With a blizzard on the way tonight, a solid base up at higher elevations, and the snow guns firing at Craftsbury, we’re off to a lucky start in November. My friend Ben is an actual carpenter (as opposed to the Terko method of “measure 0 times, cut 10”) and helped craft a human-powered tracksetter in addition to our homemade skate groomer. So the Notch Road was partially-tracked for a Sunday morning classic ski. Thanks Ben! Of course we didn’t spend all the time going back and forth in the tracks when there was plenty else to explore…
On a day like Sunday, the Notch Road was a “who’s who” of VT skiing. It was great to see everybody out there and getting the snow time! It looks like we’re in for a lot more in the next 48 hours so be sure to keep tabs on www.xcearlysnow.com for some word on where the getting is good!
Our MNC Board is looking for your help to develop and expand our sponsorship base. Toward that end, our goal is to create a 2-3 minute video that captures what is special about our club.
To that end, we are asking our members to share their experiences and stories. What does MNC and Nordic skiing mean to you?
So please give us your thoughts, your photos, your videos at the email below. Also, if you have video skills and want to help create this clip, please let us know.
Calling all skiers looking for a stonegrind! If you are looking to refresh your ski bases, our friends at Skirack have offered the club a team price for a batch order of $55 per pair. Here’s how to get involved:
Clean and scrape the skis you would like ground. Put skis together with tape or rubber bands, not ski ties!
Clearly mark your name, and desired grind, on masking or painters tape on the skis
Drop off your skis downstairs at Skirack any time before 10:00AM on Wednesday, Nov 14 and let the staff know you are part of the Mansfield Nordic Batch for Nov14
Skirack will ideally have the skis turned around by Monday, Nov 19th. Skiers pay for service at time of pickup.
This is the deadline for grinding batch 1, but with 10 or more pairs these batches can continue being assembled!
Find more information on Skirack’s nordic grinds HERE. After a season of testing and racing on Skirack grinds (both personal skis and the MNC wax test skis), Adam recommends the 6.7 for skiers with 1 pair of skate or classic race skis. This is a very adaptable grind for mid-range conditions that can be modified for warmer temps with hand structure!
Informational packets and grind menus can also be found at the MNC Annual Meeting.
That’s what I’ve begun referring to the last 30 days as, with nothing but clouds and rain and cold temps. It all culminated in one of the more epic days to ever be had for training Saturday, when our group convened at Trapps for one of two tough sessions: bounding intervals up Trapp Hill Rd (the dirt side), or the NENSA Elite Invitational rollerski race.
First up was bounding, where our group of Pugs joined up with some GMVS and Craftsbury skiers for 5×4 minutes of L4 action from Nebraska Valley road up to the nordic center. It started off with a little wind, and ended with sideways hail and frozen hands. Luckily I got one quick photo from the run DOWN to the start, before the madness ensued.
Even this photo is blurry from the already-rough conditions
After everyone thawed their hands and changed their clothes, it was off to the local sandwich shop for some soup and lunch…right before we headed back up the road to cheer on the racers in the NENSA Invitational. Aidan, Magda, Ali, and Sammie were all invited to compete in this event which was a tough 10km from Nebraska Valley, up Barrows Rd pas the high school, and then up the steep Luce Hill Rd to Trapps.
Our crew was all U16 athletes last year (including Aidan who is still a U16 this year, and along with Quincy the only two U16s who qualified to race) so the 10km distance is the next step up. It’s especially tough to get to learn the distance when you’re competing against Caitlin Patterson, Ida Sargent, Julia Kern, Ben Lustgarten, Adam Martin, a bunch of college teams…you get the picture. This race wasn’t your average event, and everyone who just got to compete alone was a standout athlete!
Samu! Photo by Paul Bierman
Sammie continued her strong string of classic races, and this time her and Quincy finished less than a second apart and ahead of a couple of strong collegiate competitors. Magda wasn’t far behind, and Ali raced with great tempo and energy and looked like she had some serious new energy after a few busy weeks. Here’s a short clip of Magda I took as she breezed by in the rain:
In the men’s race, Aidan got a sweet ride with Middlebury skier Wilson Moore, and the two skied together up the steepest and toughest climbing section to the finish. It propelled him to a pretty killer race among the Juniors, especially when you consider that Aidan was the youngest guy in the race by a full year. Afterward, it was time for THAT gang of racers to head into town for pizza before the NENSA kickoff fundraiser event.
It was a very raw New England day, but it was super inspiring to see everyone getting after it. We were on our own part of the trail, but I find it hard to believe other teams had a more dedicated cheering gang out there!
The entrance sign for the brewery: the only shelter we could find
Throughout the week, the seemingly-endless precipitation changed from rain to sleet to snow…a few brave Juniors were shivering through classic intervals up Greystone on Tuesday morning, but were rewarded on Sunday when a pretty big crew got together for the first SNOW ski of the season.
First, a few clips from Greystone where some tough Pugs got out early to stride it out:
It only takes a few days, and a few degrees on the right side of 32, to make accumulation happen…and the mountains were capped in white by the end of the week. That meant it was time for our annual pilgrimage to Mt Mansfield for the first tracks of the season. We hiked up the Toll Rd, essentially doing the Stowe Derby backwards.
Stowe Derby, going UP!
After about half an hour of hiking, we reached the snow line and booted-up. Most were on fishscales, but for those that weren’t, coach of course had klister on-hand because nothing brings the excitement like applying klister for the first time this season! I say that literally: I was very pumped.
It was up, up, up through the switchbacks of the Toll Road…
Approaching the final turns
At the mid-station, we reached some flatter terrain. We did a few passes for the video camera, before setting up a short course for some mass start practices and relay races. After doing a lot of short speeds on rollerskis this week it was a good transition to hit the snow and remember how different some things can feel. Of course, we got enough footage to make an edit of the whole adventure from the hike at the bottom to the relay at the top, and the harrowing descent down in some icy crust conditions. Oh yeah, and Piecasso for lunch. East Coast skiing at its finest!
MNC Juniors and parents…don’t forget about the Apparel orders for this year (many due Oct 31st) and the Silent Auction! Links below:
