The Newlsletter


Editorial

We have already had the first snow of the season and as I write cars are trapped in snow on the Lecht Ski Road. I have been a bit slow in getting this newsletter out. Plenty of excuses: offshore for most of October, having to replace a computer, I could go on. There is a lot of news with the roller skiing during the summer and possible developments in the Clash and at the Centre. Many of the Club were also active over the summer with cycling, triathlons, hill races etc and I think I will continue sending out a summer calendar of non-ski events that may interest. If anyone has news of events that you want advertised amongst the Club, let me know.

Several people have expressed an interest in mountain touring. If you look on the calendar there are some tours scheduled for next spring when we can take advantage of the longer days and more settled weather to ski on the Cairngorm Plateau. Closer to home, when there is enough snow, great skiing can be done on the Ladder Hills and is good preparation for the higher tops of the Cairngorms. Make a note of the dates and be ready for last minute arranged trips to where ever there is snow. Are any of you thinking of buying telemark or mountain touring kit? Roy’s article on boots provides a very interesting read.

Any Club depends on its members and the support they give. Well, I think we are quite lucky as a club and when we ask for help and assistance we invariably get it. So thanks to all of you who help at our events from sweeping the track to burning burgers. What would really help, when I send out my email reminders, would be a response whether positive or negative. It stops Roy & me panicking.

Membership fees are now due. Please let me know any changes to addresses / emails etc. It will help if I learn ASAP whether you plan to re-join as we are need to calculate how much we need to pay for our affiliation to the SnSc. Peter Thorn

Ski Centre’s 10th Anniversary… and future plans.

roy young explains the rules of biathlon as mike dixon looks on!

Roy explains the "rules" of the biathlon to a concerned Mike Dixon,

Earlier this year the Ski Centre celebrated its 10th Anniversary with an event co-hosted by the Club and the Centre. Invited guests were entertained by a barbecue and fun ski games involving the Junior Development Squad and suitably gullible adults. Guests included representatives from Aberdeenshire Council, Forest Enterprise and many founding members of the original Management Committee.

We were fortunate to have as special guests for the evening six-time Olympian Mike Dixon and Mark Gee, both members of the British Biathlon Team at the Salt Lake City Olympics. Mike was present at the opening of the Centre and this was his first visit since then. I am not sure if they knew what they were letting themselves in for but to their great credit they entered into the spirit of the evening by taking part in the "biathlon" relay.

Roy Young gave a speech outlining the history of the Centre from its formation under the guidance of a Steering Committee, its management under a committee of local people through to the transfer of direct management to Aberdeenshire Council in 1998. He praised the former Gordon District Council’s foresight in establishing the Centre in Huntly, recognising that its close proximity to the Clashindarroch Forest Ski Trails made it an ideal place for a facility that would help develop nordic skiing in north-east Scotland. Mention was made of Forest Enterprise’s great assistance in opening up these trails to skiers. Roy thanked and praised numerous individuals but emphasised that the success of the Centre has been due to the collective effort of many people. He finally thanked all those who have supported the evening and in particular Mike Dixon and Mark Gee.

picture of bob lacy and mike dixon racing on ski matting

Mike Dixon (left) takes on Bob Lacy in the evenings top event. Mike didn’t know what to make of the precision made, foam disc firing, biathlon rifle.

The future….Many of you will now be aware of the major developments envisaged for the Centre. Nothing is definite yet but it is hoped that, as part of the overall Huntly Recreational Strategy, the existing articficial track will be replaced by a new generation ski surface and a 4-500m roller ski circuit will be put in around the Centre. Also by upgrading access roads to the Hill of Haugh / Meadows recreational area it may be possible to have a longer circuit for roller ski races. A roller blade / skate park is also planned on the site. The project is Aberdeenshire Council driven; the Club has been asked to provide technical support or at least guide the Council in the direction of people with the necessary technical knowledge. There are people in Huntly that are not too happy about the proposals and who have written letters to the Huntly Express, I have replied putting forward the advantages (Huntly Express 13/9/02). You can all help by putting the skiers case in your dealings with the people of Huntly. I’ll leave things at that for the time being until plans are more definite. In the meantime if you want to find out more there is a poster display at the Centre outlining the Huntly Recreational Strategy. PT

Summer Roller Ski Races.

