Bring your skis

We plan to have practice on a short man made snow loop tomorrow.  For the Snow Leopards and Arctic Explorers, this will be your last classical practice.  Following practice, make sure your skis get into Pete Taylor's car.  Pray for snow.

Brrrr... Mercury Droppin'!!!

We will have an indoor practice tomorrow at the Rod & Gun Club building.  Polar Bears and Arctic Foxes will have a group warm-up, dryland drills, indoor games, coloring and story reading.  Snow Leopards and Arctic Explorers will start with either group warm-up inside or a quick run around outside (your choice; dress accordingly).  Then Coach Dan will give a waxing clinic and discuss equipment.  We will also watch some skiing DVDs.

The Jumping Practice has been postponed until the weather improves... stay tuned.

Thanks for your patience and humour as we try to deal with unusual conditions this Winter.

Want to try Jumping?

Coach James will host a jumping practice right after our regular practice on 21 January, from 5:15 to 6:00pm.  Open to all skiers in the Nordic Club.  No fees, no pressure, only fun.  The 10m and 20m jumps are in good condition, the lights will be ON, and there are jumping skis and boots available!  If you want to try jumping, with the guidance of an experienced coach; this is your chance.  Please RSVP with James Gimurtu (606-8388) so he can determine gear availability.

HELP WANTED:

Two of our Polar Bear coaches are out sick.  If a few parents could help out with their groups today, that would be great.  We will have some obstacle courses and games set up.  Look for Jen Bjorklund at practice this afternoon.

Dryland Practice - Monday (14 Jan)!

The remaining snow is very hard and icy.  We have decided to have dryland practice instead, still at Snowflake.  Leave your skis at home but bring some energy and a smile. 

Polar Bears and Arctic Foxes will have some obstacle courses and play games (possibly soccer, tag, capture the flag).  They should wear warm clothes and snow boots or warm hiking shoes. 

Snow Leopards and Arctic Explorers should bring their ski poles.  They will go hiking with ski poles and play some games.  Wear warm clothes, and hiking shoes or running shoes.  Make sure you can fit a good pair of warm dry socks inside.

Everyone meet in the parking lot at 3:50 and we'll find a good spot for our group warm-up.

See you tomorrow!

Great First Practice! - Thanks to all the skiers and parents for having fun with us Monday afternoon.  The first practice is always a little crazy.  We apologize if anyone felt left out; we'll continue to try hard to involve everyone.  For the next practice, I might switch a few kids between groups to even out ability levels and group size.  If you have any concerns, please talk to me (485-0876).

A big thanks to all the volunteer coaches, too.  We have a great line-up this year.  Below is a shot of Coach Nick enjoying the "Blizzard of December".  Nick said he was having lots of fun until the police officer suggested that skiing was not appropriate on Main Street.  (Disclaimer - Snowflake Nordic does not condone this sort of behavior.)

The weather does not look too cool the next few days.  Hopefully the trails will hold up.  Troy did a great job restoring snow-less areas before practice on Monday.  We plan to have the next practice on snow, but stay tuned for updates on trail conditions.  If anyone has photos they would like to share, please email to me at dan_goltz@hotmail.com  I'll try to post a few on the blog.





First Practice - is tomorrow, January 7th!  There was just enough snow for us to set some tracks this weekend.  There are some dirt clumps and grass poking through in places.  Please try to avoid this gunk by stepping out of the tracks and skiing around it.  The Senior Club has been busy plowing the golf course and moving snow around, so the trails are a little messed up.  There should be plenty of room for the groups to spread out and find some good tracks. 

The Rod & Gun Club building will be open at 3:40.  Kids can change inside and grab a quick snack.  Everyone will walk across the bridge and meet in a big group for some stretches at 3:55.  Then we will split up into our groups and ski until 5:00.  Parents of the Polar Bears (4,5&6 year olds) should help them get their skis on and off, and are welcome to join them for the entire practice.

Happy New Year!  Only 6 days until our first practice!  Barring an unpredicted thaw, it looks like we will be on skis this year.  The trails at Snowflake are in good shape on the golf course and behind the Rod & Gun Club.  We could use another few inches on the DNR trails (upper field).

We are going to try a little different format for practices this year.  We will have the Rod & Gun Club building open by 3:40.  Kids can go inside, put on their ski clothes, and grab a quick snack.  There will be no snacks provided after practices this year.  We want everyone to walk across the bridge and put on their skis on the other side.  We will all meet in a big group at 3:55 for some warm-up stretches, and then break out into our smaller groups.  I won't have the groups finalized until the first practice.
 
A few logistics/safety notes:
Parking can be tight at the Rod & Gun.  Remember that the snowmobile trail runs through the parking lot.  Please do not park on the snowmobile trail.  Rod & Gun Club members occasionally shoot their firearms on the range.  We have not had any conflicts during our practices, but be aware this may be occurring at other times and please be courteous; use other trails.

The snowmobile trail also crosses the ski trail in 2 places; on the DNR land and on the golf course.  They are generally looking out for skiers, but please use caution when crossing and do not ski down the snowmobile trails.

Parents of the Polar Bears (generally 4 and 5 year-olds) are encouraged to help them get their skis on and off, and are welcome to join them for the entire practice.  Other parents/friends/etc are welcome to ski on the trails anytime.  Please stop at the Clubhouse and purchase a Nordic button for $30/year.

We really need parents to volunteer their time and staff the food booth at the Ski Jump.  This will be February 1 & 2.  Heidi Jackson will have a sign-up sheet at practices.

For skiers with their own gear; the first 3 practices are classic technique (younger skiers will practice classic technique all season).  Have your skis waxed for the conditions.  Rental gear is already prepared with grip tape.  Make sure the sticky tape is still attached to the kick zone of both skis before practice.

Update on local trails: 
The Viroqua Golf Course is not groomed yet, but there are some skied-in tracks.  Kickapoo Valley Reserve has been groomed, and Chris said it was pretty good.  Skiers have been making their own tracks at Sidie Hollow and Duck Egg Parks.  Both parks get heavy foot traffic, so the ski tracks are usually pretty messed up.  Blue Mound SP and areas closer to Madison should be in great shape.  Visit Skinny Ski at http://www.skinnyski.com/ for complete trail reports.

Looking forward to skiing with everyone next Monday!
Thanks,
Dan