Winter's Swan Song?

Skiing at Chapin was pretty darn good today! They groomed and groomed yesterday to make it so, so get out there before it's done...

Congrats to Tom and all the coaches (and Hilltoppers) for a great season!

Skiing last weekend - PA

We had another great day at Wilderness on Sunday, as Mike said in his post their base is still good. We went out and skied to their hotdog roast - had a couple of beers also ;-). A little soft as it was warm but plenty of snow

On the photo you can see the Hilltopper jackets as the kids get some food.

The Lodge's facebook page is much more current than the website and has new photos from yesterday.

Weather forecast is for snow for zip code 16442 (the Lodge) again - we are going Sat/Sunday

Chapin Parkway, (306 side) still skiable

According to Mike Schaeffer who skied there today. Wilderness Lodge is also going to be skiable, since they had a 2' base. But check the website before making the drive. My brother Gene had a "snow day" at Ole's (Warren VT) and could not open because employees could not get there. He had about 3' in his driveway and was "stuck fer sure..."

Winter Biathlon

Congrats to "The Brians" of Lake Metroparks for running a really fun Winter Biathlon on Saturday. Thanks to all the volunteers and crew. A good time was had by all. And, it wasn't 18° Below Zero at the start!

Also congrats to Hilltopper Chad Kozan and Craig "Cover Boy" Hannibal for their pictures in the Plain Dealer today as part of Zach Lewis' article about the Winter Biathlon.

Wilderness Lodge - Feb 21

We were at the Wilderness Lodge trails over the weekend. Sat evening did the Peak trail. Yesterday skied a bunch of miles coming in from the Peek N Peak side and then all around the PA side

Today, skied in from Peek N Peak and had to break trail all the way up to A Frame and back - thanks Jim for taking point on all the new snow. The area had 10 to 12 inches of dry powder last night and it was great to play in. Kids struggled with skate skis but the parents were able to classic in the new snow. Took 90 min to get to the road after climbing ! Hill. Coming back was soooo much faster.

Wilderness has a great base - got to be 24 inches in most places and with teh new snow it would be great all week.

Cheers - Phill W

Holden - Saturday

Went out for the first time to Holden and skied the trails. Would have cost $6 to get in but our membership to the Botanical Gardens on University Circle www.cbgarden.org got us in. The trails are groomed for classical, a little narrow for skate.

We started on the Blue loop and then took off in to the wood on the Red Trail, a little narrow going through the woods but there was a track we could use. Back up to the Blue Loop and around Corning Lake. Across the road and the tracks were wind blown and covered so we went on the Orange Loop and into Bole Woods, not packed but well travelled so the 1/2 mile trip around the woods was fun, deep deep snow. Back to the Nature Center after searching for a hat lost on the trail - no luck - for a cup of coffee and to warm up.

Looking for somewhere different to ski - try Holden - we thought it was worth it. Phill and Cindy

Great White Ski Chase next Sunday

The Chase is at Springvale Golf course in North Olmsted, near Great Northern Mall. It is a fun enduro event, where you ski a 1 mile loop as many times as you can in one hour. You may ski solo, or team up and tag off relay-style, skiing as many or as few laps as you want before passing off. It's a fun, family event. Last year there were about 40 skiers, and everyone won something.  The clubhouse is open, serving hot food, and beverages. Chase starts at 1PM. I'll see you there!

By the way, Big Met was rolled for skating this week using an ATV, and is pretty good, although a bit windblown after today. -MF

Big Met groomer broken

The new sled has been sent out for repairs, that's why the grooming has  been neglected. It will be back online soon, and grooming will continue. Actually, the classic lanes have been Ok and the skate lane has been skied on a bit to re-establish it on the fresh snow over the frozen crust: it's do-able! -MF

Wilderness Lodge excellent, Lake Erie JR. Races this weekend -Help needed!

Skied Wilderness Lodge in PA this weekend for the first time in many years, and it was terrific. New snow groomed to perfection. Winter AutoBahn.

This weekend is the Lake Erie Jr. Championships being hosted by the Hilltoppers and Lake Farmpark of the Lake Metroparks. There is a Classic race Saturday am; and a Skate race Sunday am. Volunteers are still needed for this Jr. Olympic qualifier. Contact Tom Cook to help.

Icy, crusty, skiing

Big Met was groomed before the freeze and is now rock hard. It's very tough skiing for skaters because they groomed an extra stride track right down the center before the freeze-up. I suggest classic skiing only there until they are able to Ginsu the ice a bit, and re-set a track to the side, where it belongs. The track is so fast, it's almost not even a workout. I know, I'm getting picky now...A BIG CONGRATS to Coach Tom who took some Hilltoppers to B.C. Canada for the International Children's Winter Games and had a lot of success. See the YouTube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLqKQ6bLcvE  -MF

Conditions are a 10!