Huntly Short-Course Race.

image of roller skier in action

On Roy’s Roundabout.

The Club’s Lottery roller skis have been put to good use through the summer with regular evening practise sessions in Huntly. Also several our juniors have attended various British training camps at various locations – Aviemore, Lancaster, Durham. This has led to great improvements all round and some of our younger skiers have become very competitive and in the fading light of a summer evening sparks could literally be seen!

 

Huntly Short-Course Race.

two more rollerskiers doing turns

Fast cornering .

In September we felt sufficiently confident to hold a Short-Course Roller Ski race in Huntly on the Steven’s Road Industrial Estate. I arranged the necessary permissions with the Council to get the quiet roads closed on a Sunday but like all great plans it started to unravel very quickly. The Amenity Centre claimed to be unaware of our race and called the police. The local constabulary, who knew about the race, was happy with us continuing as planned but in the interests of local harmony we decided to quickly adjust our course, so instead of an 800m loop we had a shorter 600m course with numerous tight bends. This probably worked out better for the races where the advantage in strength the adults may have had was compensated for in the younger skiers having obviously greater cornering skills. We started off with Time Trials

picture of the end of rollerski race

Start of the Knock-out Final.

followed by various head-to-head races. With 20 skiers taking part the day was a great success despite the occasional downpour. Thanks to the marshals, especially Liz Standen who took on the loneliest marshals spot.

rollerski racer at RAF kinloss

Action at Kinloss

The experience from our Short-Course race was put to good use when a sizeable Huntly contingent travelled to RAF Kinloss to participate in the Scottish Roller Ski Championships. This is the second time these Championships have been held at this superb venue and the RAF are excellent hosts, they also once again managed to provide wonderful weather. Special thanks need to go to Bob Lacy, who did most of the graft in overcoming the bureaucracy that is necessary to hold a public event on an operational base. Skiers came from as far afield as Plymouth to take part and it was good to see so many of the armed forces supporting the event.

The honour of Huntly was mainly upheld by our more junior skiers; look at the times they turned in their Time-Trials. The U12 Boys race was particularly competitive. Ben Musgrave did well to get in amongst the Marines and take third place in his 6.8 mile race and followed this up by winning his sprint category final. The older Huntly skiers maybe did not perform as well as our youngsters but we tried our best. Despite falling six times (I had a bad day) I considered it an honour to be lapped by so many good skiers. Dick Sowden and Inuk threw out a challenge to Roy and myself in a man versus dog race. The dog soundly thrashed us but in our defence Inuk doesn’t really understand running in a straight line! The day was finished off with the relays made up of mixed ability teams. The only mishap on the day was Andrew Young breaking his arm but fortunately kids mend quickly and he was soon back playing rugby.

Finally thanks to all of you who helped out on the day whether you had a long vigil as a course marshal or did sterling work as a timekeepers. Hilary Musgrave donated some tasty scones that were sold for Club funds in Sandy Thorn’s most welcome snack shop, set up on the day. The other nordic clubs and RAF also provided help in this official SnSc event. PT

First Snow of the Season.

The annual challenge as to who first skis the Haute Route in the Clash was once again claimed by Chris Barton when he was accompanied by Andy Cox on the 19th October. The six inches of snow they found was the earliest we have had for many years. Let’s hope we get more very soon, I couldn’t cope with Coxie crowing all winter how he skied on the only snow of the season! PT

Technical Corner.

The Telemark revolution has attracted many former downhill (Alpine) skiers into freeheel skiing. To keep them comfortable and to allow faster speeds down real steep slopes boot manufactures have made very stiff boots. However, a backlash is happening. Many people have pointed out that Teleing is converging on Alpine skiing. Actually at first I thought it was just Pete Thorn, Dick Elliot and myself talking like this, but we have been joined by truly influential people. Mike Haattrup, the chief tester for K2, is found frequently saying things like: "…….but if you want to do that why don’t you put alpine kit on?" and "……..ok so where’s the grace and fluidity in smashing your way down that slope?"

He is now arguing that the stiffness and size of the boots are overwhelming the skis and the sport.

