hey!
yes, the new skis have arrived! i haven't put bindings on yet though, as i have been pretty busy during the holidays. was down state with the sisters fam and my folks for christmas. the brother-in-law is digging the usgi's...now we gotta get him some boots and bindings as they are headed up north in a day or so.
the snow has been great. the day after christmas the girlfriend and i headed up to wilderness state park where i had rented one of the cabins for a couple days. thru petosky the storm was brutal, they said they got 20". at mackinac it was variable, with about 4 inches in the park. we skied all around the park over the 2 days. got to try the pulk santa brought me fr christmas, and it was awesome on the packed snow. now i'm ready to hit the train in earnest!
gonna mount up the eon's this morning and hopefully get out to hickory hills over the next couple of days to get in some dh! i'll let you all know how that goes, but i'm pretty stoked! the snow is great here in tc, as we now have a decent base with about a foot of fresh on top...hope you all are having fun out there!
thanks for all the fish
Re: thanks for all the fish
Hey t$ welcome from Grand Rapids! I’m glad you’ve discovered tele practice at the ski hill/ HickoryHills. That will help you find your stance and get balance on your rear foot/BOF. I’m glad you are looped into the Nordic race scene. The Vasa trail system is a total gem and I hope you have enjoyed MTB on the bandit single track in the off season. What a great outdoor community you are now a part of. My Nordic ski race buddy Randy S also teles the vasa backcountry. If you see a bearded granola’d up ski racer, that’s him! Hit him up he lives for XCD style outings in the Vasa bush and even maintains some stashes / private lines! We have such a great Nordic race series and community I would urge you to join the kids and race at Vasa, Grayling (amazing- even better Nordic trails than Vasa plus you will marvel at the off piste possibilities!!), Marquette (Noquemanon Classic is an unbelievable national caliber event, point2point from Ishpeming to Marquette). I would be remiss to not mention The Birkie and I will leave it at that. When you have that Vasa grooming though...please take full advantage. See you on the trails!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Call it Nordic Freeride
Re: thanks for all the fish
hey anemic,
man, another michigander?! seems odd...but i guess a lot of people live in this state...
thanks for the list of fun events to check out! and you are right, the vasa is a pretty sweet resource to have here. timber ridge is another family owned camping resort thing that has trails that connect to the vasa, and they let groups host events in their lodge. it's a really nice setup to have all that interconnectivity, and you can't beat the price for lift tickets!!! in the past few years i guess the fatbikers have been claiming some territory and taking over a bit from the skiiers of old. we still have some dedcated ski trails out there, they just weave into the fatbike trails and there's hardly anyone skiing them!
anyway, it's looking like we might need a michigan xcd meetup sometime in the near future. telefest is still on my agenda, and lots of races to attend in between....even though i don't race
p.s.- i will keep my eye peeled for this randy character...seems like somebody i would like to meet!
man, another michigander?! seems odd...but i guess a lot of people live in this state...
thanks for the list of fun events to check out! and you are right, the vasa is a pretty sweet resource to have here. timber ridge is another family owned camping resort thing that has trails that connect to the vasa, and they let groups host events in their lodge. it's a really nice setup to have all that interconnectivity, and you can't beat the price for lift tickets!!! in the past few years i guess the fatbikers have been claiming some territory and taking over a bit from the skiiers of old. we still have some dedcated ski trails out there, they just weave into the fatbike trails and there's hardly anyone skiing them!
anyway, it's looking like we might need a michigan xcd meetup sometime in the near future. telefest is still on my agenda, and lots of races to attend in between....even though i don't race
p.s.- i will keep my eye peeled for this randy character...seems like somebody i would like to meet!
