NEWSLETTER No. 5 FESTIVE ISSUE 2000
Editorial
The ski season started in the
Clash on Sat 18th November with Lester Standen
claiming the honour of being the first to break trails. His glory was
short lived when Roy Young maintained that you had to ski the Haute
Route to claim the title of "The First To Ski The Clash".
Roy’s shameless attempt (displaying similarities to the
recent American Presidential shenanigans) to keep open his chance of
winning was thwarted by Chris Barton of Gordonstoun who skied the Haute
Route, twice. The snow unfortunately did not last long. Maybe Santa
will bring some more along with all those new skis.
I include this picture of
Roy telemarking on The Buck in superb conditions in April 1998 as a
reminder of the kind of skiing
that is possible
around here. Also it
might make up for Roy’s disappointment on losing out the
first skiing this winter. An article on this appeared in Ski Nordic
No.18 – I’ll post a copy on the Club notice board
at the Ski Centre.
Accompanying this newsletter
is a list of current members & their telephone nos. / email
addresses. I hope this make things easier for people to arrange skiing
etc. I make my traditional appeal for news / articles for the
newsletter. If you see a bear or any other sharp fanged, pointy claw
beast in the forest I want to hear about it!
wishing you
all a Merry Christmas
& a Happy New Year, Peter Thorn.
Junior Dry & Roller Ski Championships, Sun
19th Nov 2000.
Unfortunately atrocious weather
resulted in a small turnout for these inaugural championships. Five
juniors & one game adult (good on you Lester) braved the
elements & kept one eye on the rising Deveron. Pursuit
& relay races on the dry track were followed by a mass start
roller ski race & handicap race on the Gordon Schools
playground. Thanks must go to Roy & Eileen for organising this.
Next year I think we will try & hold these a bit earlier in the
autumn & try to get more of the Ski team to take part. PT
Coaching for Coaches Course.
Every
Thursday evening since
the end of October has seen 15 or so skiers subjected to Roy
Young’s rather capable hands in an attempt not only to
improve their own skiing, but more importantly to improve their ability
to teach Junior Development Squad members. As someone who disappears
offshore for a couple of weeks at a time, I can say it was very
apparent how everyone in the group had improved their technique. On the
harder part, of observing skiers & helping correct their
technique, I think we were all making progress. If I have learnt
anything it is how difficult it is to teach others. Well-done Roy on
enlightening us all.
Left:I couldn’t resist
showing this photo of Anne Skitmore demonstrating how much fun it is
with the Junior Development Squad. PT
Aberdeenshire Sports Council.
I regularly get information from
this body on courses, grants, Sports Medicine Centres, bureaucracy etc.
I generally pass on these bits & pieces to the relevant people
& post things on the Club Noticeboard at the Ski Centre. After
the recent re-organisation of the Sports Council into a single tier, as
opposed to the former three sections (north, central & south),
there are new grant application forms. I have copies for those that are
interested.
PT
Clashindarroch Trails.
The new trail
maps have been
posted in the Clash by PT & Lester Standen. Norman’s
Way has been regraded but has created new problems. We nearly lost
Lester’s Land Rover & my boot in some slurry like mud
along this trail. I’m glad I wasn’t on my mountain
bike. The Forestry Commission say this should dry out, but I have my
doubts this will happen quickly. Most of the culverting &
grass/heather cutting has been completed & I think we will
notice an improvement to skiing conditions this season. Unfortunately
there is still a ditch & bank of soil at the bottom of Range
Way, I will try & get the Forestry to repair this in December,
they also intend to replace some of the distinctly rotten foot bridges
in The Grotto area.
Copies of the
Trails Map (50p) are available from the Ski Centre or myself.
PT
Review – The Nationwide Roller Ski
Directory.
Compiled by Roger Bunyan of
the Yorkshire Dales Cross- Country Ski Club the directory lists
localities, submitted by skiers throughout the U.K., where good, safe
roller skiing is practical. The location, distances, terrain, tarmac
surfaces, facilities & safety details are briefly outlined. A
couple of short articles on summer roller ski touring in Scotland
& a description of the first & only roller ski journey
from John O’Groats to Land’s End complete the book.
I did supply Roger with some
details of roller skiing in our area but these did not find their way
in to the publication. The closest it gets to Huntly is the Aviemore
Ski Road. There are plans to update the book regularly. It would have
benefitted from more information on roller skiing & where you
can learn & this limits its usefulness. Having said that,
anything that helps promote the sport must be a good idea & the
book could prove helpful if you are moving about the country. PT
Junior Squad.
Olwen Thorn &
Emily
Skitmore are heading off to Tauplitzalm in Austria to attend a training
camp with the British Junior Squad. Let’s hope they have more
snow out there than we’ve seen here. A recent spell of poor
health has meant that Ian Fairweather has had to miss this camp, but he
is now on the mend & should regain fitness quickly. PT
New Members.
Recent additions to the
Club are
Callum Macleod & Geoff Armitage. Callum is new to nordic skiing
but hopefully we will soon have him up & gliding. Geoff is an
old hand at this skinny skiing lark & for many years was a
familiar sight in the forest & hills leading groups. Now
retired he can ski purely for pleasure & is keen to chat with
anyone who has, or plans to ski in Norway. PT
Internet Skiing
www.huntly.net/nordicski–
Club website
www.huntly.net/hnoc-
Huntly Nordic & Outdoor Centre (with ski
conditions).
www.snsc.demon.co.uk/index.htm–
Snowsport Scotland.
www.westrackski.org.uk–
Western Track Ski Club –
good info + links to other sites.
www.winterhighland.co.uk/general/
- downhill, climbing & cross country ski
reports for Scotland.
Final Bits & Pieces
Membership
subs
are now
overdue. Thanks to
all of you who have already paid up.
Full Moon Stomp - Tue 9thJan 2001.
Ski Orienteering Fun Event
– Sat 20th Jan 2001.
Unfortunately
the SnSc
calendar of
nordic events has not been finalised. As soon as I get some dates I
will let you all know
Correspondence to
Peter Thorn
West Craigton Cottage,
Kennethmont, Huntly
Aberdeenshire
Tel: 01464 831429,
AB54 4QP.
Email: peter@thornp.freeserve.co.uk
LINKS:index
NORDIC SKI
CALENDER 2000
