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HUNTLY NORDIC SKI CLUB NEWSLETTER No. 7May 2001www.huntly.net/nordicski |
You will have to put up with a longer than usual editorial as I talk about the excellent season we have just had. Chris Barton says it is the best since 1985 & he should know. There were 87 skiable days in the Clash. Brian Adams of Western Track thought that 120 days was the record but I think this must have been during the last Ice Age! There were probably more days than this but we didn’t count when the cover wasn’t continuous. In the past I’ve known desperate skiers carry their skis from snow patch to patch. Other than about 5 days in November the season didn’t really start until after Christmas &, other than an 11 day gap at the end of January / beginning February, lasted until March 31st. You could actually find snow to ski on after that but by then we had been spoilt & would only ski on the best conditions. Unfortunately the forest was closed for 3 weeks in March due to Foot & Mouth precautions. This meant that both the Club & Gordonstoun had to cancel races. Gordonstoun also, unluckily, picked the only weekend of no snow for their other race date. Our original Club Championships date had to be postponed because of too much snow! Such are the vagaries of Scottish weather. Local Forestry Commission staff worked hard to re-open the forest so we could make use of the last week of snow & we were able to hold informal time trials (see below). We also held an Orienteering Fun Event in January & Western Track came up from the Central Belt to hold their successful Time Trials – they should be back next season.
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The Sled Dog Association held their championships in the Clash. This was the first time they had ever held them on snow. There almost too much snow & a lot of work was needed to prepare the trails (thanks to Lester, Dick & Callum for helping out). I’ve never seen such deep continuous snow cover on the trails, there were 10 ft deep drifts & in places we didn’t know where the track went. The trail improvements, made the previous autumn, were certainly worthwhile especially when the snow was not so deep. I’m convinced the pisteing helps make the snow last. |
Lester
earning his |
Skiing didn’t finish at the end of March as some of us headed for the Cairngorm Plateau & toured on the fantastic snow cover there. As I write this editorial at the beginning of May there was still complete snow cover on the plateau along with snow showers. The season could easily extend into June, skiing on the longest day is not unusual. Not many of the Club wanted to go touring, but it is not as difficult as you might think especially at this time of year with the long days & soft snow (i.e. generally not icy). It is possible to pick easier descents & as long as you can traverse & do kick turns you should have no problems. If you had gone on one of these trips you would had the pleasure of seeing me fall flat on my backside snowploughing down a slope in poor visibility during a snow shower. I thought I was still moving when in fact I was stationary – a very weird sensation. I’ll leave out the story of Lester leading me down a "double black" other than to say I can still do kick turns. Roy also demonstrated the advantages of using GPS in bad visibility – I still think it is un-British & damned bad form.
Quite a few members skied overseas: Austria, Czech Republic, Canada, Norway, Siberia & there are probably others I have missed out. Some news of these trips is below but we could do with more information from your ski travels.
Peter Thorn
The Huntly Junior Squad held 6 ½ of their 7 sessions on snow this season. The half session was at the Ski Centre when the snow lying there melted by the afternoon. As an aside there was quite a lot of skiing done in Huntly this season, we even held one of our Full Moon Stomps there (see Newsletter No.6). It has been very noticeable that the standard of skiing has greatly improved. This is largely due to the commitment & skills of the main instructors: Roy Young, Sandy Thorn, Jayne Osgood & specialist instructor Arthur Stewart. It is also due to the numerous parent helpers who both attended training courses & helped at the Squad sessions; I don’t think these people probably realise just how big (and valued) a contribution they make. And finally it is due to the youngsters themselves who, through their enthusiasm, make it such fun for the grown ups – well, most of the time.
The Squad season ended with the
Awards Day at the Centre on April 22nd. It was
here that juniors & parent helpers received their level awards
& HNSC race certificates were handed out. Some more
light-hearted awards were presented such as the Golden
Rusty Shovel -
for services to digging out the snowmobile (some bright spark asked who
got the snowmobile stuck in the first place – the editor
maintains he wasn’t the only one to lose it in the snow). PT
Ok so what is this new wave stuff? Telemarks have been around for a long time but the quiet and graceful turn of the Nordic ski fraternity is now at home at downhill resorts. As one club member put it, "Ten years ago we'd teach people how to 2 phase and then suggest going for a tour as a reward, now its let's have a go at some Teles!" This is exactly what has brought about 2 revolutions.
