To:  Nordic Club members

From:  Ken Leghorn,  Eaglecrest Snowsports School Nordic Supervisor

     Ken_Leghorn@ci.juneau.ak.us  day message phone:  523-5450

December 3, 2008

Greetings!   I will be working 2 days a week at Eaglecrest this winter for the Snowsports School, helping with all activities related to Nordic skiing, including lessons, clinics, events, and coordinating things like trail work, signage, and future planning.   This is a great step forward for Nordic skiing at EC and shows real commitment by Eaglecrest to grow the program.  

 My overall objective for this season is increasing the number of cross country skiers using the Eaglecrest trails and participating in lessons and clinics.  Let’s demonstrate that “If We Groom It, They Will Come!”   Club members can greatly assist in helping us to get out the word to your family members and friends about cross country skiing opportunities at Eaglecrest this year.   Stay tuned for details!

I will periodically post Eaglecrest Nordic information to the Club website.  Doug Sanvik (586-1421) is the

Club’s liaison with Eaglecrest; however, also feel free to contact me directly:  Ken_Leghorn@ci.juneau.ak.us  or by phone at 523-5450 (office/message; my other job at the Juneau Community Foundation).

Below are a few recent information items.

Lower Loop:  Many thanks to Club volunteers who helped brush and cut trees on the Lower Loop.  It is in the best shape ever, including the extensive culvert and gravel work that was done over the summer through a State grant obtained by Kirk Duncan, Ski Area Manager.

Grooming:  Eaglecrest will groom the Lower Loop 5 days a week , Thursday through Monday, as soon as the area opens!  This will usually be done by 9 am, and will be posted daily on the Snow Conditions Hotline phone at 586-5330 or online at www.skijuneau.com.   Or check the Nordic Club website which will be ready to go for the season soon, www.jnski.org           

Eaglecrest will groom the Upper Loop only if the Lower does not have sufficient snow, or “on demand” if there is a race event to train for or if there is a designated weekend that we’ll promote skiers going up to it.  For now we all want to concentrate grooming resources on the Lower Loop.   If you have grooming suggestions or feedback during the season, please pass it on to me or Doug.

Jack Kreinheader also has permission from EC to groom either the Lower or Upper Loop on behalf of the Club if there is inadequate snow for the Eaglecrest groomers.  He was able to put in a short classic and very short skate track on the Upper Loop on Dec. 1  Many thanks to Jack for this heroic pre-season effort!

Parking:  We will mark the newly-improved mid-lot access to the Lower Loop, and are also working with DoT to try to expand the 2-car lot at the Meadow Access point. 

Race Events:  In addition to a full schedule of classic and skate lessons and clinics, I am putting together a few race events and clinics centered around people interested in training for the Tour of Anchorage on March 8 and the Buckwheat Ski Classic on March 28.  I’m hoping we can inspire a larger block of up and coming Juneau skiers to increase their skills and conditioning and have fun going to these two great events.  A full schedule of clinics and events will be available soon.

Trail Use policies:  I will be developing some signs as well as using the new Eaglecrest Nordic Trail Map and Information Brochure to communicate some trail use policies which should help all of us as use increases.  Some specifics:

-       One-way signs will indicate the preferred direction of travel; skiers going against traffic must exercise caution.

-       Snowshoes are allowed on the side of the skate late opposite the classic track, and should yield to skiers.  Please avoid the groomed track entirely if the track is soft and snowshoes make a deep impression.  The fee for snowshoers at Eaglecrest is the same as for skiers if using the track (see below; no fee if off groomed trails).

-       No dog policy on groomed trails will remain in effect 7 days a week and after hours.  Please!!

-       With an Eaglecrest season Nordic pass costing only $39 (and included in an Alpine season pass), and with day tickets at $10, we will be checking for nordic passes this year and sending people to the Lodge to buy a ticket if they don’t have one.  Children in fifth grade and under continue to Nordic ski for freeJ    [Hopefully Club members have gotten the word that they still need to support the Club’s voluntary grooming expenses at the Campground with their Club membership.]