This is a man of power and influence and boot manufactures have already responded. This year sees several interesting boots arrive which could bring back the finesse that the big boots have been lacking and the lightness which can add more pleasure to a day’s touring. All this while still giving some of the benefits of skiing in plastic boots.

So as my Asolo Extremes have lost their ability to hold an edge (like all great leather boots they eventually stop being able not to bend across the sole – amazingly just at the time I thought they were getting really comfy), what is there to look at and write to Santa about?

For years Scarpa’s T series boots have held great sway. They, of course, lead the revolution and continue to be great boots (well they are after you’ve managed to get them on, but it can be a bit like the old days of getting into jeans for some people – you’ll show your age if you remember pictures of girls lying on the floor squeezing in to levis with the use of a coat-hanger). T race and T1 (Terminator) are stiff and high, built for speed. T2 is the all round mountain boot – good for touring and turning. T3 is a little lower and softer but an excellent touring and turning boot (as long as the skis are not too big and heavy). Then comes the new one T4. This is made of soft plastic with good flex properties. Aimed squarely at the touring market, it could be argued that it is too soft for teles. However reports suggest that this is a good boot and, provided you choose your set up well it will act as an all round boot (but definitely not the boot of choice for bashing the lift served slopes on).

Garmont came into the market and have competed well with Scarpa with a range to match. Their race line is the Energy but range all the way down to a boot similar to the T4. This is called the Excursion and allows you to "go long and light and still have enough crank to make turns in good snow", you’ll need to be skilful in poorer snow conditions.

The final maker is one that I had a shotty on their race boot and thought it wonderful: Crispi. They are slightly different in design to other two and feel very different. They have very soft rubber across the bellows (the bit that allows the boot to get into the tele position) and thinner soles. This seems to allow the skier to get into a more leather- like tele easier. They have two boots worth a look at if you are thinking of replacing the old leathers. Firstly the CXA, which fits somewhere between the T3 & T2, or the Gara of Garmont – a real do it all boot. And the second as their touring boot the CXT. The CXT is heavier that either of the T4 or Excursion but is said to be more capable in the teleing and will cope with larger skis.

So why has plastic been accepted, even by pinners? Dry feel and lateral rigidity, plus if you choose right they will be more comfy than leathers over a wider range of conditions. For a more in depth review of boots you might want to look at the website www.couloirmag.com. As with things though try the boots out.

Another thing to be aware of is that the boot manufactures are working with the binding people to look at a new touring and tele "norm" and to move away from the ducked bill 3 pin set up. It is possible that a whole new boot and binding system will be out there for next season.

Touring has gone techno! Add these new soft boots to the new skis that are out there and we could be in for some interesting times when the snow comes. Roy Young

Clashindarroch and Woody Things.

Forest Enterprise is managing a £14,000,000 project to re-forest 500 hectares of farmland adjacent to Clashindarroch with native trees. The main area of planting is Coynachie (Darroch Wids) but there are two other areas; Merdrum and Blackmiddens adjacent to the Clash Trails car park. We may in time see additional ski trails at this later site and there is talk of a long distance trail from Huntly to the Clash. Sandy and myself represented the Ski Centre and Ski Club at the opening ceremony.

A possibly less exciting development is the proposed wind farm in the Clashindarroch. This is a very big project that would involve the construction of around fifty 300ft high wind turbines, the construction of one or more sub-stations and a power line to link it all to the National Grid. There is very little detailed information available at the moment but the project will probably have no deterimental affect on the ski trails. The Club is non-political and unless there is a direct impact on our skiing I don’t think we should have an official view. However we are all users of the forest and I felt it right that I inform you of this, I expect many of you will have strong views one way or the other. PT

Final Bits & Pieces.

GTS, 190cm
Tua Cirques, 182cm (not cap).

Both skis are old designs but at £60 are an excellent buy. Both can be used for mountain touring.

 

Correspondence to: Peter Thorn
West Craigton Cottage
Kennethmont, Huntly Tel: 01464 831429
Aberdeenshire AB54 4QP. Email: peter@thornp.freeserve.co.uk

Roy Young – Tel: 01466 793347 Email: tout.tele@cwcom.net

 


Novemeber 02, Number 11

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