The Nordic Skiing Blog

First Tracks at Mt Van Hoevenberg

Posted on by Peter Minde

Who needs West Yellowstone when you’ve got early season skiing nearby? After Thanksgiving dinner, I set out up the Thruway for Lake Placid. Gusting wind pushed my new used VW shooting brake around, treating the ski box as a spinnaker.

Mount van Hoevenberg skiers

Rain washed away the snow Mount van Ho had the previous weekend, leaving only the 500-meter loop of machine made snow, courtesy of the Snow Factory. After a leisurely Friday morning breakfast, I clipped into skate skis. The Snow Factory loop had held up through the warming trend, still 18” deep.

After a couple laps around the loop, I ran in to Duncan Douglas. We shot the breeze, he intended to ski the Porter Mountain trail. But he’s a larger than life two-time Olympian, and I’m just a guy from Jersey. I opted to stay on the mini loop.

Continue reading →

Tagged: Adirondacks, Mount van Hoevenberg, Nordic Skiing8 Comments

Wild Wings: Secret XC Stash in Peru VT

Posted on by Peter Minde

“Did you see how much air I got?”

“I stuck the landing! I stuck the landing!”

When I rolled into Wild Wings, half a dozen kids were taking turns skating down a hill in front of the base lodge and doing tricks off a berm at the edge of their parking lot. Catching air, 180s, you name it. Olympian Andy Newell inspired a generation with his video Generation X Ski, part of which featured him doing tricks on cross-country skis in a halfpipe.

Five years ago, we arrived at Wild Wings in late afternoon, and skied for 45 minutes as it grew dark. Low clouds and mist in the pines cast a mysterioso vibe that had me itching to return.

Continue reading →

Tagged: Nordic Skiing, VT3 Comments

HURT Mega Relay: Die by the Sword

Posted on by Peter Minde

A week ago Sunday, my friend Barclay called me. “It’s a beautiful day, let’s canoe the Rockaway River!” Why not? With recent rain, the river was high and running fast. Twenty minutes later, we hit a strainer and went for a swim. By the time we reached the takeout, I was borderline hypothermic and wondering if I’d blown my chances to race.

Fast forward to this past Saturday: as my Subaru clawed its way up 13th Lake Road to Garnet Hill, the car thermometer stayed put, at zero. A frosty welcome for Hudson United Race Team’s (HURT) Mega Relay. Nothing like a bit of zero degree temperatures for a ski race. I hoped it would be warmer than the Rockaway River.

Continue reading →

Tagged: Garnet Hill, Nordic Skiing6 Comments