Skiing White Grass Touring in West Virginia

Our family had been planning this trip to ski White Grass Touring in the beautiful Cannan Valley of northern West Virginia since we knew we'd be in the East this winter. President's day seemed a safe bet for good snow, and the kids would have Monday off. Unfortunately, the beautiful powder of the week before succumbed to a week of 50 degree weather and rain. We drove south with trepidation.

White Grass is the biggest, best groomed nordic center south of New York - 50 km of groomed trails, snow cat tilling, and 172 inches of snow so far this year. Situated on the slopes of an abandoned downhill venue, they sport some serious elevation, starting at 3,300 feet and rising to 4,300 feet. The old runs are kept clear and parts of the woods are gladed for telemark skiers. An extensive network of service roads and fields provides a route up and down for those inclined to stay on the grooming.

Our fears were realized when we arrived and saw the extensive bare ground at the chalet and throughout the valley. But with the strategic placement of 2 foot tall snow fences, there were a surprising number of narrow, groomed bands of snow through the fields. This day it was partly sunny and near freezing, so what skiing there was might be ok. We each paid our 15 bucks, had a quick training session on the bunny slope for Jennifer and Eric (my sibs), and headed out.

Conditions were highly variable to put it charitably. Tilled granular of the field regularly turned to pure ice where water ran down the hill and across the trail. In the woods, the base thinned and disappeared again and again. We ended up hiking about 1/3 the time, skiing on ice 1/3 the time, and enjoying tilled granular 1/3 the time. If it had been Houghton, we'd have closed the trails. But they doggedly drove their Pisten Bully hundreds of yards across bare dirt to get to groomable snow, often higher up.

Trail difficulty here even in good conditions would be pretty high. With the narrowness and steep hillsides, their trail ratings run a level below what we have at Michigan Tech. Their beginner trails are like our intermediates. Their advanced are as steep as ours, but 10 feet wide instead of 20, and with curves and switchbacks. Think Railroad Ravine and Anaerobic Gulch at Maasto Hiihto in Hancock, but longer. Wahooo! No snow on them this trip, so I only got to walk them.

Amazingly, even with the poor conditions there were over 100 cars in the parking lot. One wonders how many they attract with good conditions. I guess when there's nowhere better, White Grass is where you go. And no one seemed surprised or upset. So I suspect we're spoiled, skiing the Lake Superior snow belt back home, with its reliable snow and colder temperatures. The chalet was rustic-cute, with antique wood stove, low ceilings, cafe, and rental shop. Families were everywhere - they even rented pulks to tow the kiddies.

Near the trailhead, there was a lot of crowding as there were only two 8 foot wide (two way) bands of snow leading to and from higher elevations. Coming down it became an issue - carrying speed, beginners and kids scattered about, dirty patches to dodge. And everyone having a great time. Folks were just great - friendly, helpful, happy to be out skiing.

In the end for us, the weather was pleasant and it was great to be outdoors together with my brother and sister - something we rarely get to do. So it was fun. Despite, not because, of the skiing.

Morgantown, West Virginia

Downtown Morgantown

With Ann in Rhode Island on business (darn if she didn't have a conference at Johnson and Wales University's  museum of cooking - lucky) I decided to take a day trip to visit Morgantown, West Virginia, home of West Virginia University. It's one of the few remaining small college towns within an easy drive of State College that I haven't been to yet, and has a reputation as not only a great college town but also as a great outdoors town. With only 3  months remaining here in for us in central Pennsylvania, the clock was running out on my regional explorations. Sunny weather, a February heat wave, and I was off down I-99 again - my favorite freeway drive here and the one that always seems to lead to scenery and fun.

Seneca Glassworks Shops

Three and a half hours later I completed my scenic traverse of the heart of the Appalachians and dropped out of the Alleghenies into the Monongahela Valley, 70 miles upstream from Pittsburgh. I love that I can drive all that way in mountains with only the small scenic cities of Altoona and Cumberland interrupting the views - an they hardly slow the traffic at all.

I parked just south of downtown on the recently renovated waterfront, right next to the bike path. I was surprised to see several new 10 story office towers, a similar hotel, and a conference center there. Obviously good things are happening in Morgantown. It apparently is one of only 2 metro areas in the state experiencing growth. I can see why. The beautiful setting, the university, the proximity to all manner of outdoors activities, and the short drive to Pittsburgh all make it a great destination.

