Optimistic about the future of XC skiing By Greg Marr
 Snow! At the end of October, up to eight inches
blanketed many northern locations. I read updates on skinnyski.com about people actually skiing. Snowflake Nordic near Duluth actually groomed the heavy, wet stuff. As October rolled into November, there was more snow across the Northwoods. Thirty miles from me, some skiers got in a twirl around a golf course before it melted the next day. While it was out of my range to drive to Duluth, I was certainly thinking about the lucky folks who got out there and, as of this writing, are still skiing
Snowflake. There is skiing in the Twin Cities, skiing at Trollhaugen and who knows? by the time this is in your hands toward the end of November, we might all be skiing. Wouldn't that be wonderful after the past couple of seasons?
As for the lack of snow last year, I'm afraid I have to make an apology. You see, I think it might have been my fault. I might have triggered some
cosmic thing that caused it all. What happened is simple: we have a screened porch at our house, and every fall I cover the screens with plastic to keep the snow out. You guessed it: I never got around to covering the screens. The porch sat open all winter. Is it coincidence that the first time ever I don't cover those screens is the worst snow year in my memory? You be the judge. To be on the safe side, the screens were covered on Nov. 1 this year (I'm not taking any chances) and it
snowed two days later.
As I write this, there's no snow out my window and I'm still roller skiing and CAT Skiing. I've managed about 500K on the roads and over 30 hours on the CAT Skis. I'm about as ready as I've ever been to hit the trails, which has me a little worried since my enthusiasm seems to have an inverse affect on the snow: the years I've been ready for it (last year, for instance), have been some of the worst snow years. Go ahead blame
me, but keep in mind my porch is wrapped, so maybe those things will cancel out.
I fear the bad snow years of recent times might be causing some former devotees of cross country skiing to simply give up on the sport. One e mail conversation I had was disheartening. A fellow skier noticed his training was 50 percent to 70 percent down (more from other responsibilities than any lack of interest) and "it almost seems like a large
majority of skiers have tailed off this season. Most of the people I used to roller ski with aren't out there for the workouts anymore. Not sure if it was the hot summers or the bad winters."
I hope people aren't giving up on skiing because of the bad winters. I enjoy roller skiing and CAT Skiing. Sure, snow is what it's all about, ultimately the frosting on the cake, but with these great, new generation
training devices, skiing is a wonderful year round sport. Yes, I'd prefer snow but I'm not going to give up on skiing because we don't get enough white stuff.
Besides, XC operators are seeing the future and the future is snowmaking. A search of the Web brings up plenty of sites on snowmaking, from people who truck down to the hardware store and build their own backyard systems, to commercial products like the $428 unit from snowathome.com that'll guarantee a white Christmas in your
yard.
Backyard snow is fun but covering a trail requires more extensive and expensive equipment. Telemark Resort in Cable had its Fever Trail going last year, Mountain Meadows Cross Country Ski area in Vermont is promising 3K with a 3 to 6 foot base, and the Three Rivers Park District in the Twin Cities is taking the proactive approach and began blowing snow on the 2K lighted Elm Creek Trail on Nov. 7. (If the Cities don't have a good snow year, I can only imagine what that'll be
like as the 1 million or so Twin Cities area skiers line up for their turn on the trail.) I also know of at least two Wisconsin ski centers looking into man made snow: Iola and Minocqua. Minocqua already has DNR clearance to construct the holding pond for the water necessary to blow snow, and Iola coated their ski jump bowl last year.
Trollhaugen, the Alpine facility at nearby Dresser, Wisconsin, has expanded its XC program on their man made snow, so even if disaster
strikes again, there are options for the Twin Cities and western Wisconsin. In another worst case scenario like last year, check your local Alpine area and see if they'll let you ski before the slopes are open to the downhillers.
There's certainly no lack of cross country interest among organizers both competitive and noncompetitive. By a quick count, nearly 150 individual ski competitions of some kind are scheduled in our area (this includes
the various series and children's races). There are 15 separate races the weekend of Jan. 17 18 alone. And while a few events dropped off the schedule, they were more than made up for by new races planned for this winter. The fact that someone would actually plan a new event after the past two winters speaks strongly to the continued interest in cross country skiing.
There's a real glee in the voices of skiers so far this fall with the early
snow and colder temps. Maybe summer training was down a bit, maybe people were dulled by what occurred last winter. But it only takes one thing to turn this around: snow. Bring it on and they will come.
With roller skiing, CAT Skiing, snowmaking and what might be a good winter, I'm optimistic about the future of the sport.
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