Re: thanks for all the fish
***northern lower michigan conditions update***
snow still falling...nice dry, powdery, and relentless lake effect. yesterday mornings ski on the freshly frozen lake left much to be desired. there is 3-4 inch deep slush under the snow, and about every 50 feet one of us would break through and immediately ice up. it was a bit frustrating, especially since the wind was brutal on the way back. then having to stop and scrape every 5 minutes wasn't helping! but then the night ski last night was beautiful and more than made up for a challenging morning.
the past couple weeks i have introduced two new people to xcd and "extreme bc xc skiing" for lack of a better term (i think i'll just go with xcd). my girlfriend (who is a lifelong snowboarder from nh) took right to it. she got onto some 205 waxless fischers and has been having a ball before she leaves out again this weekend we have been skiing just about every day and she is already lunging down low angles and wants to learn to tele turn! last night she busted out two turns in a row down a nice slope and was whooping it up! she's pretty and awesome, so i am a lucky man. it's also nice to have somebody criticize my technique (both good and bad) and appreciate that i am trying to do something a bit more nuanced on skis.
my bro-in-law is a different story!! hahaha, last night was his first time ever on skis of any kind, and he was out on his usgi's that i got him for xmas. the wax job i did was perfect (i only know cause i waxed both of our skis together right before heading out and mine were great for the conditions), but of course he is a little bit more of a snow sport newby and was a little wierded out by the feel of skis. once we got him herring-boning up some little hills he was ok but it was a slow little loop we did. the dh's had him straight freaked out which is expected i suppose, and he mostly sat down and sledded on the tails for each hill. i was really proud of him for going out and he is excited to ski more and get better. definitely a bit intimidated and i wonder if maybe those usgi's aren't the best ski for a total beginner oh well, you ski whatcha got, i guess.
all in all, it has been a fun break and we have been able to get a lot of skiing in. my turns are improving everyday, and i can't wait for the day i can get out on the eon's to try a more turny ski. i feel like i am actually doing real turns now, even if they aren't perfect and i still biff it a lot. it's always humbling to have the girl there laughing at you when you face-plant. oh well, all part of the game i guess!!! hope you guys are having fun, be safe out there...
snow still falling...nice dry, powdery, and relentless lake effect. yesterday mornings ski on the freshly frozen lake left much to be desired. there is 3-4 inch deep slush under the snow, and about every 50 feet one of us would break through and immediately ice up. it was a bit frustrating, especially since the wind was brutal on the way back. then having to stop and scrape every 5 minutes wasn't helping! but then the night ski last night was beautiful and more than made up for a challenging morning.
the past couple weeks i have introduced two new people to xcd and "extreme bc xc skiing" for lack of a better term (i think i'll just go with xcd). my girlfriend (who is a lifelong snowboarder from nh) took right to it. she got onto some 205 waxless fischers and has been having a ball before she leaves out again this weekend
we have been skiing just about every day and she is already lunging down low angles and wants to learn to tele turn! last night she busted out two turns in a row down a nice slope and was whooping it up! she's pretty and awesome, so i am a lucky man. it's also nice to have somebody criticize my technique (both good and bad) and appreciate that i am trying to do something a bit more nuanced on skis.my bro-in-law is a different story!! hahaha, last night was his first time ever on skis of any kind, and he was out on his usgi's that i got him for xmas. the wax job i did was perfect (i only know cause i waxed both of our skis together right before heading out and mine were great for the conditions), but of course he is a little bit more of a snow sport newby and was a little wierded out by the feel of skis. once we got him herring-boning up some little hills he was ok but it was a slow little loop we did. the dh's had him straight freaked out which is expected i suppose, and he mostly sat down and sledded on the tails for each hill. i was really proud of him for going out and he is excited to ski more and get better. definitely a bit intimidated and i wonder if maybe those usgi's aren't the best ski for a total beginner
oh well, you ski whatcha got, i guess.all in all, it has been a fun break and we have been able to get a lot of skiing in. my turns are improving everyday, and i can't wait for the day i can get out on the eon's to try a more turny ski. i feel like i am actually doing real turns now, even if they aren't perfect and i still biff it a lot. it's always humbling to have the girl there laughing at you when you face-plant. oh well, all part of the game i guess!!! hope you guys are having fun, be safe out there...