Goldilocks

About as many Rangers as we could muster were out on the trails today, setting tracks for the weekend. They turned out pretty excellent. Our advice to you: don’t miss these next few days.

Standing on the track sled, -7F, the ‘cold smoke’ billowing up around the prime mover, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the elite skiers who have qualified to ski in the upcoming winter games. The snow they’re training on, learning to wax for and anticipating is nothing like what we have coating our hills. They will have to ski on sintered crushed ice. It’s nasty. I saw it at Lake Placid in 1980 and again at Soldier’s Hollow in 2002. Fast, too fast. Noisy, abrasive, brutal. Don’t fall, don’t even put a hand down; it’ll bite you bad.

Too bad. These skiers have spent a lifetime getting to their elite status, and they have to ski on junk. Meanwhile, out our back doors, with no effort (other than a snow dance or two) we will have the most wonderful tracked, groomed snow to enjoy. It’s awesome, quiet, forgiving, fast, if you want it.

They get black ice.

I’ve thought that the pandemic would finally bring the Olympic Committee to their senses and run the games like we’ve had to run our lives: completely different. Decentralize the Olympics. Have the hockey in Minneapolis, or Toronto. Speed skating in Milwaukee. Ski jumping in Ishpeming or Lake Placid. Cross country in a place like Michigan Tech or, well, right here in Iron County. They would have all the venues in places where people who are really interested in the sport would buy up all the tickets and the outdoor sports would have a good chance to compete on natural, organic, real, snow. No specific area would have to spend billions trying to make everyone happy and generally failing at pleasing anyone. And when the games pack up and leave, well now what do they do?

OK, Enough of an old man’s rant.

I just wish everyone could experience the snow we’ve got to offer this weekend. Blue hard wax, hard glide wax; the conditions everyone dreams about.

Don’t miss this weekend. Some winters we only get timing like this once.

We’ll be out there. Maybe we’ll meet up. Ski Freely, please! Z