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Posts from November 2007

West Yellowstone Ski Festival
Posted November 27, 2007

The Ski Festival at West Yellowstone was a big success thanks to the efforts of a whole bunch of volunteers, Jamie Greene, the Yellowstone Ski Festival Coordinator AND a super big last minute snow dump by Mother Nature. On Monday evening, just 12 hours before the festival was to begin there was no snow on the Rendezvous Trails and only a meager amount on the plateau at the end of a treacherous drive. On Tuesday morning, there was almost a foot of new snow all groomed and ready for hundreds of avid cross country skiers.

I postponed my departure until Tuesday morning and arrived in West Yellowstone around 1 PM. In addition to getting in some early season skiing I participated in a PSIA-Northern Rocky Mountain Division Education Staff training session with PSIA National Nordic Team Coach Scott McGee. During that clinic I learned a bunch of new drills to improve both classic and skate skiing. I'll share some of those in my next post.

In addition to my clinic there were 3-day, 5-day and half-day clinics, biathlon training and races, sprint races and the Super Tour Series kick off race. All in addition to sharing some great snow with skiers and teams from all across the country. Following are some comments along with photos. Send me any questions or comments you may have.


All skiing on the Rendezvous Trails in West Yellowstone begins at the log archway.


OK, touch up the wax job, kick the snow out of your boot and binding, click in and head out for a ski, clinic or ski party!


At the biathlon range there are several small loops where several teams were working on double poling.


Skating is sync can be a good way to visualize others ski technique to improve your own. The first two skiers have their poles angled across their body to help them visualize the change in torso orientation during various stages in the skating technique.


I was skating along with my clinic group when I heard, "Hey, that's Ralph!" I quickly stopped to see who it was. There was Craig (in the lead above) and Gwen who I had not seen in several years. We used to ski together at Alice Creek Ranch back in the day. It was good to see them and how much their skiing had come along. The cross country ski community is relatively small and it seems wherever skiers congregate I run into folks I know. Maybe I'll see them at the Birkie later this winter. That's another place thousands of serious skiers gather.


Most of the major equipment manufacturers where present with demo tents so you could try new stuff before you buy.


At the end of the day, as the sun was setting, a bunch of teams came together for a giant game of Fox and Hounds. It was a real mad house. There were about a hundred skiers going every which way, all laughing and having a great time.

I didn't stay for the sprints or Super Tour races because of my desire to spend Thanksgiving with my family. But those events went off in a spectacular fashion as well. I highly recommend that all of you, no matter what level of skiing , spend some time in West Yellowstone at next years festival. You'll be glad you did.

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Bring it On!
Posted November 19, 2007

This morning reminded me of the movie The Christmas Story when Ralphie woke up, looked out his bedroom window at the neighborhood covered with beautiful snow and the tree branches were like lace. All he could say was, "Wowwww!"

That's what it looked like out my window this morning. A gorgeous fluffy snow covered every thing. Periodically I can hear the whispering sound of snow sliding off my metal roof. Looks to be 4-5 inches already and it's still snowing pretty good. Even the little horned larks arrived early looking for some bird seed on our front lawn.

This snow seems to be an east-west band of precipitation falling presently across north central Montana. The band is forecast to sink southward during the day and bring snow to most of the west half of the state before it's done.

As I mentioned in previous posts I am planning to head down to West Yellowstone for the ski festival. I will be participating in a Professional Ski Instructors of America - Northern Rocky Mountain (PSIA-NRM) Division Education Staff training clinic on Wednesday. I'll bring you a full report and some photos later in the week from my first ski of the season.

In the meantime you can check this site during daylight hours to see how the snow stacks up on the Rendezvous Trails in West Yellowstone. As I write this there is no snow - it's definitely brown town! But there is some groomed track on the plateau. AND 4-12 inches of snow are in the forecast. Hopefully by the time I arrive Tuesday afternoon the trails in town will be white and ready. If the trails are white on Wednesday look for me on the web cam around 9:00ish , noonish, 1:30ish and 4:00 ish (Mountain Standard Time) as my group heads out or returns from skiing. I'll try to wave for the camera.

Another good thing is that there will be skiing at home when I return. Looks like plenty of snow in the mountains for some backcountry skiing. I can't wait to get out there. Just like Ralphie!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving! I'll leave that snow dance going for the rest of this week. It seemed to help get the snow started.

An update on Bert: Bert Kleerup suffered a set back last week with an intestinal infection that prevented him from feeding and resulted in weakness and dehydration. Bert has been readmitted to St. Marys Hospital in Rhinelander but has begun to improve again. Keep sending those prayers and well wishes. He still needs them dearly.