Waterfront Bike Path on the Mon

Not only are new buildings springing up on the waterfront, they have restored the old Seneca glass factory there too, offering antiques, dining, and bike sales and rentals right on the path. I stopped in at Wamsley Cycles to pick a bike path map and talked to Chip Wamsley, who proved a wonderful store of local information.

Decker's Creek and Bike Path

Turns out there are 10 miles of paved path along the Monongahela River and Decker's Creek, with 23 more of limestone dust extending 19 miles at 2% grade up Decker's Creek and to the Pennsylvania border at Point Marion. And the grade from Point Marion to Connelsville, PA on the Great Allegheny Passage trail from Pittsburgh to DC has recently been purchase and awaits development. What an awesome non-motorized system that will be.

WVU Main Campus

Oh, and the white water folks hit Decker's Creek in spring, plying its Class III to VI rapids. Oh, and the local rowing club actually has a recruiting kiosk on the waterfront inviting folks out to learn crew with the team. Oh, and I saw nearly a dozen mountain bikers and a dozen more road bikers out on a weekday morning riding the trail. There are many mountain bike trails within a 20 minute drive on the ridge and several IMBA epics within a 3 hour drive. And some of the best downhill and cross country skiing in the the mid-Atlantic available within 2 or so hours. Heck there were folks camping in dome tents across the river from the trail (in mid-February). This is a great outdoors town.

The downtown was vibrant, if not as particularly pretty as some similar small cities I've visited recently such as Cumberland.

Engineering Campus PRT station

Much of the vibrancy of the town comes from the university. A place with a famously good football team and a strong sports tradition. And a very interesting campus. The main campus is in downtown Morgantown, hemmed in by steep hills. They long ago had to expand to several nearby hill tops. This created a logistical nightmare. So with the help of a federal research funding they build the PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) system. Opened in 1975, it connects downtown, main campus, engineering campus, and medical campus with 5 stops along a concrete and steel elevated track. The uniqueness of it lies in the use of small, electric, rubber tired cars that take you to your chosen destination with no stops.

It's 8.56 miles eventually cost $130 million, because of political pressures for swift implementation and the novelty of the technology, but it definitely works. 94% of its riders are WVU students, and between classes the cars are packed. I found that it's a bit hard for tourists to use though. Cheap at $0.50, I went to the station only to find coin and ID-only turnstiles - and no change machines. So I hiked back up the hill to the library where a librarian kindly made change for me. Not that it mattered in the end - the coin turnstile ate my money and then refused to let me pass. The students were great and swiped me in with their cards. Obviously not a lot of maintenance goes into the coin turnstile. Then you wait a car. They come every few minutes, disgorge their riders, then pull forward, light their sign with the next destination, and take on a new set of riders. These are you mates to your destination - no stops. If it isn't your destination on the sign, wait for the next car, it won't be long. They strive to keep the wait for any destination to under 10 minutes. You press a button indicating where you're headed when you swipe in. I waited maybe 5 minutes for the ride back downtown.

Heating Plant for PRT Tracks

Interestingly, there are steam plants (as well as high voltage substations) all along the route. These generate the heat that melts the snow from the concrete roadway the cars run on, and were one of the big causes of the cost overruns. But they are one of the most attractive steam plants I've encountered.

So the car takes off, no driver, and we head downhill to town at 30 mph. A fairly steep grade and the car's jumping around a rocking back and forth a fair bit - pretty exciting. At intersections there are no switches like in train tracks. That's when you realize these things are steering themselves. No injuries in 35 years with 16,000 average daily riders. And the city credits it with eliminating the gridlock caused by university buses in the 1960's, allowing the fast growth they've experienced since 2000 (at one time the lowest unemployment in the country).

I had a fun time. If I'd known they'd already lost their snow along the river, I'd have brought my bike. A pair of mediocre meals were the only fly in the ointment. Maybe it was bad luck and I missed the best, but I had better luck with dining in Cumberland - a city this reminds me of. Cumberland has a more dramatic setting, lovely historic neighborhoods, the Potomac River, the historic railway, and the Great Allegheny Passage and B&O canal rail trail, and easy access to the mountains, but not the excitement of a college town or the outdoors vibe. Both are great towns, for similar and different reasons. Stop by if you're in the area.

Ithaca

View From Cornell Campus

 Last weekend was an opportunity for us to return to a place that we'd enjoyed visiting 20 years ago - Ithaca and Cornell University. Our old friends are long gone from graduate school, but Ann has new friends at Cornell through work, so we headed 3.5 north in search of another cool college town and renewed acquaintances.

