(MWVSkiTouring Press Release)-- One of winter's most popular events, the 22nd Annual Chocolate Festival will be held on Sunday, February 27th. Bring your friends, bring your family to cross country ski, snowshoe, or drive between trailside chocolate stops from 11 am to 4 pm and then visit other area businesses for more chocolate. This annual event presented by
the members of the Mt. Washington Valley Ski Touring Foundation along with area businesses is a fundraiser for this intown Nordic and Snowshoe Center providing groomed trails connecting North Conway Village and Intervale.
The last Sunday in February, also known as the "Sweetest Day on the Trails", is the one day of the year when chocolate indulgence is guilt free! Every year hundreds of chocoholics travel between 12 and 15 kilometers of gently rolling network trails stopping along the way to enjoy chocolate prepared in a variety of ways. Participants
have enjoyed everything from chocolate fondue, handmade chocolates, cookies of all kinds, chocolate-dipped strawberries, chocolate fountains, brownie sundaes, and cupcakes to the classic hot chocolate topped with whipped cream. Visit every trailside stop and enter a drawing to win a $200 Gift Certificate to use at any of
these trailside businesses before the 23rd Annual Chocolate Festival on February 26, 2012. If the full distance of the tour is too much for you to travel on skis or snowshoes, there will be a shuttle circulating continuously from 1 - 5pm stopping at select locations to give you a lift just when you need it the most.
The Special Event Festival Pass includes a daily trail pass and admission to Ten Trailside Chocolate Stops, including the Whitaker Woods Meeting House and Three Additional Area Chocolate Stops. Chocolate Festival passes are $20 for adults and children if purchased in advance, and $25 if purchased the day of the event. Get an early start on your chocolate tour, avoid the crowds, and SAVE by purchasing your ticket in advance online, or at the Touring Center. The Chocolate Festival Brochure and Trail Map with all details will be available the day of the event at any trailside stop.
The Ten Trailside Chocolate Stops, listed by location beginning at the Northern end of the trails, include:
Riverside Inn Bed & Breakfast, Old Field House Country Inn Suites and Townhouses, Touring Center located at Ragged Mountain Equipment, 1785 Inn, Mountain View Estates, Adventure Suites, Stonehurst Manor, Local Grocer at Red Carriage Commons, Eastern Inns, and Whitaker Woods Meeting House. This southern most stop of the tour in North Conway Village offers parking at the John Fuller School, tickets, and a great way to begin your day. After your visit to the trailside stops plan to visit these additional Three Area Chocolate Stops. While you are in the northern area of the network, stop at the Sugar Shack at 100 Acre Woods located across Route 16-302 from Town Hall Road in Intervale between 11 am and 5 pm. Then take Hurricane Mountain Road to the Buttonwood Inn on Mt. Surprise offering some delectable homemade chocolate treat between 1 pm - 5 pm. After leaving the Buttonwood Inn, cross Hurricane Mountain Road on to Kearsarge and continue on to the Vintage Baking Company for a rich, homemade hot chocolate on the porch topped with one of their homemade marshmallows - a nice way to end the 'Sweetest Day on the Trails'.
There will be three trailside restaurants open for lunch and refreshments for those interested in something to eat or drink when chocolate is not enough! Moat Mountain Smokehouse and Brewing Company opens at 11:30 am, 1785 Inn will offer soup, salads, flatbread pizza and drinks from 11 am - 4 pm, and the bar in the Library Lounge at Stonehurst Manor will be open. Their chocolate martinis are a certain hit!
Limited parking is available at each of the stops along with the John Fuller School, and NH Electric Cooperative located next to Ragged Mountain Equipment. Many participants take the chocolate tour with friends and leave a second car at the end of the trail. If you need a ride back to your car, there will be a complimentary shuttle running continuously from 1 pm - 5 pm with stops at the Whitaker Woods Meeting House, Stonehurst Manor, Riverside Inn Bed & Breakfast, Touring Center, 1785 Inn, and Adventure Suites.
For online ordering, complete and up-to-the-minute Festival details, visit www.MWVSkiTouring.org or for tickets, rentals and information visit the Touring Center located at Ragged Mountain Equipment, 279 NH Route 16-302 in Intervale or call 603-356-9920.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Tracks
One of my favorite toys as a kid was a slot car racetrack. I remember it was made by Matchbox and came with two cars- a Corvette and a Porsche. I could spent hours racing those cars around and around, trying to see how fast I could get the cars to go through the corner without the back end sliding out, with the only control being with the speed controller.
I bring this up as while skiing the other day I felt like I was the slot car in a well-designed track and I realized that one of the things I was enjoying was trying to stay locked into the track as a whizzed around corners and down rolling hills. It was a battle not only with physics but also with my mind, as there would be times where I wasn’t quite sure I’d make the turn, or felt that the drop in the trail would generate too much speed- so I would have to talk myself into holding on for the ride.
As I was having my fun I watched other skiers step out of the tracks on some of the hills so they could snowplow, or would take one foot out to scrub speed as they went into a corner. While I understood the desire for control I wondered if they realized how much fun it would be to go full bore and let the tracks guide their destiny.
With that in mind, here are a few tricks to staying in the tracks on fast corners and on descents. The first key is to make sure you have a good solid stance. Obviously your feet are going to be spread apart a set amount (due to the tracks) but where are you standing fore and aft on your skis? You want to be standing fairly neutral so that you can easily shift your weight front or back without having to fight back to the neutral position first. The next thing is to make sure you have your knees nice and supple with a bit of a bend. Keep in mind we are talking about bending at the knees- not at the waist!
