Well, if you haven't noticed, fall is here.  The Pajarito ski area parking lot
and the SWNSC shed parking and trails were abuzz with activity this past
weekend...lots going on.
A few of us got up to the shed to start (or finish?) work to prepare for the
up-coming season this past Saturday.  We never quite finished the construction
and have just "made do" with the space thus far, so hopefully we'll inch a bit
closer to having that "condominium" that we've been dreaming of.
Pretty much from now until the start of the ski season, we'll have some
projects.  If you can find time and are willing, we could use some help.  We'll
probably put together some sort of work party each Saturday and/or Sunday. 
We'll keep the group posted via email and the website (still being
updated...check it out: www.swnordicski.org).  So, sharpen up those chainsaws,
break out the limb choppers, find those old buckets of paint and paint brushes
and come up for some of the fall "fun."  The projects are not so big this year,
but we do have quite a number of them.
Here is a list of what we have going on.  We can always use donated materials
for any of this:
For the shed:
Equipment shed flooring (need roofing tar, roofing mineral roll ~90mil)
Steps to personnel door (in progress...need concrete, cinder blocks, paving
bricks)
Install external trim boards between rafters, under the eaves
Insulate shed (need insulation) & finish walls (also need drywall or any wall
finishing materials)
Paint exposed trim/wood surfaces (Dave & I already applied water sealer/stain)
For the trail:
Trim branches from trees & brush at sides of trail
Cut aspen shoots in trail (ALWAYS needed!)
Help cut out & move downfall trees (several big ones at the moment)
Move rocks out of the trail
Set out steel fence posts for shade fencing
Install fencing (wait till we see it will snow)


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Clay groomed all the woods trails for classic skiing this AM----the waxing may
have been a
bit challenging, but for late March, conditions are primo!

PS:  The center of the trail is groomed for classic, there is no skate lane so
dont even try...it's
classic only this time!

PPS:  Thanks Clay!

All trails groomed for skating.  No classic track.  Some debris and
rocks before Point B. Front hill is still skiable but melting fast.
Next possible snow Thursday.

2-3" on nice cold snow over the previous grooming, classic tracks acceptable,
extra blue kick
wax, very hard snow underneath.  Little or no trash on trail.

Dave and John,

I skated the trails yesterday, they were excellent (despite the warm temps)
- great grooming effort you guys.  Looks like the main hill is still
holding together for a few more days.

John

Meadow Trail groomed today, by Dave W.   John U. groomed the woods loops on
Saturday.
Conditions should be good, although warm.

I skied the Mora, Minnesota Vasaloppet this past Sunday. Minnesota had been
in a cold snap, the likes of which they haven't seen for ten years, so I was
glad temps moderated into the teens by race day. Central Minnesota had the
least snow of any part of the state. So instead of the usual loppet course,
they set a 15 km track on Knife Lake, which wasn't so bad if you're skating
(actually fast and fun), but really rough if you're double-poling the
classic race for 2 laps. Five minutes after I completed my 2-lap race,
home-town boy Chad Giese finished his third lap to win the long race six
years in a row- man, are they fast!

700 friendly volunteers help with the race. It's very well organized and a
lot of fun; a good excuse to visit friends or relatives in Minnesota. I try
to go every year. http://www.vasaloppet.org/

Tom Brimacombe


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

John Bernardin just called me to update the situation on the grooming.
After a week of off and on snow, I think we receveived between 14" and
20" of high-moisture content stuff, depending on where you are on the
trail system.  The meadow received even more perhaps.

Tom ran some packing passes and even got the Tidd around, barely, so John
went up to smooth that out and go over the new snow that fell during and
after Tom's session.

He ran the rollers on everything -- about 3 passes of the trail system.
It set up nice and is ready for the final grooming.  It's smoother but
soft, and a little more skatable than yesterday, but there's no classic
track set.

Tonight, Dave W. and Gene D. are scheduled to go do the final grooming.

Temperatures are supposed to moderate (get warmer) over the next couple
to three days, so be prepared for a mixed bag of kick wax conditions.  I
don't think klister is in order any longer, but have a selection of
warmer range kick waxes if you plan on skiing midday.  The upper meadow
is stay very cold.

