Kalamazoo Nordic Skiers

February 9, 2007:

     Milham Park Golf Course groomed for classic style as well.

With the last grooming, the skate track is now about 8 feet wide, and there are classic tracks set off both sides of the skate path. As of Sunday, the trail was still in good condition, although apparently well enjoyed over the weekend.

January 29, 2007:

     Milham Park Golf Course has been groomed for cross country skiing.

This afternoon we met at the Milham Park Golf Course to finally put all the pieces of our cross country ski venue project together. Despite a few snafus - which included not remembering to bring the key to the snowmobile - we got everything up and running, and we tracked a nice trail around the perimeter of the course.

So, we're finally grooming. My advice is to take advantage of it whenever you can; winter has shown its capricious nature this year, no?

As to the details, the new snow groomer we purchased this fall worked very well on the newly fallen snow. After we got it adjusted correctly, it crunched all the air out of the snow nicely and laid down a smooth, "corduroy" track surface. I skate skied around the loop five times this afternoon, and in the places where the snow was originally the deepest, the grooming was equivalent to what I've experienced at places like Love Creek and Pigeon Creek. So, very good indeed.

Under some of the trees there are walnuts and branches that poke out through the snow, but I think we can adjust where the route goes next time we groom to avoid the worst of that. And on my first loop I did a bit of trail maintenance and picked up what I could find of the debris and tossed it to the side. That's a good idea for anyone else who uses the trail, by the way. It helps preserve the snow for as long as possible.

Inline skiers might be disappointed to not find a track set for that type of skiing. We don't yet have the tracking plate at the golf course yet, but hope to get it this week. And we really need to wait for more snow before we can use it. With the air crushed out of the snow, the skating track compressed down to about an inch to two inches; trying to set classic track in that amount of snow would mean that we'd tear up the grass on the golf course. But the skating track is fun to inline on too. If you do classic skiing, it's best to stay over to one side of the track or the other. That way your tracks won't get wiped out and skied over by the fanatical skate skiers out there.

Zolton