Firstly Americans took to the Tele and popularised it. This was a fairly slow revolution. It started with groups of friends touring on traditional Norwegian style skis (Tips of 59 mm, waists of 54). The difference was these guys were nuts (oh, and very good skiers). Not only did they take these skis along, they used the lightness of the kit to get to some great powder shoots. News of this got out and particularly back in Norway the revolution gathered pace. People started taking bits of downhill ski boots and bolting them to their leather boots, they started using lighter weight downhill skis, they started going to downhill resorts to practice. (Early on we got strange comments like "Hey mate your rear binding is bust" - which was called to me from a chair lift in Val d'Isere.)
Now the marketers got in on the act and the ski industry started looking at specific Tele skis & Boots (skis now have tips of about 100mm and waists of 70mm, the last great ski to be designed for leather boots was the purple Tua Cirque which had very conservative dimensions, tips of 70 and waist of 60). So now the Telemarkers came in bounds and were able to play with the Downhill Skiers.
Going to resorts is what has brought about the new wave bit. Going to the resort is quick and easy and social - that's what resorts are all about. Since you can keep doing laps without the bother of working to get up hill there's plenty of time to fine tune your skills, hit the steeps, ski groomed runs and get bored.
To get over the boredom people invent things to do. And so we have the third Tele revolution and new wave was born. There are Tele skiers throwing flips in the terrain park, doing grabs in the pipe and jumping cliffs. It’s all dramatic stuff and very different from striding over rolling hills in woolly jumpers eating cheese sandwiches, and it is this style that has been labelled new wave.
Well I can ski and I have big skis and boots, and my son drags me down terrain parks and off jumps that I'd never have done even 5 years ago. So I'm New Wave then? Well probably not, I'm never going to do a back flip off a 40 foot cornice (well not intentionally and the chances of me landing it…..). New wave takes a certain attitude!
Roy Young
The Club Championships originally planned for 4th February were cancelled due to too much snow. Then on the back-up date 18th March the Clashindarroch Trails were closed due to foot & mouth. On the spur of the moment it was decided to have informal time trials & the fine weather encouraged a good turnout. Despite the light hearted nature of the days proceedings these results will now stand as the Club Championships for 2001. So some people will now be pleasantly surprise to be reigning Club Champions. The skiers set off in groups, or as individuals, around their chosen route. Like all great sporting events there were many tales to be told. Some such as Emily & Carys flouted the race rules & skied the opposite way around the course. Others such as Anne & Sandy spent more time chatting than skiing (cheek! ST). Mike Skitmore excused his defeat by little Alistair as being due to a broken ski pole. In another father/son battle Alex Standen had a right to feel aggrieved when his Dad made sure his skis ran slow by failing to repair a de- laminated ski tail - shame on you Lester.