Woods loops groomed for classic skiing, Multi use trail groomed for skating.

Tonight's Tuesday Night Ski
John Bernardin's evening ski is tonight, here are the details:

"We'll meet again tonight for our Tuesday Night Ski. Assemble at the West
end of the ski hill parking lot shortly before 5:30pm. We traditionally
(now that we've done this a few times) classic ski, although skaters are
certainly welcome. It should be snowing this afternoon and evening, so
conditions should be incredible for an evening ski through the woods (like
2 weeks ago). Bring a head lamp as we tend to finish up about 7:00pm. We
will ski some combination of the trail system and travel at an easy pace,
regrouping at several locations. This is a social event, intended to bring
people together, share skiing stories, pass on skiing tips to newbies,
etc. Come on out and tell your friends.

Ken was complaining that there was no food or drink following the last Tue
night ski, so all are encouraged to bring along something to share after
the ski.

John"

Go to http://swnordicski.blogspot.com/ for latest updates on club activities and
news.

Ken did a lot of Tidd grooming mid-day in 2-3" of new snow making for some nice
skating,
and refreshed the shortcuts between the multi-use trail and the woods trail
which makes for
more interesting training laps.

And a number of SWNSC women did a trail user survey today, giving out
information and
cookies to trail users, in exchange for user data.... see our new SWNSC blog for
details and a
photo:

http://swnordicski.blogspot.com/

More snow expected around Tuesday.

Right now, classic is okay with an inch or two in the old tracks covering up
last week's trash,
and the skating is good ,especially on the meadow trails.

Hard and icy conditions early and late, klister conditions mid day [ie: soft and
wet].

Getting a bit trashy but the classic track is in good condition.

Snow  predicted for tomorrow PM into Mon and Tue which should make for some nice
skiing
and should cover the pine needles and bark bits.   What falls will be groomed in
as needed.

Keep in mind the Tuesday evening group ski....last Tue we had about 8 skiers for
a nice sized
bunch of skiers.  Our leader John has evolved a series of alternative loops that
keep the
group in contact even though there is variation in individual speeds and fitness
levels.

Blog has been added to our www.swnordicski.org website ..... check it out.

In researching how other Nordic clubs function to get an idea of a model
for ours, I thought you might find some of the stories interesting.
First in line of these stories is that of Pocatello, ID.  They recently
had to cancel a very famous race they host every year (the Potato Cup)
due to grooming problems and trail conditions.  Here is an interesting
story of their travails:

http://www.pokyxc.org/7128.html

an excerpt:

"All of this effort has been a gradual building process over the past
three years in an attempt to adjust the mindset of local winter nordic
enthusiasts to a paradigm of volunteerism."

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Both skate and classic track are in great shape. Meadow track is
windblown, but crusty enough to skate heading downhill. Best to get
out before late morning for skating, because the track was getting
pretty soft by noon.
Tom Brimacombe

Photo album started in "Photos" section on the LANordic, yahoo menu...   feel
free to add to
it, it's an open album.

Trail is groomed, skate and classic, as of last night.

Tonight is our SWNSC potluck and party, with full moon ski out on the upper
trail.

Meet at 5:30 at end of parking lot to give your food, etc to be hauled up to the
site by the
snowcats.

Dave, Ken and Tom worked to pack all of the trail network, first with just the
machines
because of the deep snow, and followed up repacking with rollers.

We encountered amazingly deep wind blown snow out on the old and the new trails
that
descend down through Canada Bonita!

Hard snowfall finally tapered off around 7:30PM, so it was decided to do a bit
of finish
grooming:      Ken and Dave went back out pulling Tidd groomers and groomed and
smoothed the whole system for skating, so conditions for all you ski skaters
should be the
best of the year if you can get out tomorrow.

Classic tracks will be put in very late Friday or early Saturday AM in time for
the big SWNSC
Full Moon Potluck and Party scheduled for 5:30 Saturday night.

Pajarito reports 14" of new snow since Tuesday, and it's still snowing as
of 1:30pm today (Thursday).

