North Iowa Nordic Update

Andy O. and Jay F. were out for hours today trying to pack this latest snowfall. The snow was dryer than one may think…light and fluffy. Andy got stuck 4 times on the opening loop and was left to un-hitch the groomer and just drive the snowmobile over it to initially pack what had fallen.

Jay then took over and had to do the same thing. WE NEED OUR ROLLER! A ROLLER would have saved us hours today. It is ordered…just not here. Next year…for now were getting by due to dedicated efforts of many folks. THANK YOU!

Jay was able to make a grooming pass on all loops then as well.

Evan P. plans to attempt to groom again in the AM Tues before the winds pick up. Then it will be time to wait…let the wind blow its heart out…and regroom. I am sure we’ll have some drifting to then manage on Wednesday.

I know many of you have yet to groom yet have offered to. Maybe Wed might work to get another 1 or 2 of our “feet wet” so to speak. The fact is that most of the grooming as of late has been done in the later evening hours (between 8:30 and midnight) when the temps are falling and the trails are not in use. This allows the trail to set up to. Early AM grooming is appropriate if temps allow…but ideally should be done early enough to allow the trail to set up for 2-3 hours. This requires finishing the groom by say 5-6:00 AM…and many of us are sleeping then in order to get out the door to work.

I have received many nice compliments this year from skiers on the trails. If you all receive such comments we need to have those folks forward those comments to the Cerro Gordo County Conservation Board. Remember, right now we just have a one year contract to groom. I foresee us being granted the permission to groom again next year…and plan to have this OK’d by the board early in 2010 so we can plan some fundraising, etc. for North Iowa Nordic (NIN).

Lastly, we have also been grooming Pilot Knob on Fri or Sat PM’s in hopes of skiing the next AM early before snowmobiles show up. We have been laying down a classic track there and have had many encounters with local skiers that LOVE IT! Deb Coates, park ranger, at the Knob has been very open and easy to work with. She has really enjoyed our efforts and reports that many people have been very pleased with our efforts there too. She also skis. This weekend we put in (counting loading time, travel time, grooming time) approx 6 ½ hours of time at the Knob…HOWEVER, each day the groom was ruined in 10 minutes by a pack of snowmobiles. This happens each week. It makes rejuvenating and leveling the trail there a much more time consuming process. If I were a recreational skier and not training for a race…I would no longer waste my time grooming the Knob. BUT WE WANT TO…SUCH A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO SKI.

NEXT YEAR OUR GOAL IS TO TRY AND GET THE MAIN ROAD PILOT KNOB DESIGNATED AS A DEDICATED SKI TRAIL ONLY. NO SNOWMOBILES. Based on the trails system there the snowmobiles could still access the park trails and avoid the road. I am currently gathering info from other State Park trail systems that have designated ski trails. If you know of any skiers, snowshoers, hikers, etc in the Forest City area let us know…we’d like to contact them to start to gain some momentum locally to get this done. I was even told by one of the locals that a lady who has been skiing the Knob for years reported to their City Council of our efforts and the great skiing.

Anyone may forward this to whomever they wish. I would like to get it out to NI Spin, NI Touring Club, “River City Racers” etc membership too.

That’s all for now everyone.

Thanks,

Todd Juhlin