Photos Needed!   Please email photos of classic or skate skiing on the Lower and Upper Loop that we can add to the Eaglecrest website:   Ken_Leghorn@ci.juneau.ak.us 

That’s all the news for now.    See you very soon, I hope, on the trails.

Ken

The Anchorage Daily News has a series of short videos introducing skiers to various aspects of ski technique and preparation (click on the link under Nordic FYI in the blogroll column to the right).  While these are pretty cursory, they do include some good footage of the basics.

Here’s a site for tips on ski technique.  We’ll try to find an assortment of useful discussions to post here under the comments (click the link above).  Readers are encouraged to share their own technique insights too.Remember that the Eaglecrest Snowsports School has several experienced and very proficient Nordic ski instructors, so consider touching up your technique with a lesson at Eaglecrest.  Cross-country skiing only grows in the fun it offers when you learn graceful and efficient technique.Also, take advantage of our JNSC clinics each year.  Check out that section of our JNSC Activities category on this website.

Dear JNSC members and Nordic skiers, 

For this coming season, Eaglecrest and the Juneau Nordic Ski Club have agreed to separate Eaglecrest Nordic Ski Passes and JNSC memberships.  Both Eaglecrest and JNSC have reduced their prices to insure that the new arrangement is more equitable.  JNSC will no longer be providing a share of our membership fees to Eaglecrest to help subsidize the costs of grooming there, which will hopefully be covered by selling enough of the passes at the amazing deal price of $39 for the season.  Kids under 12 will be free on the Nordic trails.  Eaglecrest will sell their passes at Eaglecrest and at various specific events, such as the upcoming ski swap in early November (but not at the CBJ office in downtown Juneau).JNSC will continue to be solely responsible for grooming of the Valley trails and will continue to sponsor various other events and activities.  We will also remain strongly involved in assisting Eaglecrest in many different ways, ranging from volunteer parties to improve the trails there and working with Eagecrest staff to improve conditions to holding races and ski technique workshops at the mountain. 

Wherever you ski, whether only in the Valley on our tracks at the campground and lake, or just at Eaglecrest, or a combination of both, we urge you to support our all-volunteer club by purchasing a membership this year.  Without the need to support grooming costs at Eaglecrest, we have lowered our annual membership dues to $25, with $10 for age 17 and under and no charge for 6 and under..  Those fees will buy our grooming equipment gas and oil, cover maintenance and rebuild our equipment replacement fund.  (Past membership dues have just purchased a brand new snowmachine for us use on the Valley trails this year, with the old machine being relegated to backup duty.) 

We will be posting our 2008-2009 JNSC membership form as soon as it’s updated.  But I wanted to let everyone know about the new system now to avoid confusion, as Eaglecrest is actively selling its alpine and nordic season’s passes.  JNSC will also have a booth at the ski swap selling our memberships, and hopefully we will soon have a link on this website where you can purchase them online via PayPal or a comparable system.  Otherwise, you are welcome to mail in your check for $25 per person to JNSC, P.O. Box 21262, Juneau 99802.  Please be sure to provide us with your email address, since this is the only practical way we have of contacting our members to let them know of events, changes and opportunities; a phone number is also useful in case your email changes and we need to contact you to find out what your new one is. 

Here’s hoping for another banner ski season this winter! 

Bart Watson

Scott Fischer has announced that he will be holding a free waxing clinic at the Foggy Mountain Shop, downtown on Franklin Street, next Friday February 6 at 6:00 p.m.  He will go over how to glide wax skate skis as well as waxable and no-wax classic skis, and how to apply classic kick wax.  Remember, even if you have no desire to race or maximize your speed, glide waxing helps your skis slide more easily with less icing and dragging, and it is essential for keeping the porous polyethylene bases in good shape.  So if you’ve never gotten in the swing of putting wax on your skis, this is a good opportunity to find out how easy it really is.

