May 9, 2010.  Ok so now it comes.  sigh.  Sucha difficult business.  Thanks for the pic, Mike.

Busy with LOTS of changes to the trail system.

More trees have been removed from the Badlands Trail (thanks Mario, Howard & Mike) and some corners changed.  Then the stumps were either pulled or cut flush with the ground.  Finally the ground was re-leveled.  It has now been seeded and the rocks removed that might interfer with the mower and the bottom of skis.

The only real flat stretch of Rollercoaster has been moved to the south into some rolling hills just below Rollercoaster Hill.  Mike helped pulling the stumps on this trail.  It should be completed this week.

The flat east/west stretch will be incorporated into a new trail, the Flatlands Trail.  It will share the common approach: past the Start sign, turn left at the big maple, down onto the flat stretch and then return up the big valley.  Pancake is one of our most popular trails.  Beginners like it for the obvious reason.  People learning to skate love it.  Serious trainers love it as a warm up and a cool down.  As a result, it gets lots of use.  FC prides itself on all the hills but the realities of the situation called for another flat trail.  Not easy to do in this part of the country.

Ginnis and Rookie, Amy & Alex have been working on the new Chateau loop of the snowshoe trail.  It is almost completed.  Amazing how these snowshoe trails fit into the ski trail and have a character all of their own.  Alex and the girls are doing an excellent job creating this new trail.  It forks off the Blue trail at the old night trail.  Working it way into the back part of Rollercoaster, it has a rest stop on the deck of la Chateau.  Then it exits the back woods on the now abandoned left turn of Corkscrew and rejoins the Blue trail as it hooks into the Badlands.

A White trail will also fork off the Blue trail but back near the picnic area.  This extends the trail for those that want a slightly longer route to Oz's Overlook.

3 changes remain on Badlands.  Need to change the curves in 2 parts of the old Clyde's Canyon Trail below the Chateau.  One of the changes will make it easier to ski and the other will get the trail out of a light snow area.  The third change, comes just after Jackpine Jack's Cabin. The trail will turn up into the hills and then, comes back down onto the flats and goes back up into the hills at Two Step Hill.

Rollercoaster has a couple of changes also.  The hairpin turn at the corner just south of the Chateau will be eliminated.  Instead the trail will fork off near the old Bottomless drop and run along the south boundary and down onto the new land.  Then a sweeping turn and it will climb back up to re-join the trail for the Chateau loop.  In response to protest from the feline, this new portion will be called, "Dorothy's Drop."

Finally, the left turn at the bottom of Corkscrew will be eliminated.  The trail will "go straight" for a little way up into the the hills onto the new land.  Then it will sweep to the left and re-join the trail.

Confused?  One sure way for it all to become clear would be to volunteer and help us get ready for next season.  Give a call if you have some free time.  LOTS of work to do around here but it is fun being in the woods with friends enjoying the summertime woods.  It is a different experience but just as much fun.  You will get a whole new outlook on the place in the winter when you visit during the summer. 

Ok, Mario and my other engineering friends, you should be able to make a list from all of this and assign priority codes to it.  Then assemble the proper tools.  Sharpen the tools so they are ready for the intended work, assign estimated times to the completion of the project, and then begin.  : )  One of my great joys in life is giving them a hard time.  Hard to believe that I have now have one for my special one.  Would not have been possible without this advance training from Mario.

Thanks to all those that have helped in the past, present and future.  You keep this place going.

March 30th.  Time to give up on the season.  Sad to have it close so early but it was a fun winter just the same. 

The  new Badlands Trail was a big help.  Thanks to all that made the building of the trail possible.  The land was not purchased until mid August.  Amazing that it came out so nice.  Could not have been completed without the help of the volunteers.  I am afraid to mention names as my old memory might forget someone.  In any case, thanks.  The skiers loved it.

Quite a few changes planned to this trail over the summer.

Also, Rollercoaster will have a new leg added and another one moved over a bit.

For next year, there will be a new "Flatlands" Trail (in keeping with the Badlands theme).  It will be about 2 km and of a nature much like Pancake.  Seems to be a lot of activity on this trail and so we are adding another one.

The snowshoe trail was also a surprising big hit.  Lots of activity on this trail to Oz's Overlook and back.  We are planning on adding another link to this trail system over the summer.

The Madshus skis were extremely popular with every pair of skating skis sold! 

So the trail work has already begun for next season.  The kayaks are out and the bike has been dusted off and is going for its first ride this morning.  I walk a lot but I don't do much jogging.  The trouble with jogging is that by the time you realize you're not in shape for it, it's too far to walk back.

Whether to work or play, be sure to stop by this summer.  Always enjoy seeing you.  The doggers miss you too.

Some one once said, "Retirement is wonderful, you can only suck up your stomach for so long."

March 12, too warm; more rain expected.  Keep hoping for a snowstorm in the forecast.  Only patches of snow left.  If you would like to give rock skis and desperation skiing a try give me a call before you come as I may be out working on the trail.  Pic above taken this morning.

March 8th, Tuesday, 8 am, 25 deg.  Our snow is still hanging on but the weather forecast is ominous.  Check back as the weekend approaches.  Party planned for Sat evening regardless.  It is the celebration of my 26 th birthday (average of mainframe and various upgrades).

Madshus Sweeps Biathlon

Win top 4 places.  The gold was won by Ole Einar Bjorndalen making it his 5th gold medal.  Look for a signed poster from him to Forbush Corner.

Bio on Ole Einar Bjorndalen

Biathlete Ole Einar Bjorndalen grew up on a farm in Simostranda, a small town southwest of Oslo, Norway.  Bjorndalen began training for biathlon at the age of 10 and made his olympic debut at the age of 20 in the 1994 Lillehammer Games.

With five Olympic gold medals, Bjorndalen has won more medals than any other biathlete.  He has won 14 World Championship Gold medals, and has a record 91 World Cup victories.  In the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics he became the only biathlete who has won every single event in one Olympic, as well as just the the third Olympian to wind 4 gold medals during the same Winter Games.  He has finished in the top 3 of the World Cup rankings for 13 successive seasons and is generally viewed as the greatest biathlete of all times.  A living legend in Norway, in 2008, a a 1000 pound , life-size, bronze sculpture bearing Bjorndalen's likeness was unveiled inhis hometown of Simostranda.  Competing in the 2010 Vancouver games, Bjorndalen has gone on record stating he will compete in the Sochi 2014 games, at which he will be 40 years old.

Madshus Wins Swedish Vasa. 

Madshus had a decisive 4 place victory in the oldest, longest and largest ski race in the world, the Swedish Vasaloppet and Vasa.