Late on Thursday afternoon, we headed for Bolton Valley Nordic Center to do a couple of laps of skate skiing. Conditions were firm and very fast.
It was a good workout as I climbed the hills on World Cup. Then I employed my much-practiced wedge, or snowplow, to keep things in check during the super-fast descents.
In Bolton Valley's Nordic Blog, they reported that they had tilled and groomed the snow on 20 km with an alpine grooming machine. My skis chattered on the small grooves as I wedged part way down the hills, until I straightened them out to glide before the start of the next ascent. Challenging for me since I'm not a seasoned nordic skier, but a fun outdoor workout nonetheless. Why go to the gym on a sunny day?
This was my first time using my new Sport Hill cross-country ski pants. They are black and made with stretchy polypropylene and spandex and I bought them on sale at Women's Source for Sports in So. Burlington. The tag on the pants said they would stop the wind up to 35 miles per hour. The verdict? They stopped 93 percent of the wind that I felt during the downhills and they were very comfortable. I think I made a good purchase.
We were up at Bolton under blue skies and the sun was starting to set. The Skimeister and I stopped at Timberline Lodge on the way out of the resort and I snapped a couple of photos in the warm light. The Timberline chair had been busy that afternoon, but now, after 4 p.m., it was waiting for Friday's skiers. From the lodge we had a nice view of Camel's Hump.
We found this great skiing snowman down on Route 2, just across the street from the Bolton Valley Access Road. He's ready for the light snow that is in the forecast for northern Vermont on Friday and Saturday. Let's hope it amounts to something in the mountains!