Nordic  Stretch and Tour – a new cross-country ski workshop at Eaglecrest for skiers who are interested in improving their ski touring experience by learning and improving skills both on and off their skis.

30 minutes of yoga based stretches to target ski muscles and balance followed by 90 minutes of classic ski touring tips and instruction.  

 Fridays, January 9-March 20  9-11 am  $20

Contact the Eaglecrest Snowsports School at 790-2000 x21

Thanks very much, and Happy New Year!

Betsy Fischer

Here’s a site to share information about backcountry skiing: ski touring, telemark or whatever our members find useful. Click on the comments link to post or read.

Here’s some useful news from Ken Leghorn at the Eaglecrest Snowsports School. They’re offering a terrific opportunity for those you’d love to introduce to cross-country skiing and get them to share this awesome sport with you. The price is great, the instructors top-notch, and conditions are really good in this cold, clear weather for getting started on Nordic skis. “Tell all your non-skiing friends, relatives and co-workers: The Try Nordic! Clinic for first-time skate or classic skiers will be held on four Saturdays, December 20 and 27, January 10 and February 22, from 11-12:30 — take your pick.   $10 includes lesson and trail fee!  Bring your own skis (you can rent them at Foggy Mountain in downtown Juneau, but not at Eaglecrest). Pre-register by calling 790-2000 ext. 211, or sign up at the Eaglecrest Lodge. “Today (Thursday) at 9 am the Lower Loop was packed, but not track set, for cross country skiing and snowshoeing.  Early season conditions exist; please use caution and watch for hazards.   No trail fee is required Thursday or Friday. “Eaglecrest intends to set the classic track early Saturday morning, at which point we will start charging the daily Trail Fee.  The classic track will be set on more than half of the Lower Loop, including all of the “Easier” portions of the Loop:  from the Lodge to the Meadow and all around the Meadow.  Questions?  Email me at Ken_Leghorn@ci.juneau.ak.us.     Cheers – Ken”

The loyal and dedicated volunteers at 4-H are setting into motion their biggest and best Nordic ski program ever.  This is a terrific opportunity to involve Juneau kids in the world of cross-country skiing in a supportive and fun social environment.  Nearly every Sunday during the ski season, the group meets on the ski trails to learn, get exercise and have a good time.  The program has several outstanding coaches who volunteer their time and enthusiasm to the cause, and many parents come along and join in for the skiing. 

Please note that there is a limit of 65 on the number of kids who can participate this year, in order to keep the coordination and instruction manageable.  So don’t delay in signing up if you are interested.  The initial group meeting is Sunday afternoon, December 7, at Riverbend School.  Here is the information from the 4-H flyer. 

 JNSC member and volunteer Jack Kreinheder has just used his own snowmachine to set a classic and skate track on part of the EC upper loop.   While Eaglecrest doesn’t have quite enough snow yet to fire up their operations, JNSC is eager to take advantage of whatever snow exists wherever we can find it.  Read the comments of Jack and others below to get the skinny on early skiing opportunities around Juneau.  

Since the snow doesn’t extend all the way down to the parking lot, you’ll have to walk up and down from the parking lot to access the upper loop, but that’s probably a lot easier on foot than on skinny skis anyway.  Since there is some nice level terrain on the meadows of the upper loop, in good snow conditions this would be a good opportunity for some easy skiing for those of us who can’t wait to get the season started.  However, read Ken’s cautionary follow-up report and any future comments as conditions change.  The upper loop might be better after the next snowfall, coming our way soon.  No trail fees are required for this ski-season sneak preview.  Hurray for Jack! 

The good news just won’t stop!  Jack reported via text message from the top of the mountain that he’d hauled the roller and track setter around the upper loop at Eaglecrest today.  He was about to head back down and run the track setter around the lower loop again, too.  So now you have no decent excuse for not playing hooky, calling in sick or simply going AWOL and jumping on your skis in this beautiful weather.  Life is grand!