1.3 km Novice Race
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NAME |
SEX |
AGE GROUP |
TECHNIQUE |
TIME |
POSITION |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Peter Thomson |
Male |
Junior |
Classic |
11:00 |
1st |
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James Thomson |
Male |
Junior |
Classic |
11:24 |
2nd |
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Ken Thomson |
Male |
Adult |
Classic |
11:26 |
3rd (1st Adult) |
Back Square Loop Special Race
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NAME |
SEX |
AGE GROUP |
TECHNIQUE |
TIME |
POSITION |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Alistair Skitmore |
Male |
Junior |
Classic |
N/A |
1st Small Boy |
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Mike Skitmore |
Male |
Adult |
Classic |
N/A |
1st Big Boy |
|
Sandy Thorn |
Female |
Adult |
Classic |
N/A |
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Emily Skitmore |
Female |
Junior |
Classic |
N/A |
|
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Carys Thorn |
Female |
Junior |
Classic |
N/A |
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4 km Sprint
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NAME |
SEX |
AGE GROUP |
TECHNIQUE |
TIME |
POSITION |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Lester Standen |
Male |
Adult |
Classic |
24:47 |
1st (1st Male) |
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Lucy Skitmore |
Female |
Junior |
Classic |
26:09 |
2nd (1st Girl) |
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Mairi Thomson |
Female |
Junior |
Classic |
26:18 |
3rd (2nd Girl) |
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Alex Standen |
Male |
Junior |
Classic |
26:43 |
4th (1st Boy) |
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Nick May |
Male |
Adult |
Classic |
31:12 |
5th= (2nd Male) |
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Deborah May |
Female |
Junior |
Classic |
31:12 |
5th= (3rd Girl) |
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Claudia Zeiske |
Female |
Adult |
Classic |
38:35 |
7th= (1st = Female) |
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Rachel May |
Female |
Junior |
Classic |
38:35 |
7th= (4th= Girl) |
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Michael May |
Male |
Junior |
Classic |
38:35 |
7th= (4th= Girl) |
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Anne Skitmore |
Female |
Adult |
Classic |
38:35 |
7th= (1st = Female) |
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Emily Skitmore |
Female |
Junior |
Classic |
N/A |
Went round course |
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Carys Thorn |
Female |
Junior |
Classic |
N/A |
opposite way. |
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Peter Thorn |
Male |
Adult |
Skate |
16:46 |
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6.5 km Stroll
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NAME |
SEX |
AGE GROUP |
TECHNIQUE |
TIME |
POSITION |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Anne Skitmore |
Female |
Adult |
Skate |
76:13 |
1st Lady Skate |
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Sandy Thorn |
Female |
Adult |
Classic |
76:22 |
1st Lady Classic |
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Peter Thorn |
Male |
Adult |
Classic |
38:00 |
1st Male |
Biathlon Junior World Championships.
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These children obviously recognise a future champion & snap up Gillian’s autograph. |
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Gillian Sowden travelled to Khanty-Mansiysk in central Siberia to compete in the Biathlon Junior World Championships. Gillian was the sole British competitor & was only accompanied by her coach. This was in contrast to the Russian & German teams etc who had a dozen or more officials & technicians to assist their biathletes. At this level of competition ski waxing is critical & Gillian was at a huge disadvantage. Gillian would have been disappointed with her 42nd place in the 7.5km Sprint but she put that behind her to finish 28th in the Pursuit (she was 17th fastest) & again improved her placing by coming 20th in the final race. As you can see from the results, Gillian's shooting is very strong. If you want details on the results visit the excellent International Biathlon Union website at www.ibu.at . Gillian is shifting her training base from Geilo to Lillehammer to prepare for next seasons competition. |
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Lowlanders.
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It’s not everyday you become a cover girl. Emily poses with other Lowlanders medal winners on the front cover of Ski Nordic. |
Emily Skitmore represented GB at the Lowlanders Criterium Competition in Ramsau, Austria in March. Emily was the only one of the Huntly Junior Squad members to travel to the Lowlanders this season & it was her first international competition. She put in an excellent series of races & returned with two bronze medals. 2.5km freestyle 5th 2.5km classic 6th 2 x 2km freestyle relay 3rd 2.5km freestyle 3rd
SKI NORDIC magazine is published four times a year & is available from Ski Nordic, 14 Grantley Drive, Fleet, Hants GU13 9SA at a cost of £10. |
Second Time Lucky for the Engadine Girls..
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Julia & Denise repay their tuition by wearing Ski Centre T-shirts. |
On their second attempt Julia McMillan & Denise Quinn, from Tyne and Wear, successfully completed the 26 mile Engadine Ski Marathon in Switzerland in March. They entered the event partly as a challenge & also to raise money for Children Nationwide (they managed over £2500 this year). Having never skied before, they approached the Ski Centre for some tuition which Sandy freely gave. In their first attempt Denise sustained various injuries & Julia crashed into an electricity pylon (an apt misfortune as both work for London Electric!!). On their second attempt after further tuition from Sandy, especially on that aspect of "avoiding rather than crashing into pylons" & getting "some miles under our belts in the Clashindarroch", both successfully completed the race. Twenty six miles with only about a weeks skiing experience – that’s not bad going. Their letter of thanks showered a lot of deserved praise on Sandy for helping them prepare for the marathon. I’ll spare Sandy’s blushes by not quoting from it other than to say that her secret stash of chocolate was a major contribution. PT |
Skiing in the Czech Republic.