Ithaca is situated at the southern end of 40 mile long, 2 mile wide Cayuga Lake in central upstate New York. High hills rise along the sides of the lake and numerous streams cascade through dramatic gorges to the shore. Ithaca sits on the floodplain at the confluence of a number of these streams while Cornell is up the hillside and spans several gorges. It's very pretty.

The Red Room at Vila Madeline

We found a sweet inn on the hillside only 2 blocks from downtown and across a gorge from Cornell. The folks at Inn on Columbia have restored a number of properties in their neighborhood, and have a great design sense. Friday we had the entire Vila Madeline to ourselves - the other 2 rooms were empty. A full kitchen with a scrumptious breakfast of scones was at hand. Fresh fruit and banana bread in a bow wrapped greeting box waited in the fridge - we could have breakfast at our convenience. A stylish sitting room completed our breakfast leisure.

Ann at Viva Taqueria

Ours hosts recommended a number of restaurants. The first night we arrived late, so we dodged into Mercato, newly opened only a few weeks, to share a second dinner. A great find. Superb homemade ravioli, very good sauteed green beans, and a cozy, friendly atmosphere. It was so good we went again the next night, which was also excellent. Ann's snapper in parchment with meyer lemons and blood orange was perfect and imaginative. Pine nut tart was unusual and good for desert. Maybe a close second in our travelling restaurant finds this year.

Downtown Ithaca

We had a nice Mexican lunch at Viva Taqueria on Saturday. Not to the level of Mercato, but worth a visit. Especially unusual was the tequila sampler - a good way to discover any differences in the various levels of tequila. There were interesting restaurants all over Ithaca. We heard it said it has more restaurants per capita than New York city, and we believe it. In fact, Ithaca overall had a kind of relaxed east coast feel to it, partly because of the wide recruiting of Cornell outside the region. Very urban, a bit nerdy, and wildly liberal, like a Berkley for the east. This is the home of the Dali Lama (in fact our neighbors at Vila Madeline Saturday night were in town for a retreat at the monastery), violent student protests in the 60's, the original organic restaurant (the Moosewood), and multiple paraphernalia shops. The winter farmer's market indoors was big - I imagine the outdoor one in summer is massive - overflowing with organic vegetables and baked goods.

Cornell Art Museum Lobby

We spent our afternoon on campus walking the steep hillsides, touring the old arts quad (since 1868 - the youngest of the Ivy League schools), walking the suspension bridge across the gorge, and visiting the I.M. Pei designed art museum. Always eager to experience architecture, we spent several hours exploring the building and its holdings. Of special interest was the exhibit disassembling the Tata, an ultra affordable ($2,200) car being made in India. It was fascinating walking through the components - like moving through a 3D exploded diagram - and reading the challenging trade offs made by the engineers to meet cost, efficiency, cleanliness, and performance goals. Amazing engineering. There was also an inspiring view of the entire Cayuga valley from the 5th floor gallery. As well as some interesting art, including my favorite, a bronze Picasso - head of Ferdinand.

The Tata - Deconstructed

Our last morning we had a leisurely breakfast, then took a drive through the region. We got to see the massive gorges quickly fade into streams through farm and woodland on the hilltops, to follow the waterfront scenic highways along the lake, and to stop at one of the state parks known for its gorge and waterfall for a hike. We walked up the valley floor on a well packed snow covered trail as the walls of the gorge rose higher and higher till we rounded the last bend. The ice flows were dramatic, but even more dramatic was the spray of water that continued to issue from behind the icy curtains and funnels. A fitting last act for a beautiful setting.

Taughannock Falls -Winter

We met with Andrea and Joe at the top local Thai joint where Sunday brunch was being served. But with a difference - it was all you can eat, but they brought the food around on platters straight from the kitchen as soon as it was prepared. No soggy fried dumplings or sopping noodles. Really a great idea, and with a great imagination in preparation. Thanks for the treat, guys! And so from there, tired and full, we headed back on the scenic drive down US15 through the Pennsylvania wilds and home to State College. Mission accomplished.

A Presidential Visit

 I went out for a walk today, and discovered all the downtown streets and arteries block with heavy equipment and public safety vehicles in preparation for president Obama's visit to Penn State. He was in town to discuss energy efficiency research and jobs. So I followed the closures towards the airport hoping to see something interesting. They were even rerouting pedestrians around some buildings, and there were long lines of students at the Eisenhower auditorium -presumably some of his visit sites.

Sure enough, as I walked along a deserted Park Avenue - normally thick with traffic - here came the presidential motorcade. Quite the entourage - 20 some vehicles including several obviously armored SUV's - including one flying the American and Presidential flags. Who knows if he was actually in that one or not.