If you are headed up the hill, try for a mid-day ski — late enough that the overnight ice will have thawed out, but early enough that it won’t have turned to slush.  The timing is dependent on how warm the weather is, how high above sea level you’ll be skiing, how shaded the trail is, and how corned up the snow is.  Come to think of it, that’s all too complicated.  Just get your rear up there and ski.

Just a quick update: JNSC’s grooming efforts paid off in spades yesterday as the lower loop was groomed for both skating and classic. Due to the time it took to groom by snowmobile in the fresh snow, the loop was a little shorter than usual, leaving out a few of the switchback and S-turns, but it goes from the A-frame by the day lodge all the way down to the lowest extension.

Conditions were idyllic in the warm sunshine, and tee shirt skiing was the order of the day (and perfect for BBQ’s in the meadow, as the motley crew of JNSC members in the upper photo proved). This kind of spring skiing is the best of summer and winter, combined in one activity! We intend to continue keeping the track skiable over the coming weeks as the weather allows. Check in here at the website under the Trail Conditions Forum for updates on grooming and conditions.

Thanks again to all the volunteers who pulled this off. Especially noteworthy were the contributions of Jack Kreinheder, who offered to find a snowmachine and do the actual grooming at Eaglecrest, and Jim Craig, who founded Avadogs of Alaska and lent his snowmachine for the cause (right and left in the lower photo, with Meadow Queen Amy in the center). JNSC board members Ray Imel, Greg Patz and Tim Blust pitched in to haul the grooming gear up to the mountain. Other skiers on site during the grooming helped pull the snowmachine and groomer out of the deep snow several times when it got bogged down.

JNSC is aiming at continuing to expand Juneau Nordic skiing opportunities in every way we can. So get on up to Eaglecrest while this gorgeous weather holds and sample some of the most pleasant ski conditions ever!

Here’s the latest news flash from the HQ of Juneau Skinny Skiers Unlimited (aka the Juneau Nordic Ski Club):

A bounty of snow.
Despite the onslaught of spring’s longer days and usually fairer skies, we just couldn’t bring ourselves to hang our skis up in the storage shed for the summer yet. Mother nature has been egging us on with another amazing cold spring, and then on top of that the unseasonable dumping a couple of days ago that raised our electric rates 500% and sent us generally back to the stone age.

Fortunately, cross-country skiing is a true stone-age activity. Here’s another chance to thumb your noses at the rising prices of all sorts of commercial energy, unplug your t.v., leave your gas-hog boat at the dock a while longer, and strap those old boards on your feet a few more times. We have full-on Nordic grooming at both the Valley and Eaglecrest this weekend.

Valley skiing.
That’s right — you’d better believe that we don’t give up easily. I was just out at the campground this evening and the skate skiing was amazingly good. I’m not saying there aren’t a couple of bare spots showing up on the more exposed areas, but it was still easy to maneuver around them. The other 99% of the trail was in great shape, mostly packed powder, but a few areas that had gotten on the slushy side in the hot sun and were beginning to firm up by 8:00 in the evening. And just as I was finishing up my last loop near 9:00, here came one of our volunteer groomers setting a perfect new skating trail and classic track to set up for Saturday’s skiing.

So get out there early for the best skiing, or get out there later for the best sunshine, but by all means take advantage of what could well be winter’s last gasp in the Valley. The conditions are awesome and ripe for taking advantage of. By the way, we aren’t packing any longer on Mendenhall Lake, and even though I saw fresh ski tracks heading out over the ice, there’s also plenty of open water starting to appear, so I’m not about to recommend that anyone head over ice that is being buffeted by the conflicting influences of cold nights and warm days.

