Time wasting

For your entertainment.

It has begun

Trollhaugen has begun making snow. I don't think they will be open for this weekend. But then again who knows? I've known these guys to lay down a 6" carpet of snow over the big hill in two days. I hope it sticks.

Trollhaugen snowmaking.  October 29th at 7:30am

Start them early

Still no snow.  Get your dose of cute here.  I didn't do this.  The kid actually put on my rollerskis and decided to go for some doublepole action.  This was from last summer.

Waiting for Snow

I'm ready.  I am so ready.  This is the time of the year when hundreds of metro area skiers make the pilgrimage to Trollhaugen in Dresser, WI just so they can run laps up and down the big hills.  Yes, you read that right.  We ski up as far as we can, then turn around and ski right back down.  Some of the more accomplished skiers show off their telemark skills on the way down while most of us just point them straight down the hill and pray.  This is what it looks like today on their webcam.

It's supposed to get down to 25F on Wednesday.   I'll take another look at their webcam then.  Hopefully it looks like this with the guns going full blast.

This is what happens when you don't watch out for the soft fresh snow at the bottom.

New Loppet Trails

Today was the City of Lakes Loppet trails day. More than a hundred volunteers showed up to help with trail preparation.   Two difficult climbs and a flat section totalling 500 meters were added to the Judy loop.   The whole loop is now nine meters wide over its five kilometer length so there's plenty of room to pass without stepping on poles.

The youngest volunteer. What a trooper.

A good spot to watch the racers go by. 

As you can see there's plenty of room for jump skating.

Judy Lutter approves.  This is the final climb to the stadium.

South of Glenwood.  Jeff Richards admires his work.

Same hill as above.  Seeded and protected from the rains.

A Little Refresher Before You Get on Snow

This guy is my coach. He may not think he's my coach but he is. It's pretty amazing what you can learn from the few seconds you spend watching him as he whizzes by. I managed to catch him standing still one day. To be honest it was a trap. It took four walls, video games, and a promise of schnitzel to get him to do this. Once again, no secrets, just the basics.

Picking Skis

Remember that guy below?  He got his wish.  He's getting new skis.  But first he has to fight Caitlin Compton for the best pairs.  Here she is Improving her hand/eye coordination.

The better part of valor and avoiding a black eye is to let the Olympian get first pick.  

Picking skis is part science and part black magic.  Here's Brian Gregg working on the science part.  I suspect he was actually thinking about dinner.

Matt Liebsch applying the squeeze.  Here he's trying to weed out the bottom of the pack.   Matt's literally been through thousands of pairs of skis this year alone.  He is arguably one of the best ski fitters in the country. 

Some more skis.  But you've all seen these before.

 After squeezing and pressure mapping you still have to put them on the board.

His tallness and 2010 Olympian Garrott Kuzzy doing his best to apply equal weight.   Nice pants Kuz.

Perfect balance.  Nothing like Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest to usher in the new ski season.