If you watch people ski downhill you will see a number of people who will hinge at the waist and have their legs straight, they feel like they are bending their knees as their upper body is closer to the ground, but the result is a very unbalanced position.
Now with our weight even front and back, knees are bent and supple, let’s focus on our hands- up in front like we are carrying a tray, and then finally our head- chin up and looking down the trail. It is amazing how the body follows the head- if you look down your weight will go forward- so look out on the trail and you will find your balance much easier to find.
With the body position set the next thing we need to do is work with our mind. If we are looking at a descent (one that we know- it is important to know there is a run out), we need to be sure that we will only enjoy a short burst of speed and then friction and a leveling of the terrain will take care of all of our Jimmy Johnson speed. Also make sure there aren’t any obstacles in the track, tree limbs, ice chunks, or most likely other skiers. If all is clear give it a go. As you speed up keep thinking about supple knees, hands in front, and looking down the trail. The speed will increase rapidly, but just hang on as it will scrub off once the trail levels out (hence the importance of knowing the trail). Once you’ve slowed down feel free to smile (if you aren’t already) and give a hoot- that’s what this is all about!
I do want to reiterate- only do this on shorter hills where you know the run out. If you’ve just skied some trail for the first time and have been climbing for an hour it may not be the best form to try and straight run the descent unless you are very comfortable with speed AND getting out of the tracks at speed. That only comes with practice, and that practice will come with a few wrecks that will turn into stories for back at the touring center. Be safe and have fun with the descents.
When it comes to corners everything we just talked about holds true, but again, use your eyes to look around the corner. As you look through the turn you will find your hands and body try to follow, you should find your weight shift to your outside ski and again just hang on. Practice on tighter and tighter turns with more and more speed. Before you know it you will be racing around just like a slot car.
I bring this up as while skiing the other day I felt like I was the slot car in a well-designed track and I realized that one of the things I was enjoying was trying to stay locked into the track as a whizzed around corners and down rolling hills. It was a battle not only with physics but also with my mind, as there would be times where I wasn’t quite sure I’d make the turn, or felt that the drop in the trail would generate too much speed- so I would have to talk myself into holding on for the ride.
As I was having my fun I watched other skiers step out of the tracks on some of the hills so they could snowplow, or would take one foot out to scrub speed as they went into a corner. While I understood the desire for control I wondered if they realized how much fun it would be to go full bore and let the tracks guide their destiny.
With that in mind, here are a few tricks to staying in the tracks on fast corners and on descents. The first key is to make sure you have a good solid stance. Obviously your feet are going to be spread apart a set amount (due to the tracks) but where are you standing fore and aft on your skis? You want to be standing fairly neutral so that you can easily shift your weight front or back without having to fight back to the neutral position first. The next thing is to make sure you have your knees nice and supple with a bit of a bend. Keep in mind we are talking about bending at the knees- not at the waist!
If you watch people ski downhill you will see a number of people who will hinge at the waist and have their legs straight, they feel like they are bending their knees as their upper body is closer to the ground, but the result is a very unbalanced position.
Now with our weight even front and back, knees are bent and supple, let’s focus on our hands- up in front like we are carrying a tray, and then finally our head- chin up and looking down the trail. It is amazing how the body follows the head- if you look down your weight will go forward- so look out on the trail and you will find your balance much easier to find.
With the body position set the next thing we need to do is work with our mind. If we are looking at a descent (one that we know- it is important to know there is a run out), we need to be sure that we will only enjoy a short burst of speed and then friction and a leveling of the terrain will take care of all of our Jimmy Johnson speed. Also make sure there aren’t any obstacles in the track, tree limbs, ice chunks, or most likely other skiers. If all is clear give it a go. As you speed up keep thinking about supple knees, hands in front, and looking down the trail. The speed will increase rapidly, but just hang on as it will scrub off once the trail levels out (hence the importance of knowing the trail). Once you’ve slowed down feel free to smile (if you aren’t already) and give a hoot- that’s what this is all about!
I do want to reiterate- only do this on shorter hills where you know the run out. If you’ve just skied some trail for the first time and have been climbing for an hour it may not be the best form to try and straight run the descent unless you are very comfortable with speed AND getting out of the tracks at speed. That only comes with practice, and that practice will come with a few wrecks that will turn into stories for back at the touring center. Be safe and have fun with the descents.
When it comes to corners everything we just talked about holds true, but again, use your eyes to look around the corner. As you look through the turn you will find your hands and body try to follow, you should find your weight shift to your outside ski and again just hang on. Practice on tighter and tighter turns with more and more speed. Before you know it you will be racing around just like a slot car.
Video from the Marquette BC Ski Test
Karen and I snuck out for a tour down the backside of Pleasant Mountain. This was the day before we got a bit of rain, so the snow was still super soft and deep! The skis worked great (except for when I got off the lift and forgot I was on a waxless ski!)
A great day and I look forward to my next adventure on these skis!
To learn more about the Marquette BC ski click here.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The Perfect Winter Hits a Speed Bump
I don't want to sound like I'm whining, but this last "snow storm" bummed me out. We had been enjoying unreal snow conditions, and then to have a bit of rain mix in and crust things up- not good!
That being said the base we have now is pretty bomb proof so we'll be skiing on a good base for a long time now!
Ok, enough complaining. Time to go skiing.
That being said the base we have now is pretty bomb proof so we'll be skiing on a good base for a long time now!
Ok, enough complaining. Time to go skiing.
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