are looking forward to ski practice this week. Keep those snow dances going for some new snow over the next few days. It’s still pretty dark in the evenings, so bring your headlamps.

Missing Hat and Jacket – We have a skier missing a black Columbia MNC logo jacket from practice before break. Please let us know you have seen it or if your child might have picked up one that wasn’t theirs at the end of practice. We also have a missing big blue Smuggs hat.

Tuesday 1/6: Penguins, JackRabbits, Arctic Foxes and Racers
Location and Time : Tomasi Meadow, Underhill Center from 3:45-5:15
Details: Classic skiing for all groups at Tomasi.  Devos check the Juniors training doc for practice details and skiers in the Racers group can choose to go to practice at Tomasi or Sleepy Hollow. Skiers going to Sleepy Hollow will be skate skiing.

Thursday 1/8: JackRabbits, Arctic Foxes, Racers and Devos
Location and Time : Tomasi Meadow, Underhill Center from 3:45-5:15
Details: Skate skiing for all groups.

Sunday 1/11: Mad River Scramble and Fun! hosted by Mad River BKL
Location and Time : Blueberry Lake XC Center, Warren, VT at 1pm
Details: This is a great event for kids that want to try racing. We’ll be there with a team tent and coaches. Official Event Details and Registration – MNC Team Race Info – Let Coaches Know you are Coming

New for 2026 at the Mad River Scramble: the Adult Fun Tour Race (~5 km) at 3:15 following the finish of Grade 7/8. Mad River BKL is encouraging parents and leaders to cap off the day with fellow leaders and all comers for a relaxed, spirited race. Registration page is updated to be able to select the “adult fun tour race”. There is nothing better than having the kids cheer for the adults after we’ve been cheering for them!

And if you want to see our full weekend schedule click here.

Practice canceled for Tuesday Dec 23.

Tuesday 12/23: Practice Canceled for Penguins, Jack Rabbits, Arctic Foxes and Racers
Location and Time :
Details: There is not enough snow to ski at Tomasi.  (Devos still have the option to go to their regular Tuesday practice with the MNC Juniors –  check the Juniors schedule for specifics on technique and time.)

Looking ahead:

More snow this week! The forecast is showing more snow later this week! This is a good sign for vacation week skiing on local Nordic Centers, at Tomasi Meadow, Mills Riverside Park or in your backyard. See if your kids will take you skiing and show you what they have learned! Tomasi conditions and grooming can be found here.

XC Ski Bingo – There is also a neat XC Ski Bingo program through the New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA). MNC is a member club with NENSA and it’s free to participate. You can print the bingo card from the NENSA website. (It doesn’t look like all the details are updated for this year, but the ski bingo card is up and printable.)

Next Practice – Our first practice after the Holiday Break is on Tuesday, January 6th.

We continue to have amazing snow conditions. All our groups are working hard learning and practicing skate and classic skiing. We’re almost to the shortest day of the year – bring your headlamps!

The Town of Underhill has plowed and opened the field lot in the lower part of Tomasi Meadow – it’s a great overflow lot or you can park there and ski on the trails up to practice.

Update: Our snazzy new team hats are still available for purchase and pickup in Jericho. Purchase here for next day pick-up.   This Tuesday we’re doing a MNC Team Hat- Popup Sale at BKL Tomasi practice. Catherine will have table in the parking lot with hats. We have kids and adult sizes. There are two hat options – unlined or fleece lined. We also have adult sized grid fleece headband. You can check them out and purchase on the spot (checks or online payment if you have service at Tomasi) or buy online by 3pm Tues for pickup at practice (we’ll package it up with your name). All proceeds from hat sales go towards the MNC scholarship fund.

Group & coach info here:  BKL Sub-Groups

Check out the  Season Long Schedule to get all the details on the schedule for the season.

Tuesday 12/16: Penguins, JackRabbits, Arctic Foxes and Racers
Location and Time : Tomasi Meadow, Underhill Center from 3:45-5:15
Details: Classic skiing for all groups. (Devos check the Juniors schedule for specifics on technique and time.)

We’ll have some wax and a bench setup at the trailhead. If you have waxable classic skis come a few minutes early for waxing. The forecast is for temps in the mid 20s and we have new snow. If you can wax at home try a few layers of extra blue or something similar.

Thursday 12/18: JackRabbits, Arctic Foxes, Racers and Devos
Location and Time : Tomasi Meadow, Underhill Center from 3:45-5:15
Details: Skate skiing for all groups.

Saturday 12/20: Racers and Devos
Location and Time : Location TBD and time 10am
Details: More info coming mid week.

Tuesday 12/23: Penguins, JackRabbits, Arctic Foxes and Racers
Location and Time : Tomasi Meadow, Underhill Center from 3:45-5:15
Details: Last practice before the Holiday Break. More specific details coming on Monday 12/22, but our plan is to have hot chocolate and cookies at the end of practice. Please let us know if your child has a food allergy. We’ll need a few parent volunteers to make and serve hot chocolate.

Happy Ski Season! We are so excited to see everyone tomorrow.

Wednesday Update- There is just enough snow at Tomasi to ski tomorrow. So we’re going to Classic ski. See all the details  below.

Find your child’s sub-group & coach info here:  BKL Sub-Groups

Please make note of your child’s coach’s contact info. Let coaches know if your child will be late or absent. If it is last minute, please text Coach Liz (802-922-1843).

Monday 12/1 at 7pm is our virtual Parent Info Meeting. Please check your email for the meeting link.

Thursday 12/4: JackRabbits, Arctic Foxes, Racers and Devos
Location and Time : Tomasi Meadow, Underhill Center from 3:45-5:15
Details: Classic Skiing for all groups. There is thin cover at Tomasi and the trail is groomed.  There is not enough snow yet to set tracks. Bring rock skis if you have them. We’ll have a wax bench setup in the parking lot with kick wax available – come 15 minutes early if you would like to wax. If you want to wax at home it looks like it will be in the mid teens and new snow, so try something like a few layers of Swix blue or extra blue.

Groups will meet down on snow at the parking lot trail head (same spot as last year). Coaches will be wearing name tags and have signs for each group – JackRabbits, Arctic Foxes and Racers/Devos.

Wear your headlamp or zip it inside a jacket pocket. The temp is predicted to be chilly and drop during practice. Coach Jake says to come over dressed (with layers) and make sure everyone has a big healthy snack before practice. Tonight is a great time to double check equipment – check out the pro tips below.

Saturday 12/6: Racers and Devos
Location and Time: Craftsbury at 11am (meet outside the lodge in the upper stadium)
Details: We’ll skate ski. There is a biathlon race in the morning, so we’ll ski after the race.

Pro tips to help you get equipment ready for ski practice:

• Practice putting on ski pole straps – Bring your poles inside, put on the gloves or mittens you plan to wear to skiing. Test that ski pole straps are secure. They should be loose enough to slide hand through easily over mittens/gloves, but snug enough so if you let go of the pole grip, it stays close to your hand.  Make sure kids know how to put on their own poles and practice putting on poles in the living room.
• Practice putting on your skis. Bring your skis into the living room.  Put on your ski boots ski boots and set skis right down on the carpet. Practice opening the bindings and putting boots into the bindings.
• Label all equipment, so kids and coaches can find the name easily (skis and poles especially). It doesn’t have to be anything fancy- masking tape and sharpie work great.