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Nordic Skiing & Snowshoeing
WINTER – 2009
There will be great opportunities for cross-country skiing in our region this season. Some of us go snowshoeing instead and enjoy getting together with the skiers. Here is our schedule of venues.
SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM
FOR TWO REPORTS by MIKE YOUNG
Each event is noted briefly here.
Overnight trips as they may be developed are detailed in the online calendar.
For more information contact Mike Young by E-mail or by mobile phone (585) 230-7041.
SCHEDULE
January
04 – Harriet Hollister Spencer Recreation Area
Contact Mike for car-pool information.
11 – Webster Park – Meet at Parkview Lodge Lot
18 – Mendon Ponds Park – Meet at (TBD)
25 – Northampton Park – Meet at Ski Lodge
February
15 – Mid-winter Party – Cabin Party site
Details are in development.
March
15 – Durand-Eastman Park – Meet at Golf Course Parking Lot
If you don’t run into the gang dressing up in the parking lot, you might run into us on the trails. Many of us will be “wearing” colorful souvenir ribbons from some of our club trips.
AND DON’T FORGET OUR SKI CLUB MEETINGS
MYSC meetings are held monthly on the third Thursday of the month from August through November and January through April. Meetings usually include featured speakers and discussions of ski and snowboard opportunities.
The August and April meetings are picnic meetings at one or another of the local park cabins - for specifics see newsletter or online calendar.
NOTE: Our regular meeting site is now the upstairs party room at MacGregor’s in Penfield, 1129 Empire Boulevard, at the south end of Irondequoit Bay, phone (585) 288-8630. Many of us gather early for dinner while others just drift in for libations and camaraderie before the meetings, which begin at 8:00 pm.
Updates on Local Cross Country Ski Areas
by Mike Young
November 8, 2007
Bristol Mountain has transformed the top of the mountain back of the high speed chair into a cross-country ski area with a large, modified yurt for ski rentals and warming hut. The easy loop is 1.2km with snowmaking capabilities along with a more difficult 1.8km loop. Both have lighting for night skiing. Trail ticket is $10 and season passes are available. Check the Bristol website for details under Nordic skiing. The area is accessible by car from South Hill Road. Parking is limited.
Cumming Nature Center, 6472 Gulick Rd, Naples, NY is open on Saturday and Sunday 9AM-5PM, starting Dec. 29th. Free to RMSC members or $3/person. They have 15 miles of groomed trails. Call Mike at 230-7041 for more info – or Check their website.
Both Mendon Ponds Park and Harriet Spencer Park are groomed by the Rochester XC Ski Foundation. Once we get a good ski pack you can enjoy great skiing with skate and classical track at all these locations. Check the RXCSF website.
Camp Allegany – Summit of Crashes
Weekend at Allegany State Park
January 28-30, 2005
by Mike Young
The perfect winter weekend is sunshine, solitude, good friends and food. Of course, mistakes are made: Senior moments – leave the deli meats behind in the fridge – close the door behind you with the key locked inside. That was only the first five minutes at the cabin – there’s more.
We were arriving at different times on Friday night so I proceeded to dig a path to each of the cabins and turn on the electric heat to have the cabins toasty by the time everybody got to the Summit cabins. Meanwhile beer and wine were flowing. Later that evening I waxed their no-wax skis, so they would be ready for a good ski on Saturday – first mistake. Geri brought her new popcorn popper and proceeded to put too much popcorn into the unit: Voila – popcorn overflowed all over the floor! Sweep it outside to the birds. We’d better go to bed to wake up early for their first ski. The walls of the rooms were paper-thin so talking, even whispering, was keeping everybody awake.
Art Roscoe Ski Touring Area was a test of new skills for a band of skiers from Monroe Y Ski Club. How can I teach them the skills to slow them down on the groomed and track-laid runs of the park? We made a first run to the lookout tower – nine ducks in a row. Practice makes perfect: Step out of a groove and go into a wedge or snowplow if necessary – they passed their first test! Even John Del G. – not been on X-C skis in four years – showed flashes of perfection. By the time we got back to base camp Debbie and sidekick, Libby, had arrived. Husband Bob was bitten by a bug and was staying home – a blessing in disguise? We proceeded across the road to an easy run, Sweetwater. The first downward slope became a logjam of skiers blown off the tracks like runaway trains. Geri breaks her glasses and bruises her eye, Sheila strains her hamstring, Sharon just keeps on laughing… Come-on, get serious – isn’t skiing with friends a barrel of laughs!
The afternoon run was tame compared with the morning with the addition of Debbie and Eileen – I guess the lunch break helped their balancing acts. We finished the evening with more wine and munchies, moving from cabin to cabin as the wine ran dry! We had a country-style family dinner with a huge ham, twice baked potatoes, green beans, squash, and wine to wash it all down. Not to be left out, Sheila and Debbie brought a delicious carrot cake and a chocolate-covered cheesecake. Time to crash on the bed, boots and coat at hand – bathrooms are across the road, we’ll need them!
We woke up a little later on Sunday. Many of us had to get back to Rochester earlier than usual – to get away from the ski drill sergeant! Sally, Sheila and Jeff, and Geri fulfilled their agreement by basking in a beautiful sunny morning and mistake-free skiing. It was a beautiful weekend with friends. Come join us next year! Practice on those hills!
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