Printable View
Today we skied to the summit of AF Canyon. We parked at the Pine Hollow parking lot and hit the road at about 7:30am. A good 4 mile uphill grind. It took us 1.5 hours to get to the top at a quick pace. The road had been packed by snowmobiles but we didn't see any until the summit. Beautiful day!
I have been amazed at how great a workout x-country skiing is. I've been heading up AF Canyon 3-4 times a week. If it's after work I've been hitting the groomed Little Mill campground. Saturday mornings I've been doing the Alpine Loop road from the closed gate at Pine Hollow to the summit. It gets groomed but is mostly used by snowmobiles. 4 miles of stiff climbing to the top then back down the same way. Awesome views. For the past 2 weeks I've been wearing a heart-rate monitor. At Little Mill I've been doing about 6 miles in about 1hr 15min. Average calories burned per trek- 1,500. Alpine Loop road, 8 miles, 2.5 hours. Average calories burned per trek- 2,600! I'll be curious to see how it all translates to the bike when I can get out and ride again.
I finally got out to ski yesterday after being down all week with a sinus infection and actually ended up going twice- once in the morning and again late afternoon. Both fairly quick trips.
OK, if anyone cares, I have some observations after a month and a half of x-country skiing. In that month and a half, I've probably been out somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 dozen times. Keep in mind that I have never really been on skis of any type up until now (I know, I know, I'm from Utah and have never been).
Here goes:
1- Why do skate skiers have such a snobbish attitude? The ones I've run in to I compare to road bikers on their $7,000 Orbea's, wearing full team kit uni's, that don't even acknowledge you with a slight nod of the head if you dare say, "how's it going?", particularly if you're riding pavement on, heaven forbid, a mtn. bike! My classic x-country skis/style seem to be quite looked down upon by this crowd.
2- What part of the posted signs on groomed course's that read "Groomed track for x-country skiers only. All others please stay off." don't folks understand? It's not a suggestion. It's official USFS posted signage. I can't think of a more dull hiking/snowshoeing trek than walking up the groomed course at Little Mill Campground. There are boundless other trails up AF Canyon that are much nicer, prettier, funner, etc., for snowshoes and hikers. And please, remove your dogs butt-bombs from off the track if you bring Fido along. Dog poop does not good ski wax make.
3- 'Waxless' skis NEED wax.
4- 210cm non-metal edge skis are really hard to turn.
5- X-country specific ski poles are a must and the cheap (cost) ones don't last very long. I should have spent the extra 15 bucks on the nicer Swix poles to begin with.
6- The ski pole wrist cradle's are sooooo much more comfortable than the old fashioned thin wrist straps, particularly on treks lasting over an hour.
7- I love my NEW Atomic skis I bought Friday. I swear they weigh about half what my initial much used beater pair of skis weigh and they are scary fast.
I've taken to hot waxing the tips and tails of my "waxless" skis and using Toko Grip & Glide on the scales. Last time I was out I was almost doubling the glide of my compadres.
Even my edgeless 178's are hard to turn. Turns will come in time. Have you watched any of the Olympians making the hairpins look easy? Just comparing their technique to mine made a difference.
Oh, and try hollering at the skate skiers from someplace totally off piste and way up the hillside. Bonus if you can outglide them on the way back down in spite of sounding like a moving zipper.
Thanks for the tips, cachehiker. I'll have to try the Grip & Glide on the scales.
Yes, I have watched some of the Olympic x-country ski races and have tried to imitate their turning style. I can do it when my speed is mid to low end but any higher than that and I lose control. Just practice I'm sure.
Another awesome trek to the summit of AF Canyon this morning with KanyonKris and yamabiker. We were hoping to get into some powder but yesterdays snow had all crusted over. We did enjoy a beautiful blue sky and lots of sunshine however. We started skiing up the road at around 7:45am. The temp was brisk and it took about 2 miles of quick-paced skiing before the fingers felt warm. Sorry for the crappy photos. All I had was my cell phone
That looks awesome! If you go again next weekend let me know, I'd love to join you - I never get out in that area and would love to explore it. Plus, I've only been on my xcskis ONCE this year - boohoo!
We'd love to have you along! I've been going every Saturday morning and this route has become my favorite. It'll have to be in 2 weeks however as I'll be in Orlando on business next weekend. I'll let you know if we do it in 2 weeks.
Sounds great, but I cant do Saturday mornings - running. in two weeks I'll be doing a 22 mile training run! The next week I have a "rest week" so if there's still snow and you go, let me know (i'm a poet and dont know it!) :-)Quote:
Originally Posted by tallsteve