Unbelievable skiing everywhere. Has anyone been out to Punderson? Those trails are a blast, especially if groomed. The trail system is actually named after Betsy Youngman,  our very own Olympic XC skier, although I think those signs giving her kudos are long gone.  The big sled dog races are Feb. 26-27, so a tip is to get out there a day or two before or a day or two afterwards for an excellent groomed trail to ski on. Don't go the day of the dog races, because the trail is closed except for the mushers. Punderson also has the greatest sledding hill ever, in case the kids want to sled while you ski. But when you see the hill, you probably will want to try it too. It's a former ski slope, probably a quarter mile long. and has a safety zone in the middle for returning up the hill. -MF

Under The Lights

Got across to Chapin last night to ski under the lights. Trails continue to be good with a track set. Loads of people out, right up to 9:00pm. Using head lights for the first time we went over to the Over Look - really cool skiing at night. We will be back on Saturday
PhillW

Kudos to Lake Metroparks

The Ohio Championship/Nordic Flurry races went off without a hitch on Saturday in the bitter cold at Chapin Forest. The two Brians and their crew of volunteers did a great job, as usual. Even the National Ski Patrol (Nordic) was there. This is the 20 year anniversary of the Nordic Flurry, although the weather did not cooperate every year over that period. Also congrats to all the brave skiers, young and old, who turned out to race. More kudos to Tom Cook and his Hilltoppers crew for coordinating the kids races, too. Hopefully Mother Nature (or Ullr, the Norse god of winter) will continue to throw snow at us this week as well. Build that base! -MF

Wilderness Lodge - Sunday and Monday
We spent time on teh NY trails this weekend, wow - great. Tracked trails all down the Peak Trail, High Road, KC Cut, A Frame. Also around teh big field just outside teh lodge - it was so hard to leave today. - Phill W

Big Met groomed for skating!

I've literally waited 35 years for this to happen, and have sent numerous letters and emails over the years (not that they actually had any effect towards this end) but the day has finally arrived! Today I skied a 6' wide skating lane which follows the cart path around the 18 holes of Big Met golf course. It's pretty flat terrain, but the path meanders nicely for a total of about 4 miles, I would guess. The only glitch comes at the end of the path, when it heads up a popular sledding hill, and should return to the clubhouse. The grooming peters out, and the cart path has been plowed for sledders to make their way to the hill. The best thing to do is follow a skier-made trail to the right at the base of the hill, avoiding the sledder traffic altogether, and pick up the grooming at the bottom of the small hill to the right. Or you could simply reverse course altogether. I do hope the staff re-grooms every few days, because the hikers are discovering this trail, and punching holes in it with their boots. Not a big problem for skaters, but a definite problem for classic skiers.  I feel another email to the parks developing...anyway, if you're a Westsider - get going!-MF

Kendall Lake

Skied Kendall Lake today, just south of Peninsula.  Skier/hiker/snowshoe packed. Somewhat bumpy, and the chute on the backside is very slick, and has a woop-de-doo bump right before the bridge/creek crossing.  If you hit it with any speed, you're going into the creek...The big downhill at the sledding bowl is also quite slick, so be careful...It all needs a once over with a snow machine, but I don't know if they actually ever do that. Tomorrow I'm checking out the supposedly groomed Big Met Golf Course extolled in the P.D. today (picture didn't show the surface). I say "supposedly groomed" because in the past, the only thing they ever did was drive around the cart path with what looked like a 4x4. I thought it was just bored greenskeepers having some winter fun...-MF

Places to ski ..

Great idea on Blog Mike. thanks for update on Orchard. I'll probably see you in Rocky River Res. sometime soon - hard to beat it for convenience on wknights. I've also been skiing at Indian Hollow MetroPark in Grafton as its so close to home (and can enter at night behind the Grafton bowling alley) -- probably not worth the drive for anyone else though. The Lorain Co Parks Equestrian Ctr is also quite good when it gets skied-in but access is difficult in the dark.. Oberlin Golf course is also good for far-westies. I've been to Girdled Road 3x so far this year and is definitely worth the extra drive, especially when Chapin is busy or icy. More snow there too, and they have a new trail out of Big Creek Valley that is really challenging (better for classical is narrow). Any word on grooming at N. Olmsted golf course??

Besides Chapin

I tried skiing at Orchard Hills over Xmas break, but got to the parking lot and could not even find the trail because it was so windblown, so I headed over to Chapin, as usual. I also skied at Holden Arboretum, after having run there with some Hilltopper Dads during the last dryland session at Red Oak Camp. They have some nice trails, but the grooming was ancient, and hikers had punched it and bumped it out. I emailed them about trying to groom more often for a better surface, but I got no response. I'm sure they just love me now...I also like to get out to Punderson a couple of times a season, because the trails are so awesome, but of course the conditions vary widely because the grooming is handled only occasionally by the mushing club as far as I can tell. During the week I train in the RR Metropark usually between the Nature Center trails and the 3 golf courses. I also go west to French Creek in the Lorain County system after the hikers pack it a bit. Post any conditions or any other good spots here! -MF

Skied Chapin today.

Only about 3"deep, but expertly groomed. Lake Metroparks staff does a great job, again. I'm hoping to go up to Peak-n-Peek next week for the Quad race. Contact me if interested in carpooling. -MF