Czech Republic, Prague February
2001. Good King Wenceslas did not look out on snow deep and crisp and
even. Nevertheless we enjoyed an evening stroll around his square
(rectangle) practising our newly learned Czech - Ahoi (hi),
Dubri Rano (how are you), pyet pivo (5 beers - other numbers
impossible). Lads, the city of Prague is perfect for the romantic
break, stunning castle, multitudes of spires, home of Dvorak, steeped
in history, beer 15p per half litre.
Once out of Prague we stayed in Rokytnice, ski resort in the Krkonose
National Park in the north of the country. And snow there was. The
Czechs have been skiing here and at other local resorts for years. The
facilities and ambience are very alpine though the mountains are in
fact similar to ours: the highest we visited is 1 metre higher than Ben
Nevis. There is no doubt that the boy’s nordic skiing made an
immense difference to their downhill and, apart from a short spell of
death defying snow ploughs, they got on with it fantastically and ended
up pushing out the parallels down red runs.
We'd hauled our nordics out there, so use them we would. It's very
popular amongst the Czechs and their general fitness is above ours.
There are trails everywhere in the mountains and when they're not
skiing they'll be on bikes or striding about. Of course the Newmans
chose the day when the self-respecting Czech nordic fraternity were
staying indoors, for good reason. We chairlifted to the top of the
mountain or so we were told for we couldn't in fact see a jimmy. In
swirling and freezing fog we negotiated a high route in tracks of ice,
the walkers in our group having an equally unpleasant time. Others
would appear out of the gloom and we'd all shout A-hoi, dubri rano. And
we'd pass a few other crazy skiers, interestingly usually Germans. We
were right on the Polish border so every concrete battlement had to be
inspected and skirmishes re-enacted. Sliding about on his nordics,
Ruaridh gamely led the way to Dvorachky
Restaurant halfway down the mountain and bathed in glorious sunshine,
where the sensible folk hung out. The 12 of us had a delicious 2 course
lunch with lots of pivo & coke, total bill under £40,
no idea what we ate, could never understand the menus. The beer made
the afternoon run down less torturous but equally challenging and with
breathtaking views across the mountains we skied all the way to our
Pension.
Other highlights included our runs down the bobsleigh which were
frighteningly quick - Ruaridh and Rick crashed & burned - how
surprising. Also the 4km sledge ride from the top of a mountain down a
steep very bumpy track winding its way through the forest. 7 sledges
quite out of control but hoots of laughter. And finally back in Prague
a tense ice hockey match between supremos Litvino and Slavia Praha
which produced a cracking brawl and ensured future enthusiasm for the
game.
Our Czech hosts were incredibly kind and generous; it's a fascinating
country and certainly worth winter and summer visits. We intend to go
back again. Rick Newman
Alpine Success for the Mays.
Although we are a nordic ski club some of our members do let it slip sometimes & put on Alpine skis. But I’m sure all the nordic skiing the Mays do gave them a great advantage when they took on the downhill racers as Nick May’s account shows......
Claudia took the kids out of
school to visit her mum in the Austrian ski resort of Ellmau. Whilst
there Rachel, Deborah & Michael signed up for a weeks downhill
skiing instruction at the Ellmau Hartkaiser ski school. On the last day
they all had to take part in a slalom race. Rachel won her group and
got a cup and, as she was also in the top group, she got another cup as
top skier in the school. Michael was second and got a smaller cup and
Deborah was fourth and got a
medal. Rachel and Michael were put on a podium, Rachel was very
embarrassed and Michael very proud when 'God Save The Queen' floated
through the Tyrolean valley - the ski school didn't have a tape of
'Flower of Scotland'.
Apparently their mum shed a tear - not sure it was of laughter or not. Nick May
Final Bits & Pieces
Correspondence to: Peter Thorn
West Craigton Cottage
Kennethmont
Huntly Tel: 01464 831429
Aberdeenshire AB54 4QP. Email: peter@thornp.freeserve.co.uk
