Grooming January 24, 2021
Forestville: The Piston Bully groomed Noque’ race course to Co Rd 510. Bob took the Ginzu across Co Rd 510 to the second gate near the basin. Light snow fell between 3:00 AM and dawn. Expect excellent skiing and beautiful weather.
Call for Rental Equipment: The equipment rentals at our Forestville Trailhead have been very popular this season. It has been great to see so many discovering skiing but the high use and required COVID sit period for boots occasionally leaves us in short supply. We could use extra classic and skate NNN boots, NNN classic no-wax skis or poles that you may have sitting around and would be willing to donate. Please drop off at Forestville any time 10-4 weekdays or 9-4 weekends. Thanks for your support!”
Bag pick up for virtual Noque begins Friday: Want to pick up your race packet this weekend (Jan 22nd-24th)?
Send an e-mail to [email protected] by midnight on Wednesday Jan 20th with your first and last name and we will have your packet ready for you to pick up onsite at the NTN Forestville Trailhead this weekend. Pickup times will only be from 8am to Noon this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Pick up will not be inside the trailhead building per COVID restrictions and social distancing requirements.
Please note, the parking at Forestville is limited and the trailhead is open for normal public use. Please park like a sensible human being. If you arrive and the parking area is full you may need to try another time.
Noquemanon Ski Marathon Goes Virtual: Due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, the 2021 Noquemanon Ski will be a 100% virtual event this year. See details at the race web site: http://www.noquemanon.com/ . Following this weekend’s snow the race committee will designate a course. Keep an eye on the above link for up to the minute details and the grooming report will include details and the link each day.
Fit Strip: Groomed all trails but low snow in the hemlock covered areas. There was enough snow to set classic track on the upper loop.
Big Bay Pathway: Nick hit the trail at 1 pm on Friday. The Big Bay Pathway is groomed. Meditation and Hidden Grin were both rolled and tracked. The trail is in excellent condition.
Groomers reported grooming is beginning to help smooth out the trail. Still much more to do with that regard, but need more snow.
Boe
Saux Head: All trails rolled and then ginzu groomed and track set. Trails in excellent condition.
Snow Bike Trails:
NORTH TRAILS
All of the north trails have been groomed since the snow event on 1/21, with multiple trails groomed twice. Cold temps have helped the base set up firm and users can expect good to very good conditions on Saturday. There is likely to be drifting in some exposed areas.
South Trails Grooming:
Mike reports South is at 90% groomed.
Greywalls may be soft. Everything else should be really good.
WTLGR: So I arrived at the trail head to collect my bag at about 11:30 yesterday morning. I had no intention of skiing the virtual Noque that day. After all, the snow was cold, my skies were dry and what had been on them was for warm snow. However, I was caught up in the moment. The weather was spectacular, folks were donning their bibs and the buzz was intoxicating. I figured, what the heck. After all, 42k is only 12k or 15k over distance this time of year. Of course, the dirty little secret is, the extra 12k comes at the end! Regardless the fact my skis were so much sand paper and my pack had a week’s groceries, the ski was most enjoyable. We only get to ski the Granite Point section during race week and it is a real treat. Conditions were race ready, temperatures were pleasant and the air was light. So, I had a wonderful time; but not a good time. Given the ability to lie I would back out the time spent giving hand warmers to cold skiers or chatting with friends and fellow race(?)ers. However, if given that skill I would have gone into sales or marketing. Regardless, any delta between actual time and reported time would doubtless be caught by Bezos or Zuckerberg. Now I am faced with the dilemma of many hopeful grad students when they open their GRE or LSAT results; do I take it over? Will all results be reported or only the best? Is the shame and ignominy of a slow time greater than that of submitting multiple results? And, what if you can’t best the first showing? I know ignominy disappears in a few generations but it is especially hard in this one. Alas, I take solace in my father’s admonition of critics when watching a dog walk on his hind legs. “Don’t be too harsh, it’s a good trick he can do it at all.
See you out there,
Sondo