Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

If you missed sign-up night, you can still register at Bluedog Cycles anytime before the first practice (January 8th).  We will be skiing at Viroqua VFW again this year.

It looks a little better outside with a fresh dusting, but we need lots more; pray for snow!

Happy Holidays and we'll see you next year...

Info and Sign-up Tonight

Come down to the Info and Sign-Up night.  It will be tonight (Tuesday) from 5-7pm in the basement of the Viroqua Medical Office building.  I have a short presentation that I will go through at 5pm, and again at 6pm if there is interest.  You can fill out the forms and pay (cash or check; $50 for practices and $50 to rent gear) and then stop at Bluedog to pick up your skis.

It looks like we will be at the VFW again this year.  I'm still exploring a few other possibilities and will talk about that tonight.  See you tonight!

Sign-up night Tuesday, December 19th

We will have sign-up night on Tuesday, December 19th from 5-7pm in the basement of VMH - Medical Office Building, rooms A & B.  This is the same location we have used for sign-up the past few years.  You can stop in anytime from 5-7pm.  I will have a short presentation and can answer any questions.  Then you can fill out the forms for your children, make payment, and proceed to Bluedog to pick up rental gear (if needed).

We will probably have practice at the VFW or Viroqua Golf Course, but I am considering a few other options also.  I will share final details later this week.  Practices will be on Mondays from 3:45 - 5:00, beginning on January 8th.  We will have 8 practices if the conditions allow.

See you tomorrow

It doesn't matter if school is cancelled or not.  Make it over for one last practice at the VFW.

We will ski (hopefully) from 3:45 to 4:45, then eat some hot dogs.  You can bring something to share, if you like, but not required.

I have some extra skis and poles from the last practice.  I will bring those along.

One last Hurrah?!?

Let's have one last practice on Monday!  We're supposed to get 4-6" Sunday night.  The timing will make it tricky to groom, and you can expect soft conditions for practice.  We will probably only get enough to groom the upper fields.

I will make a fire and bring hot dogs for everyone.

If we don't get enough snow we can play kickball, capture the flag, ultimate frisbee, etc.

Keep your fingers crossed and check back later for any more details.

Close, but no cigar

I'm sorry, but we didn't get enough snow to hold practice on Monday.
Keep your fingers crossed that we get a good dump in March.  If it snows; we'll groom.

No relief in sight

... to this nasty weather.

The VFW is toast.  We will have to put practices 'on hold' until we get some snow.

If you happen to have a pile of snow on your land, and want to host a practice, let me know.

Forget to pick up your skis?

Some of us did (forget).  Pete is out of town, but we're trying to make arrangements for me to pick up the rest and bring them to practice on Monday.

I think there will be enough snow left for practice on Monday.  It doesn't look good after that.  Stay tuned.

Great skating, but please respect the trail this weekend

Pete is grinding away on the skis, getting them ready for skating.  He hopes to have them ready for you on Friday, but please call ahead of time.  (Bluedog 637-6993)

Warm weather means soft snow this weekend.  We don't groom when the snow is too warm and wet, since it collapses and leaves nothing but water-filled ruts.  Similarly, you should try not to ski on the groomed trails when you are leaving deep ruts.  The aftermath is often impossible to repair once it re-freezes and we can get out and groom again.  Try to get out first thing in the morning this weekend, and check to see if you are causing damage.

photo by Snowflake alumni Chris Jackson

The Back 9 is in absolute top shape for skating right now.  I did not try to renovate the tracks, so they are thin, wobbly and icy.  Please stay off the skate deck when it warms up and you leave deep ruts.

Warm Monday, then ???

We had nice conditions last week, and it looks good for Monday again.  Then a messy mix on Tuesday.  Hopefully we get some snow out of it.

This will be the last classical practice for Dan/GG's group.  Also, some of Thom/Dominic's group may switch to skating after Monday.  Coaches will make an announcement at the beginning of practice.  If you are switching, you should put your skis and poles in Dan's car after practice.  I will take the gear to Bluedog.  You will need to stop in there during the week and pick up shorter skis (waxed for skating) and longer poles.

Conditions are really good on the Back 9 right now - freshly groomed on Friday.  Get out and enjoy it.

See you Monday

Looks much better than last week

We got enough snow to resume practices.  I set tracks around the pump house and pavilion for Polar Bears, and out on the disc golf course for the older groups.

 

 

 

I also set one track on the back nine and widened the skate deck.  It will be windblown in spots, but should be good skiing Sunday and Monday.  The best access to the back nine is to park at the Golf Course maintenance shed on the east side of Hwy 61.  Drop down the hill and you will find a nice little loop at the bottom.

No Snow = No Practice

Pretty bleak out there

Practice will have to be cancelled tomorrow.  Hopefully things will start to improve Tuesday night.  Stay tuned.

Dear Winter, please come back.

Max and Hazel skiing hot laps in the rain

A few brave souls made it out on Monday.  The tracks were in better shape than the roads.

As you can imagine, the snow is in horrible shape now.  There is no snow in the forecast before Monday.  I suspect we will have to cancel the next practice.  Let's hope that Winter returns soon.  I will post an update on Sunday.

Practice #2 is 'On'

We will plan to have practice on Monday, even if the weather is kind of crummy.  If it is raining hard, or the road conditions deteriorate and you want to skip practice; we'll understand.

Trail conditions should be similar to last week.  There are nice hard tracks for the younger groups.  Dan's group will brave it down the icey "Main drag" out to the back fairways.  I set some nice tracks back there today, and it should be fun skiing once we get there.

Looks like a big thaw and warm weather next week.  We may have to adjust our plans after that; stay tuned.

Go Pack!

Please check your skis (and poles)

Exploring the trails at first practice

The youngest skiers (Polar Bears) should all have 'no-wax' skis, with a fish scale pattern on the base.  No need to check these.  The older kids are on 'combi' skis, and we use grip tape to provide grip during the first three classical technique practices.

Please check the condition of the grip tape on your skis.  There should be red grip tape on the base, on both sides of the groove, covering about the middle third of the ski.  Sometimes the grip tape comes off, especially if the skis are used in icey conditions (like we had earlier in the year).  If the grip tape has worn off, take your skis to Bluedog or get them to me (485-0876) for a new application of grip tape before the next practice.

Also, some of the ski poles got mixed up at the first practice, and a few people couldn't find theirs afterwards.  Bring whatever you have to the next practice, and we will get them sorted out.

The snowmobile is getting repaired and we should be able to groom more tracks for the next practice.  Let's hope we get more snow than rain.  Thanks for a fun time on Monday.

First Practice is Here

The snow at VFW is pretty difficult to deal with, but we groomed a few sets of tracks around the pump house field and pavilion field.  So, the conditions should be pretty good for the two younger groups (4 - 6) and (7 - 9). 

All of the 4 - 6 year-olds will be "Polar Bears" and will not use ski poles.  The 7 - 9 year-olds will be "Arctic Foxes".

The older kids will ski with Dan.  We will make the best of the conditions out on the other trails, and hope for more snow in the forecast.

See you tomorrow!

First Practice on Monday

We will have our first practice on Monday, January 9th at the Viroqua VFW from 3:45 to 5:00.  We will start with a warm-up and a few quick announcements, then break into our groups.

I think there is just enough snow left to set some tracks.  However, I have not been able to groom yet due to snowmobile difficulties.  We have been working on two of them.

Check the blogspot on Sunday evening; I will post any last-minute updates.