Ken and Gene started the process of getting the trails rolled and packed
down, but it is no doubt still very soft.  Ken will once again head up a
grooming party this evening to go back over everything with the rollers
and blades.

Final grooming probably won't happen until Friday evening or Saturday at
some point...it just takes a lot of work to pack things down and we have
to wait for the winds to abate to get on top of the meadow trails.

Don't forget about the full moon ski this coming Saturday evening (Feb. 3
at 5:30pm).  See:
http://www.swnordicski.org/

for more details.  It's supposed to be cold, so be prepared for that.  It
is supposed to be clear at least, and the skiing will be great.  We hope
to see you there.

Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Sports
Good snow helps cross-country skiing scene in Los Alamos
Special to the Monitor

When people think of New Mexico, cross-country skiing is not the first thing
that comes to
mind. But when the snow flies, many great options abound in the Land of
Enchantment.
In the Los Alamos area, skiers are blessed with a trail system maintained by a
group of
volunteers that are part of the independent, community-based Southwest Nordic
Ski Club
(SWNSC).

The trails are located on Pajarito Mountain at the Canada Bonita trailhead.
Officially, the
maintained trail system is called the Pajarito Nordic Trail and is a joint
venture with the
National Forest Service for year-round recreation and winter cross-country
skiing.
The trails were created in the late 1970s and 80s by what was then known as the
Los
Alamos Nordic Ski Club (LANSC), which focused primarily on junior racing in the
Rocky
Mountain region.

Since then, the trails have been expanded and improved to the current state and
the
membership of the club has expanded to include adults of various skiing
backgrounds.
A few of the original club members from those early days are still active
members of the
club, which is focused on providing a safe, maintained area for cross-country
skiers in the
local area. Trail maintenance entails a lot of volunteer hours to keep the trail
free of
deadfall and brush, maintain erosion control and, of course, winter-season snow
grooming.

But, it's not all work. SWNSC hosts a variety of events in accordance with
interest and time.
Some of the events include lessons and clinics, moonlight ski festivals, weekly
group ski
with headlamps and a yearly competitive event in addition to social events and
open club
meetings.
Clay Moseley, who has been with the club since 2000, has seen many changes. He
said
when he first contacted the club, which was still LANSC, it was all but defunct.
Many of the
remaining members had not been skiing very much, the club's grooming equipment
was
old and in need of repair, and a few bad snow years had seen interest dwindle.

With the good snow the year after the Cerro Grande Fire, Moseley got together
with one of
the club's original founders, Tom Berg, and worked to get things going again.

"That first year [2000-01] was a real experience," Moseley said. "We had this
one very old
and overworked utility snowmobile that hadn't been working in a couple of years,
and we
had to beg one of the other original club members who knew how to work on it to
help us
get it going again. He helped us out and we were able to groom the trails that
year."

"Most of the time, we spent that first year having Tom Berg teach us how to
prepare the
trail for safe cross-country skiing. We also spent a lot of time, as we still
do, learning to
fix that ancient snowmobile to keep it running. We've since purchased a
different, low-
budget machine that has made the process a little easier, but we're still in
dire need of
replacing that old snowmobile," Moseley said.

Moseley added that since then, the number of people who use the trail for
cross-country
skiing has more than tripled.

"We would see a handful of skiers out after we got a good storm, but then it
would wane a
little when the sun came back out and people feared the degradation of the
skiing
conditions. Now, it is a constant stream of people - by the dozens - during all
types of
weather. They know the trail is still good skiing even if we haven't had a storm
in a while."

Moseley has been a cross-country skier since his days as a student at the
University of
New Mexico. "I was an Alpine skier, having grown up in Ruidoso, and was still
trying to
make it on the UNM team. I roomed with a Norwegian guy who was on the
cross-country
ski team and we would argue about the merits of our discipline - you know, which
one
was tougher. He finally got me out to cross-country ski, and I felt like a
beginner on skis.
The strength and balance necessary was far more demanding than what is required
for
downhill skiing. I've been doing it as much as I can ever since, and I still
feel like I have
much to learn," he said.