Eaglecrest arises from the ashes.
But wait — there’s more! That’s right, in spite of the well-publicized news that Eaglecrest’s last day of operation for the season was last Sunday, the Nordic diehards just won’t roll over so easily. We’ve assembled a crew of JNSC volunteers to wrestle one of our rollers and tracksetters up to Eaglecrest, and Jack Kreinheder (who is a member of both JNSC and the Juneau Snowmobile Club) has generously offered to haul one of the JSC’s machines up to Eaglecrest and set the lower loop Saturday morning. There is still tons of snow there, with additional accumulation most of the past week while it was raining down low, so it’s still a winter wonderland. With tomorrow’s sunny skies, it ought to be about as close to paradise as we find on this planet.

Jack’s planning to set both skate and classic tracks. It’s a bit of an experiment to see how much grooming we can accomplish with just a snowmachine, so it’s possible that we won’t be able to do the steep hills on the bottom-most loop. But I’m quite confident that at least the rest of the loop from the day lodge down past the meadow will be in great shape. Jack’s going to start grooming at 9:00 in the morning, so if all goes well the track should be pretty well complete by about 11:00 (and be melting by about 1:00 — but that’s good melting, as in bring your dark glasses and sunscreen, and be prepared to strip down minimum legal coverage to soak up a few rays!).

If this grooming-by-snowmobile effort proves successful, we may well just keep doing it several more weekends. Heck, if the lower loop melts away, we may just move to the upper loop in a few weeks. What could be better than basking in the hot sun while generating an entirely legal endorphin high, whipping your body into tip-top aerobic condition, sparing your aging knees and sundry other joints from the perils of running, and feeling smug that the only fuel you burned was the short trip to the trailhead. Just think how hard it is to do that only minutes from home in late April most places in the world. Do we live in an awesome place or what? Take advantage of it!

One more chance to show your appreciation.
I apologize in advance to most of you who have already generously sent in your donation or purchased a JNSC membership/Nordic Ski Season’s Pass this year. But I know that there are those among us who never quite got around to doing what they meant to do, so rest assured that it’s not at all too late to support your favorite club. At this point in the year, we don’t stand much on ceremony, so just feel free to mail a check in directly to JNSC at P.O. Box 21262, Juneau 99802, in the standard membership amount of $49 + tax = $51.45, or in any other amount larger or smaller that strums your heartstrings. (Please do include a current phone number and especially email address, as email is the only practical way we have to send you news.) We appreciate any amount, and we are putting all of it to very good use with the purchase of a brand new Skidoo Scandic snowmobile for Valley grooming this fall to replace our current worn-out model. We want to keep awesome skiing conditions coming your way, so we could use the support of all skiers to help us achieve this.

To those of you who have already stepped up to the plate, our sincerest gratitude. And once more, let’s hear it for our incredible volunteer Valley groomers, as well as the professionals at Eaglecrest, who have provided the best trails ever in both locations this entire winter!

Most of our members are on our email list and get alerts for upcoming events and other significant news. Email, and this website, are the only ways we have of contacting you. But quite a few members didn’t supply email addresses on their applications. More commonly, we have an old email address that is no longer in use. And even if you’re not a member of JNSC, we can add your name to our email list if you want.

One caveat: we tend to have trouble sending emails to hotmail and msn email addresses. They frequently reject our mailings as “possible spam.” The various other ISP’s and email addresses don’t seem to do that. So if you have an alternative to those two, please use that for your JNSC email contact.

Of course, if you don’t want to get our emails, let us know that too, and we’ll take you off the list. Rest assured, we will never give out our email list to others and send all our emails as b.c.c.’s, so no one can get your name from a copy. If you have any questions for us, address them to info@jnski.org . Thanks!

Dominic Bradford, who headed up JNSC’s Nordic Ski Clinics this year, sent us a comprehensive outline of ski techniques. If you took one of his classes, look this over to refresh your memory. If you didn’t get to the clinic, you still should find this a useful guideline: Nordic Ski Technique Checklist .