Wagon Wheel

First posted January 17, 2011 by Jeff in Ski Touring.

Last Sunday finally gave me what I was looking for – blue skies, blue wax conditions (for those of you on waxable cross-country skis) and great snow cover – perfect for the first ski posting of the season.   I decided to begin the day’s ski from my home area- the Rikert Ski Touring Center operated by Middlebury College, and make the route a mixture of well-groomed touring center trails and lightly traveled remote paths.  The day’s route began by reversing the route described in one of my posts from last winter, entitled “The Robert Frost Cabin”.  Heading up Craig’s Hill, the beauty of the fresh snow and groomed trail provided all I needed to justify stopping for a picture.

Fresh Snow on Craig's Hill

At the top of the first hill, I took a left on the “Figure 8″ trail, and then followed the signs leading to the Frost Cabin. The lack of any truly bitter cold subzero days this winter have made it so that many of the surface streams are still running, rather than iced over, and in a few spots, I had to chose my path carefully to avoid waterskiing. Around the periphery of the Frost Fields, the 2-3 inches of snow from the previous nights snow on packed trail made for pretty easy skiing, but the snow was up to my knees in the unpacked powder! Joining the trail heading into the woods behind the Frost cabin at the top of the meadow, which by this point in the season was pretty well packed by previous skiers, brought me to the site of the title of this entry – the Wagon Wheel Road.
The Wagon Wheel Road was so named due to the presence of dance hall by that name which operated at the end of the road, where the Rikert Trails meet the road, until about 60 years ago. I wanted to try and find a source of information on this former Ripton hot spot, but found the best information from an unlikely source. A friend told me that a well-done booklet on the history of Ripton was put together by the 5th and 6th grade classes of the Ripton Elementary School back in 1996, and that it might have some information on The Wagon Wheel. Fortunately, I learned that a copy of this book was available on the bookshelves of the Rikert Touring Center. According to this source, the dance hall operated from 1950-1952 with dancing every Saturday night in the summer, and was owned an operated by one Leonard Zeeman. Although the language used to describe this site is appropriately guarded, given the age of the authors, one gets the impression that it was a pretty wild place! They also report that the owner, who was also a contractor, collected enough beer bottles that he used them to build the cellar walls of a home he constructed in Middlebury. The dance hall stood derelict until 1962, when it was torn down, leaving behind just another cellar hole. With all the snow, there was no chance of finding this, but a small clearing at the end of the road appears to be a good place to begin searching for it in the spring.

Possible site of "The Wagon Wheel"

My original plan was to follow the Wagon Wheel Rd as far as I could towards its source in the more civilized parts of Ripton, but was surprised by the fact that the upper reaches of the road were actually plowed. There was enough snow at first, but after about a km, the cover got too thin to ski, so I reversed my path, and headed back to the touring center. When I reached the Frost meadow, I took the upper trail back, which led to the well-groomed tracks on the outer Frost trail. From this high point on the terrain, I descended to the touring center to complete this 11.5 km route.
Once again, I am reverting to the common use of metric measurements when describing nordic ski routes, as is common. Curiously, the only time I have received any “troll comments” on my postings was last winter when one reader took offense at my use of this Unamerican system of measurement!

Google Earth of the route

Altitude Profile

Widows Clearing to Blueberry Hill is Fantastic

Ten Frosties posing on the Goshen Dam from L to R:  Alia Johnson, Britta Clark, Kelsey MacGlashan, Coach Cameron MacKuglar, Lisa Berardin, Dia Jenks, Rick Klein, Bill McKibben and Mia Allen.

Thanks to efforts from groomers from Rikert and Blueberry Hill and snowmobilers, the trail is sublime from Widows Clearing to Blueberry Hill.   

Ladies Lead Frosties' Craftsbury Effort

Mia Allen and Lisa Bernardin--second and fourth place in the women's 50-59 age group in the 25k event--led the Frost Mountain Nordic contingent Saturday at the Craftsbury Marathon, New England's largest nordic race. The event was held on perfect snow with temperatures in the 20s, and thanks to coach McKuglar, everyone had well-waxed skis, with enough fluorocarbon for fast progress in the hard tracks. Rick Klein--in just his second race outing--placed in the top 10 in the 60 and above category.  Bill McKibben also had a solid race placing in the top ten in the 50-59 age group.  Go Frosties!

Mia Allen wrote "The race was fun - beautiful snow, tracks, temp.  Quite an improvement over last year.    My skis were expertly waxed, kick great - loved them.  Haven't seen overall results but I was second in my age category.  Trina beat me by 5 min. I think.  I love that she's out there at age 65, pulling us along - our carrot!"

Three Frosties Wear Bibs

On a cold and beautiful Sunday morning, three of the Ripton Frosties met up at 7 a.m. for the drive to Montpelier and the Maple Onion 15k skate race. Rick Klein--having driven 600 miles the day before--was behind the wheel, and soon got us to the Morse Farm ski area three miles past the capitol building. We were the very first ones to register, which gave us plenty of time to tour the 5 k loop; it wound through a couple of open fields, and then into a narrow corridor through the woods, ending with a couple of steep and sweeping descents back into the starting field. About 60 people were on hand for the race, including some very capable racers fresh out of college--when the gun sounded they were off fast, and the rest of us strung out behind. The snow was soft, which meant it was hard work skating; there were no steep uphills but lots of long, grinding ones.

Anyway, Mia Allen came in 4th among the women--missing the podium by 8 seconds, and Rick Klein was second in the 60+ age group. Mostly it was fun to do it as a team--and to have bibs on for the first time this season!

Canadian Ski Marathon Returns Skiing To Its Roots

First posted in the New York Times
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: January 10, 2011

Skiing 100 miles over two days is hard enough. Try doing it carrying a 30-pound pack and camping out overnight in temperatures that can drop below zero.

Welcome to the Canadian Ski Marathon, where an emphasis on adventure and camaraderie return cross-country skiing to its origins.

"I really like that it's a classic event," says Mary Peabody, referring to the marathon's traditional kick-and-glide skiing. "So much of skiing nowadays is skating. You go fast and look cool. This kind of brings it down to the roots of skiing."  To read more click here.

Pole Length

This post first appeared on SkiPost.com on January 6, 2010

I have been hearing from a few folks out my way that ski poles for skating are on average getting a bit longer.  The explanation is that with more and more skiers using the V2 technique, that it makes sense to go up in length so that one can get more torque with the poles.  I am not able to explain very clearly, but thought you might have an opinion on this subject.  I am thinking I would get a greater glide if my poles were longer.  Your thoughts please... I am 6'tall and use 170's and they come up to just about the bottom of my nose.

Yes, poles on average have been getting longer due to a couple of reasons.  1.  Skiing has gotten faster due to improvements in technique, equipment, and wax.  The faster average speed you ski, the longer the pole will be.  2.  Skiers have recently emphasized strength much more than in the past.  Stronger skiers = longer poles.  3.  For the highest speeds (sprint races) they use longer poles.  Sprinting has impacted distance skiing in many aspects, poles included.      Personally, I don't think having skate poles with a height past your nose is necessary.  Somewhere in between the chin and nose is good.  Classic poles should fit uncomfortably under the armpits.        Longer poles can add speed but shorter poles help ensure proper technique (an overlooked advantage on hilly distance courses).  In the end, it comes down to personal preference.  Go with what feels right!
Gus Keading CXC Team  

Tom this is the Elite athletes answer. For us Master skiers who do not hit the weight room nor get up on our toes and have an overall slower turnover and more docile technique the old rules still apply your height in inches less 20cm for skate and less 30 for classic is the target to consider.  Andy at SkiPost