All followed by other dignitaries, staff, police, ambulances, and support vehicles. It's nice to see how seriously they take the president's security.

Back to Houghton - Supertour Nordic Ski Race

 It was great to be back in Houghton working with one of the best race crews around. Great folks -smiling faces all around.

Our hosting the January Supertour race was a last minute change. It was moved to Houghton in the fall after the closure of its previous home, and the organizing committee did a great time on short notice getting the event planned, volunteers recruited, and sponsors assembled.

And of course the all-volunteer race crew, veterans all from 3 previous national championship races and countless regional events, pulled it off without a hitch.

It was a complex series of races, with 2 starts areas, 4 courses and nearly a dozen race categories each day. A sprint test event was held Friday evening, then classic races on Saturday and freestyle skate races Sunday - races for all ages and abilities, from 5 year olds to grandparents, from beginners to members of the national development teams from the US and Canada. And the Race Secretaries, the Timing Crew, the Stadium Crew, the Announcer, the Officials all did a bang-up job.

It's quite inspiring to see both the youngest and most inexperienced putting out their best efforts as well as the elites carving up the course at unimaginable paces. Standing at the Nexus seeing the seemingly endless chain of skiers winding up and down the hills on all sides as the course winds it way to the finish is a true spectacle sure to give you shivers.

It was a treat to help with the event and experience the camaraderie of the crew and the excitement of the participants.

Back to Houghton - Nordic Ski Race Grooming

Michigan Tech's Bombarider Plus-MP Snow Groomer

With the closure of Telemark Resort in Cable, Wisconsin last year, the January 2011 SuperTour cross country ski race lost its home. Michigan Tech stepped into the breach and offered to host the event. A national race series, the Supertour attracts many of the top tier of regional and collegiate skiers as well as some of the national development teams from the US and Canada.

Unfortunately, I was in Pennsylvania for the year and my partner at the ski trails, Jim Meese, was left with two groomers-in-training.

First Snowmobile Repair

Jim Repairs Second Snowmobile

After the Tiller Repair

Race grooming is complex and time critical, and requires experienced operators on both the big tiller equipped snow cat and on the tracksetter equipped snowmobile. The trainees were still hard at work learning the recreational grooming patterns and weren't ready yet for race grooming, so Michigan Tech offered to fly me back for the week so I could work the race. I jumped at the chance to head home to see old friends, do some trail grooming, work a race, and get some ski time on the great trails of the Upper Peninsula in Michigan's Lake Superior snow belt.

This year, equipment failures were an added challenge on top of course setup and grooming. One of our main work snowmobiles came back from the shop the day I arrived, supposedly cured of its failure to charge its battery. Not. More parts had to be ordered and we needed the sled working now for the races, so I mounted a deep cycle marine battery on the back, providing a day's worth of operation and easy charging in the shed at night.

Not to be outdone, the backup-backup sled, on load from the city of Houghton to groom the non-race trails, pulled into the trailhead pouring smoke from the engine. A pinhole in the mix-oil line was spraying directly onto the exhaust. It's a wonder it didn't burst into flames and melt into the snow. Jim astutely diagnosed the problem and had it repaired in no time once the muffler had cooled.

Plus-MP Groomer Cab

And between the Saturday and Sunday Races, the big machine suddenly lost the ability to raise, tilt, or center its tiller. It appeared to be a recurrence of a faulty connector on the hydraulic reverser valve control, but repairing this only eliminated some of the symptoms. Further perusal of the schematics and  inspection of the tiller frame revealed that the connector problem had been only the initiator of a cascade of failures. The snow cat is neigh 14  years old now, and its tiller centering sensor rod's flex joint had corroded over the years, becoming rigid. This in turn caused the sensor rod to flex with every pivot of the tiller frame. When the hydraulic control problem caused the frame to swing hard left, it was the last straw and snapped off the end of the fatigued rod. Not a part you'll find down at the hardware store on a Saturday night. Luckily, the rod was not hardened and we were able to drill a temporary hole in what remained. This allowed us to reconnect the sensor rod to the tiller frame and so allowed the tiller to recenter enough that the system could lift it. Phew. And just in time for the 5" of snow we got that night.