"There's nothing like it. You don't have the crowds, you don't need the lifts -
although I
still do enjoy Alpine skiing at Pajarito - and you get a great workout anytime,"
he said.

Moseley says that anyone can learn, but first-timers should take a lesson. There
are some
options through the local club for lessons, but club members recommend getting a
lesson
at the easier-to-learn Enchanted Forest in Red River.

"The Pajarito Nordic Trail is not the easiest in the world to ski," Moseley
said. "We always
say that if you can ski here, you can ski anywhere!"

Those interested in cross-country skiing and SWNSC can check out the club's
website at
www.swnordicski.org.

As I left the hill last evening (~9:00pm), it was snowing pretty hard and
there was already 3" new.  It continued snowing off and on all night, so
there is a pretty good dose of new snow.

Nothing has been groomed yet, so keep in touch for grooming updates.
Best to bring your classic touring skis up for the time being.

1. Tue eve ski tonight:  5:30, trailhead, moderate pace, about 1.5 hr ski.

2.  Grooming last night, re do of the skating lane.

3.  Sat night moonlight ski and potluck:
          "Please join us for a full moon ski/snowshoe this Saturday Feb. 3."

Message from the president...
"We will be having a full moon ski and snowshoe pot-luck Saturday February 3
on the Pajarito Trail system. Members and non-members are welcome. We will
have a fire on the upper trails and carry your food and beverage offerings,
along with any blankets or other items you may desire. Meet at the trail
head at 5:30 to load the machines then strap on the skis or snowshoes to
the fire. So everyone doesn't just bring lutefisk please RSVP your
offerings to  coralk@...."

Current Potluck Offerings:
Stephanie Hagelberg: Minnesota Chili
Jessica Kisiel: Green Chili Stew
Donna Berg: Sausages, Buns and Mustard

Dave W. regroomed the trails last night for both skating and classic.

Conditions are hard pack snow.

John B groomed last night for skating:

"I groomed the entire upper trail system with the bladed groomer last
night.  I tried to preserve the classic track - its much intact from point
A to point J.  Ken and I skated it this morning - very sweet, including the
upper meadow trail that Dave groomed the other night."

We will be having a full moon ski and snowshoe pot-luck Saturday
February 3 on the Pajarito Trail system.  We will have a fire on the
upper trails and carry your food and beverage offerings, along with
any blankets or other items you may desire.  Meet at the trail head at
5:30 to load the machines then strap on the skis or snowshoes to the
fire.  So everyone doesn't just bring lutefisk please RSVP your
offerings to coralk@....  Stay tuned for more details.

Current Potluck Offerings:
Stephanie Hagelberg: Minnesota Chili
Jessica Kisiel: Green Chili Stew

Regroomed this morning on the lower road, upper meadow trail and the woods
trails - the basic 10km loop.  Too much drifted snow in the far meadow trail for
the Tidd (final grooming).  It'll need some packing passes and blading before
it's ready to groom again.
It was nice and cold early this morning, so skiing should set up nicely. 
Classic tracks were reset as well.
Excellent conditions...enjoy!


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

After Ken and Tom's work, we all skied and then Dave and I went back out to get
a jump on the new snow received late in the day and wind drifts with the blades.
It worked well, but the whole system will need regrooming tomorrow morning.
Dave suffered a broken exhaust pipe, so we're down to our most ancient
snowmobile, which just got back up and running in time.  We'll see how it goes.
I would say wait a while tomorrow to give enough time to get things regroomed. 
There should be a new classic track also.  It's possible that the new far meadow
trail won't be regroomed for tomorrow's skiing.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Ken spent most of the morning packing and grooming the trail system.  Mid day I
took over
long enough to get in a classic track around the entire system.   Snowing hard
up there when
I finished around 2:30....  but lots of people skiing so the track may survive.

Skiing was great, nice cold snow that packed out well.

Another  set of volunteers is prepared to start the whole thing over again
tomorrow AM if
more grooming is needed, ie, if it continues to snow up there this evening......

Trail conditions still good, well skiied in but very cold snow, both classic and
skating lanes in
decent shape.

Entire trail system groomed mid-day today for both skating and classic  skiing.