The Youngest Bill Koch Skiers

By: Lisa Cook

Personally, I haven't seen Notchview as busy as it was this weekend. Snowshoers and skiers alike enjoyed the freshly groomed trails. With a 10" - 30" base and 20k tracked, 24k groomed, and 12k set for skating, conditions were pretty great. While I was out on the trails I heard many mention being first timers! Isn't it wonderful that Nordic skiing is something you can learn to do at any age, and continue to do at any age? We saw babies being pulled in sleds while mom or dad tugged them along, as well as folks in their sixties (or seventies? or older?) chugging through the woods! The Bill Koch league does have age requirements, however, and on Sunday I was with our youngest group.

These kiddos are ages 5 - 7ish and there are two groups of them: The Monadnocks, led by Gus and Alex; and Judges Hill, led by Lizzie and Jessica. The thing that impressed me the most about these young skiers is their willingness to TRY anything their coaches asked them too. Whether it was conquering a small hill or learning to ski in the tracks, the positive attitude coming from the children was inspiring.

Gus and Alex brought their skiers to a stretch of track in the field to practice skiing in the tracks. For some this was a brand new concept. They caught right on and were getting the hang of pushing off and gliding, without poles I might add. There were lots of smiles as each skier realized they could do it!

Lizzie and Jessica had their group work on skiing in the tracks over on the Kinder Loop. If you've never skied the Kinder Loop you should check it out. It's a flat, figure eight shaped trail with a nice track. Perfect skiing for a beginner, or anyone looking for the peacefulness of the quiet trail. I admired the independence of these children as they made their way through the trail. You could almost see their confidence growing as they skied.

Whether you've just discovered the fun of Nordic skiing or have been skiing for years, I hope this youngest group of skiers is an inspiration to you. Their stick to it, go get 'em attitude is something we can all learn from!


                                    

The Katahdin Group

By: Lisa Cook

Notchview was beautiful yesterday with a fresh coating of fluffy snow. Skiing the trails after a fresh snow, while the branches are still covered, is like skiing in a winter photograph. Sometimes the muffled quiet that a fresh snow brings makes you feel like you're the only one out there. But, that is certainly not the case on a Sunday afternoon when Bill Koch skiers take over Notchview! There was a great turnout yesterday for our first real session on snow and everyone seemed excited to get out there and SKI!

I caught up with the Katahdin group at the beginning and end of the afternoon. This group is comprised of beginning skiers who are roughly 10 or 11 years old. Some of them got on skis for the first time ever yesterday. Some of them have a little bit more experience, but are benefiting from learning the basics of Nordic skiing. Things like, how to get up when you fall, or how to get your poles on properly with wrist straps tightened are a couple of examples of things this group covered. After making sure everyone's equipment was on properly they set out towards Circuit Trail. I was impressed to see how well they chugged along!

I saw the Katahdins again on the Kinder Loop. They were smiling and laughing as they made their way through the woods. Coach Jennie Wolf had her group skiing the short trail without poles, and the kids did great! It looked like lots of good progress was made in getting them comfortable and confident on their skis!

The wind was bitterly cold and the temperature was dropping, but the kids didn't seem to mind.  They came into the lodge at the end of their ski time with rosy pink cheeks, cold fingers, and smiles on their faces. On our way home I heard both of my skiers say, "I had fun!" and "I love skiing!"  That's what it's all about.

No Snow? No Problem!

By: Lisa Cook

The warm temperatures from the past few days have melted most of the wonderful snow we received right after Christmas. Disappointing for sure. However, that didn't get in the way of the fun and learning this week. Coaches were ready for anything; dry land games and activities, hiking the trails, or skiing on whatever snow could be found.
This week I spent a little time observing the Greylock and Rainier skiers. These kids are full of energy and eager to learn. The children were divided into two groups - one for skate skiing and one for classic - depending on the skis they were wearing. They set up along the snow fence and created a track for classic skiing. The skate group also found a long enough stretch of snow in the same area where they practiced. The classic group was lead by Tod Niedeck. Elliot Beirtrand took charge of the skaters. It was great to see the progress these young skiers were making!

I think one of the nicest parts of belonging to our league is the interaction of all ages. The end of this week's session found a group of various ages playing fishy-fishy together. We may not have been able to ski as much as we'd like, but everyone had a great time! No snow really was no problem!

*Note - My apologies for misspelling names or mixing up facts! I'm still getting to know folks and the way things work around here.