Waiting for Jim to Come Around Again

But the grooming itself went off without a hitch. Nothing broke during grooming, the snow let up just as we were finishing each morning, and we didn't forget anything. This event was especially complex to groom since we had so many races each day on so many courses. Each day we had two start areas, a finish, 3 different courses (1 km , 3 km and 5 km), and the wax test and warm-up areas to groom by 8 am (2 hours before race time).  We generally got up at 3 am, got the equipment on the trail by 3:30 am, and began with the wax test and warm-up. Jim ran the tiller and I followed with the snowmobile. 10 tracks on the wax test hill (he set 2 outer tracks with the wide-spaced tiller pans on 3 passes and I set 2 in between with the snowmobile pans on 1.2 m centers on the two outside passes), 4 through the warm-up loop, and 2 on course with best line (meaning that I set the tracks with the snowmobile only, following the shortest distance through the corners that the skiers will naturally ski).

The fun and the challenge of grooming is planning a pattern (since you can't go through an area with the equipment again once you've set track there), the teamwork between the tiller and sled operators, getting a consistent high quality surface with the tiller, and setting tracks that are straight on the straight segments, following best line on the corners, ending when a skier could not hold track through an approaching corner, and begining again at a location they will naturally find themselves after completing a turn.

Parallel Mass Start Tracks

Because we maintain very firm trails to hold up to heavy race traffic, it takes 2 passes with the tiller to sufficiently  loosen the snow for optimal track. We incorporate these two passes into our planning since with overlapping courses, there are points where the sled operator (me) has to wait for the tiller operator (Jim) to come around again and back into a cutoff or crossing. In addition to loosening, the tiller operator is responsible for leveling the course and stadium with the blade before race grooming. The snowmobile operator is responsible for setting the start tracks in the stadium once the tiller operator has leveled and loosened the entire stadium and spectator areas. It's a bit easier to set straight tracks with a snowmobile than the tiller once a reference track has been set, and the start track spacing of 1.5 m is different than the course and wax test spacing of 1.2 m. In straight areas with parallel tracks like a start zone, track straightness is especially obvious and important, so a reference track is set, then re-set with successive passes correcting any errors. The edge of the grooming for the first track can be used as a reference to align and guide the equipment on successive tracks (7 in this race).

Dragging the Sprint Timing Shed with Two Sleds

The day preceding a race, the course and stadium have to be groomed as they will be for the race to allow athlete inspection (and groomer practice). After each race, we remove any tracks from the course with the snowmobile and drag and re-set fences to prepare for the next day's course and grooming that night. So there's not a lot of sleep happening for the groomers (especially Jim the tiller operator) during races. 4 hours is common.

We also held a test race on our new sprint course at the Supertour, which necessitated a temporary timing building. What was the MTU football ticket booth in the fall got skis from Facilities in the winter. It took the big snow cat to get it unstuck and drag it from the trailhead, but we were able (just barely) to drag it from the stadium back to the trailhead with our two work sleds, where the tractor was able to take over and pull it into the parking area.

Grooming for races is aways a challenging, sleepless enterprise. I could do without the 3 am alarms, but to see the perfect corduroy and immaculate tracks in the purple light of dawn, to see the racers competing, enjoying the course, and to know that they appreciate your efforts is a fine reward.

Skiing Blue Knob

Blue Knob Peak

Blue Knob State Park is located on the second highest peak in Pennsylvania at 3,146 feet. Part of the Allegheny Front range, it intercepts moisture off the Great Lakes, making it one of the snowier parts of the state. Home primarily to a downhill skiing concession, it also provides 20 km or so of groomed cross country skiing. Every Saturday (as conditions allow) they bring down a tiller from the hill and groom the golf course and miles of adjacent forest roads.

Condo entrance and Clubhouse

The nordic trails are located below the peak at around 2,700 feet, next to the condos, club house, and golf course. I happened to have time on a Friday, so there was a nice 4 inches of powder on top of last weekend's grooming with a strong wind, temps around 20 F, sun and flurries. Beautiful.

The entrance road took me over the peak past the downhill center and lifts. All the trees were encased in white from the snow making operation, lending a fairy tale look against the grey clouds and blue sky. Then down a steep, well plowed descent to the clubhouse and nordic trails.

Overlook from Ski Trail

Skiing Along the Golf Course Path

I found the trails to be scenic in a small, resorty kind of way, with one spectacular overlook, and with good snow. They're only groomed once a week, but as the nearest groomed trails, just 1.5 hours down US 99, I can't complain. And they are tilled which will be nice when we start into the freeze-thaw season. The next nearest are at Laurel Ridge 2.5 hours away. They are groomed more regularly, but with no tilling.We'll definitely have to go back to Blue Knob some Saturday and try the fresh grooming.