Kick turn practice and magical woodland ski

Yesterday left me feeling a bit anxious about the rest of the trip not least because we didn’t know how Mike’s hamstring strain would respond to the physio and how his shoulder would feel after the painful physio to release the spasms. I was also a bit worried about how I would cope. Nasty gremlins in my mind keeping me awake. 

However , as it turned out I had a delightful day. Even saw a lovey set of hare prints across the lake we traversed. Mike had a rest day but also spent some time on the treadmill followed by a sauna which seems to have released his hamstring so hopefully he will be able to come out with the group tomorrow.

As the weather was windy with blowing snow we spent the first part of the morning practicing kick turns and ‘walking turns’ on the slope just behind the hotel before heading off for a mini tour in the woods around the hotel. That was absolutely delightful. I loved seeing the fresh snow on the Old Man’s Beard and the bark on the birch trees. The trees here are not that tall, but have lovely contorted branches and flaky bark partly covered by mosses and lichen. I found it very relaxing and by the time we returned to the hotel I had a blissful feeling of inner peace.

We topped off the morning with an indoor session on the type of kit one might want to take on a backcountry tour. Good to have a refresher. A couple of useful additions to our kit bag would be 

• hot glue sticks for minor repairs as most glue doesn’t work in cold temperature;
• fire lighting kit;
• some tightening straps
• A proper sized bit of bedroll as when I have sat on our hiking mats they are not really big enough and I have got a wet bum! They can also be used as a splint with said ties.
• anti icing for fishscales (Vauhti Care Anti-Ice for crown and zero skis 2 to – 5C)

We also chatted a bit about XC skins. Remco’s view is that full length skins are a good idea because if the kick zone is not in contact with the snow you can slip back so it is easier not to have to think about it. Also he semi-recommended having skins narrower than the ski width so one can still glide without having to worry about taking the skins on and off. Another purchase I see coming for next year. Lastly one doesn’t necessarily put the mesh down the full length of the skin but it is worth having it on the end section so one pulls the skin apart using the mesh. Also to help the skin stick one should wipe the base down to dry it with a soft cloth. We can use the  Swix BOOST product to stop balling.

After our picnic lunch we headed back out for a short tour on the other side of the road from the hotel. This was also a really relaxing experience. We started going down the marshy outflow from the Sore lake below the hotel where we saw the horse drawn sleigh out for a jaunt. Just before heading into the trees to practice our skills we had an interesting chat about navigating.

I was at the back of the group winding through the trees and visually it reminded me of our time in Yellowstone, although there were far less snags and no combat skiing. Very relaxing and beautiful. We popped out onto a track near a shelter. Remco mentioned that in the past in this area there was a lot summer grazing and the goats were especially good at keeping the forest open and gladed. Explains why the manager here is keen for farming to continue and thrive.

We had a lovely descent on the tracks, which with all the new snow was easy to ski. Remco said it can be very fast if icy. Our way back took us back across the opposite side of the drainage area we had skied out on. That was where we saw the hare tracks. Really enjoyed the tour and hope I can share it with Mike later in the week. No photos from me, (but Julie the intern student with us took a couple) as I didn’t want to take my phone out in the snowy weather and I had the pack cover on which made it all a bit more awkward