"Ski with the Bison Day" was held in a blizzard

Bison skiers give the kids some instruction in the hut before heading out

So, the plan was to use the remainder of our youth ski grant to have a youth ski day up at Edgewood Golf Course with free rentals for kids. Members of NDSU's Nordic Ski Club would be there to ski with the kids. The only problem was that there was a blizzard today. I thought I'd go ahead and go up there anyway. My kids were able to come since their symphony tour was cancelled due to poor driving conditions in the blizzard. We picked up their friend, Javonte, and headed up to Edgewood. It didn't look good--it was bleak, blustery, and desolate. Soon, a young man opened up the ski hut, then John, one of the Bison skiers arrived, and then four more Bison and one young girl, Thessaly, whose dad works with me at NDSU. They are from the south, so I really admired their pluck.

Alex went skate skiing with John and Luke; Max, Javonte, and Thessaly went classic skiing with Laura, Mari and Mitch Nordahl's sister. That left me to ski with Thessaly's parents, Ida and David. I had given out all my spare neckgaiters, so I rummaged around in the lost and found until I found one. I don't usually cover my face while skiing, but it was a must in these brutal gusts. Ida, David, and I found some protection down by the river--it was pretty good down there, though the trail was covered by drifts of snow in places. One of the neat things to see was how the wind had carved a way all the surrounding snow, leaving three dimensional footprints sticking up where an animal had crossed some open ground. When we came around the curve and faced into the wind, I suggested we turn back. We got back around the time the kids did, so it worked out.

David and Ida at the end of our ski

Ida and David treated us to hot chocolate, which was much appreciated! After warming up for awhile, the kids went out to sled, the Bison skiers went home, and I skied the skate loop. That was pretty awful because of the alternating conditions from slippery, wind-scoured skate bed to thick drift that might be soft or hard to get through. It was quite a workout.

I might note that there was not a single kid out sledding today, though I did see one skier in goggles come out.

At the end of the day, no one got frostbitten, so I am calling it a success.